Indigenous students in the province will have the chance to participate in a music mentorship event at the end of the month. The Firekeepers Indigenous Song Circle Tour has four stops in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Troy Kokol is a musician and one of the tour organizers; he spoke with MBC Radio News about the event. He stated that he partnered with Manitoba Arts Network to do a pilot tour last year, and since it was a success, more partners joined in on the project this year.
“The idea of the pilot was to learn about the communities, develop relationships, figure out what the best way to execute a program was, and learn about Indigenous communities, and so yeah, this year Manitoba Arts Network hopped on board again, and we got the Downie Wenjack fund, and they not only injected money but helped us connect with communities,” explained Kokol.
On the Saskatchewan leg of the tour, Kokol, along with Donny Parenteau and Tayller McKinney, will stop in Keeseekoose, Prince Albert, and Whitecap. They will be in Prince Albert for two days, and students from Black Lake and Fond du Lac will fly into the city for the experience.
Throughout the tour, Kokol hopes to show the youth that music is a great way to express yourself and let out your emotions. He said he knows that many communities don’t have music programming available and formed a partnership with Long and McQuade to give a few ukuleles away to the youth throughout the tour.
“Being able to leave an instrument behind or parts of inspiration to make them feel like ‘I can do it too’ awards them the opportunity to be able to channel some of those emotions and to share those emotions, and that’s what makes music so wonderful,” said Kokol.
A list of confirmed dates for the tour can be found below.
Confirmed dates:
Mar. 31 – Keeseekoose, SK
Apr. 1 & 2—Prince Albert, SK (serving Font du Lac, SK, and Black Lake, SK)
Apr. 3 – Whitecap, SK
Apr. 7 – Ginew, MB
Apr. 8 – Scanterbury, MB
Apr. 9 – O’Hanly, MB
Apr. 10 – Ft. Alexander, MB
Kokol is hoping to make the Firekeepers Indigenous Song Circle Tour an annual event, which will hopefully grow over time. People and companies looking to become a sponsor or learn more about the tour can reach Kokol through his website, www.troykokol.com.