Students at a Nova Scotia high school are drawing international attention to a disappearing Indigenous language using one of the Beatlesā most recognizable songs.
Music students at Allison Bernard Memorial High School in Eskasoni, N.S. recorded a cover of āBlackbirdā sung entirely in Miākmaqāa language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people.
The rendition, which was sung by Grade 10 student Emma Stevens, has received praise online by both Beatles fans and language advocates, and has garnered more than 100,000 views since being uploaded last week.
āItās a very, very powerful song, so doing it in Miākmaq just makes it more powerful,ā Stevens told CTV Atlantic. āOur language is dying, so we need more people to keep it alive and speak it, because itās going away.ā
The song, which took two hours to translate, was recorded in celebration of the International Year of Indigenous Languages, a United Nations initiative aimed at raising awareness of endangered Indigenous languages.
Miākmaq is the native language of the Eskasoni First Nation, and holds an important place within the community.
Katani Julian, who helped translate the song, hopes the song will inspire younger generations to learn words or phrases from the language.
āWhen the song comes out, and even the young peopleāthe youth and the children in the communityāwhen they hear it, they play it over and over again and pretty soon they start being able to sing it, even if theyāre not able to converse in the Miākmaq language,ā said Julian.
The song has struck a chord with many in the community, especially the elders who have worked to keep Miākmaq alive.
āWhen I saw the final project, the video, I was absolutely stunned,ā said Julian.
āItās just beautiful. I showed it to my dad and I had tears and I didnāt want him to notice me. When I looked I said ādadā and he said āyeahā and he was wiping away a tear there too.ā
Stevens hopes the cover will eventually make its way into the hands of Paul McCartney.
