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DEH GAH GOT'IE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Inuvik artist Leanne Goose dared students at Deh Gah School to dream big Monday while visiting Fort Providence.

Inuvik artist Leanne Goose and master guitarist Gabriel Ayala visited Deh Gah School Monday and took time to pose with students. Front row, from left, Nathaniel Minoza, left, Lisa Constant, Brandon Constant and Keagan Bonnetrouge. Back row, from left, Morgan Geddes Leanne Goose, Kelsey Bonnetrouge,Aaron Constant, Gabriel Ayala, Elvira Bonnetrouge,Axell Bouvier, Nogha Landry and Jamal Simba. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo

Write down your goals, she told the group of about 30 students, and then figure out how you can get there.

"If you believe you can, you will. Don't give up," the singer/songwriter said.

Goose came to the village with master guitarist Gabriel Ayala as part of a workshop series called the Northern Music Enhancement program. The series is designed to bring lessons to the smaller communities in order to promote music in the region and develop local artists.

The workshop in the hamlet ran from Saturday to Monday, ending with a concert by the two musicians. Goose and Ayala also made time to stop by the school and share their experiences with the kids.

"It was wonderful," Goose said about the weekend, adding they had between three and six students at each class. "We were able to cover quite a lot of material."

Together, Goose and Ayala taught the participants basic guitar, vocal techniques and music theory, among other things.

Goose said she hopes she reached at least one person during her time in the hamlet.

"I hope that they follow their dreams, that they follow a path and they see that it is realistic," she said. "I come from the North. This is my home and to have success in the way I have been blessed, to have the opportunities that have been given to me, I sincerely hope that others will find their own way and their own path, whatever that may be. I hope that the words we spoke today inspire them."

Ayala, who is from Tucson, Ariz., echoed Goose's sentiments and added that the greatest lesson kids can learn is the importance of perseverance. To get himself through school Ayala lived in his truck. It would have been easier to give up on music and get a regular job, he said, but instead he kept going.

"The most important thing is to never give up on themselves or give up on their dreams. Whatever they aspire to be, be the best at it regardless of whether it's a dishwasher, a person who drives a tractor, whatever."

Fourteen-year-old Christina Bonnetrouge attended all the music workshops Goose and Ayala put on over the weekend. She said she went because there was nothing else to do but she ended up really enjoying the sessions.

"Leanne and Gabriel are really inspiring," she said, adding they encouraged her to follow her dreams." It was really great."

Her favourite part of the workshop, she said, was learning how to play a song on the guitar. Bonnetrouge said she plans to keep learning the guitar and one day wants to be a musician.

With some help, Goose has made it easier for interested participants to continue learning to play. Ten guitars have been donated to the community and members can check them out by visiting the hamlet's recreation co-ordinator.

"It will be much like a library book where you will come in, you'll sign out the guitar for a length of time and then return it," Goose said. "Then you can come back and sign it out again."

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