Viral music video in 3 languages celebrates diversity at Châteauguay school
Video for 'Dreamchild' was viewed more than 34,000 times the day it was posted
A new music video featuring elementary school students is going viral for sharing words of inclusion and encouragement in Mohawk, English and French.
The song, Dreamchild, was written, recorded and filmed with students at St. Willibrord School in Châteauguay, Que., on Montreal's South Shore.
The school is located close to the Kahnawake Mohawk territory and one third of its students are Mohawk.
Jody Wahsontiiostha Diabo, the daughter of Kahnawake council chief Gina Deer, helped with the Mohawk parts of the song.
She said when the students got to the see the final product many teared up.
"Tears of joy," Diabo said. "People were really touched by the project and I was honoured to be a part of it."
I'm excited to be focused on the positive, learn from the past so in the future I will honour it.- Lyric from
The video was produced by N'we Jinan Artists, a mobile recording studio and video production team that goes into schools and youth centres in First Nations communities.
The team wanted the students to be able to celebrate the different cultures in their school.
That's why, Diabo said, the song is very important.
"Not just for St. Willibrord, but also for others, who may not realize they live amongst First Nations people," she said.
Less than a day after the video was posted to N'we Jinan Artists' Facebook page, it had been viewed 34,000 times.
With files from Melissa Fundira