91快色

Even though he entered university as a music major in the early 鈥�80s and went on to record a handful of independent gospel/R&B albums in the years that followed, Craig Ginn, a senior instructor in the Department of Classics and Religion, hadn鈥檛 written a song in over 15 years. At some point his career in academia simply took precedence over his musical pursuits.

It was a moment of anger that reignited his long dormant songwriting passions.

Ginn had come across an archived political panel discussion on the CBC, from 2017, on the topic of Canada鈥檚 first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and his troubling legacy with respect to First Nations people. Two historians and an Indigenous rights activist debated about whether Macdonald鈥檚 statues should be taken down and his name removed from schools and other public institutions. One of the historians argued against such steps, calling for a 鈥渢imeout鈥� to further assess Canada鈥檚 first prime minister.

Ginn, who is of 惭茅迟颈蝉&苍产蝉辫;ancestry, felt his teeth grit. 鈥淚 think we have enough history to go on by now to make a fair assessment,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 was angry, and I picked up my guitar, which I hadn鈥檛 done in a long time.鈥�

Ginn wrote the song Let Justice Roll, a dark folk-rocker and scathing indictment of both Macdonald and those who would absolve him of the steps he put in place which proved catastrophic for First Nations, Inuit and M茅tis people.

While mixing the song in 91快色鈥檚 StudioD, Ginn was encouraged by engineer Steve Dierkens to develop a lyric video for the song, and to continue writing songs born of the intense frustration he was feeling. Slowly, Ginn began accumulating the 10 songs on his album , which he released online last month, free of charge. 

Songs tackle injustices 鈥� and strengths

While many of the songs tackle the grave injustices suffered by Canada鈥檚 Indigenous Peoples, others, like Voices of Tradition 鈥� co-written with U91快色鈥檚 Vice-Provost (Indigenous Engagement), Michael Hart 鈥� highlight First Nations鈥� strength.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a song that recognizes the rich tradition of Indigenous knowledge,鈥� says Ginn. 鈥淲hen I was writing it, I wanted Michael to review the lyrics and help me articulate some of my ideas. He was such a solid consultant and collaborator on the song. And, along with Marica Cassis (department head, Classics and Religion), he was so supportive of the entire project.鈥�

Ginn notes that his wife, Carla Ginn, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing, and Derek Pulliam, engineer at Dog in the Window Records, also collaborated with him on the album鈥檚 lyrics.

Another standout track is There for the Money, which takes prime minister Justin Trudeau to task for his mocking, dismissive treatment in 2019 of an activist from Grassy Narrows First Nation, long plagued with mercury poisoning in their water supply.

The intersection of music and religion

A series of songs on the album also address the controversial history of Louis Riel. Some of these songs are informed, in part, by Ginn鈥檚 academic research.

鈥淢y focus has often been at the intersection of music and religion and the way in which music can express and influence religious belief, doctrine and theology,鈥� he says.

鈥淚n some of the Riel songs I incorporate his actual poetry, and if you look at that as a lyric-based medium you鈥檒l find a lot of belief. Some of the poetry was written when he was facing death and it shines a light on both his Christianity and his Indigenous spirituality.鈥�

It鈥檚 well worth noting that Ginn wrote the album鈥檚 songs before the discovery of unmarked graves on residential school grounds, which has been ongoing since May. Even he never dreamed that Songs of Justice would feel as powerfully relevant as it does today. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e progressing on a post-colonial path, both as a university and as a society,鈥� Ginn says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e making strides, and I thought these songs might be a very small part of the conversation. But I think the discovery of the unmarked graves has awakened a broader base of people, with a stark reality that was really horrifying.

Perhaps these songs will fit into the urgency of the current conversation more than I had ever anticipated.

Indeed, Ginn has been approached by both high school and university teachers who feel that Songs of Justice might be adopted as an effective teaching tool. 鈥淚鈥檓 working towards creating videos for every song on the album, which would enhance that teaching experience, I feel,鈥� he says.

鈥淭o bring some of these songs into classrooms where they could be studied in a historical context, with decolonial interests in mind 鈥� that would be very rewarding.鈥�