Hip to the message
Youths excel during week of music, addictions awareness
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
BAKER LAKE
Hundreds of youth bopped to the music and heard inspiring messages from two young Kivalliq role models during Hip Hop Week in Baker Lake this past week.
Kathleen Merritt of Rankin Inlet and Nelson Tagoona of Baker Lake belt out a song during hip hop and addictions awareness week in Baker Lake this past week. - photo courtesy of Kathleen Merritt |
The week was co-planned by Kathleen Merritt of Rankin Inlet, who also played an active role in the proceedings, along with featured artist and event co-ordinator Nelson Tagoona of Baker.
Merritt works with the National Art Centre to manage its Music Alive Program (MAP) in Nunavut.
MAP works with youth in the communities to educate and train in both music and leadership.
Merritt said MAP was behind a Hip Hop Week held in Kugluktuk this past year which also featured Tagoona.
She said the week includes workshops on beatboxing, throatsinging and hip hop techniques, the promotion of healthy living and a session-ending music concert.
"The National Arts Centre was interested in holding an event in Baker Lake, being how it's Nelson's (Tagoona) home community," said Merritt.
"Then, during the year, the RCMP approached Nelson to ask if he'd be interested in working with them on addictions awareness.
"We decided to combine the two, and the entire week has been funded through the National Arts Centre and the RCMP and co-ordinated by Nelson and the local RCMP.
"It was a good combination to promote the music and healthy living at the same time to Baker youths."
Merritt said Tagoona developed the workshops to correspond with the different age groups in Baker, from elementary to high school.
She said she also helped plan, and took part in, workshops throughout the week with local students.
"I worked with Paula Rumbolt to do throatsinging workshops with the students.
"We owe a big thanks to First Air and the Government of Nunavut for helping make this possible.
"The kids just loved it, and they were all very keen to learn and asked a lot of questions.
"I was surprised to hear the students really hadn't heard all that much throatsinging before, but that's mainly because the Baker elders do a different style of throat singing than you hear a lot of the young people doing."
Tagoona said he finds working with youth to be nothing short of phenomenal.
He said he was amazed by how intently the students listened to what he had to say.
"With the younger kids, I talked about music basics, had a good time rocking out with them, and taught them the basics of beatboxing and rhyming," said Tagoona.
"With the older youths, say Grade 7 and up, I talked about the meaning of depression and how to deal with it if it enters your life.
"I talked about how depression is a sickness of the mind, which can really drag you down at times.
"I talked about depression and sulking from a metaphorical perspective to relate it to one of my songs (Depression Darkness), and to explain how I use my songs and lyricism to help clear out any bad feelings I may have."
Tagoona has been carving a nice career for himself as a musician during the past few years.
His success is a powerful exclamation point to a message given to the youths that if they're truly passionate about something - anything - they can succeed at it.
Tagoona said he couldn't have asked for anything more in how well the students listened and participated in his workshops.
He said having prizes from nuSchool to give away during the workshops was a pleasant addition.
"The RCMP accessed the funding to provide the prizes and the kids really loved them.
"They were really cool prizes in shirts, sunglasses, caps and toques.
"It was really neat to be partnered with the RCMP in this because I was more focused on dealing with feelings through addictions awareness.
"I talked to the kids about having a positive self-image, and I told the older youths the reality is that there's really nothing special, or good, about drinking or getting high."
Tagoona said at the end of his workshops, he talks about the four main highlights of teaching them about metaphors (how to turn depression and sulking into a positive perspective), discipline, responsibility and respect.
He said he tries to teach the youths about responsibility without the need for discipline.
"I touch on the elders a lot when I talk about respect.
"I talk to them about Inuit life long ago, and I talk about the real meaning of Inuit culture and relate that to hip hop culture.
"You see their eyes really start to open when they start realizing just how important our elders really are.
"I'm proud of these kids because they really learned a lot and took a lot away from the workshops."
