Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson and sGaanaGwa celebrate Haida culture through seasonal songs
Christmas tunes translated by elders into the endangered Haida language to be performed at December 21 concert
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson. Photo by Farah Nosh
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson and sGaanaGwa present Haida Solstice at The Cultch on December 21 at 7:30 pm
TERRI-LYNN WILLIAMS-DAVIDSON has been singing in her native Haida language since she was 13 years old. When Stir connects with the singer-songwriter, lawyer, and Indigenous activist by phone, she shares a troubling statistic: there are less than 20 people in the world who are fluent in Haida. She sings to keep the language alive and to honour her ancestors and her homeland. And she sees music as an act of reconciliation.
For years, Williams-Davidson has been working with renowned musician Bill Henderson, formerly of the band Chilliwack. Together they released the 2017 album Grizzly Bear Town. After that, Williams-Davidson explains, elders suggested they do a Christmas album; a group of elders had translated seasonal songs into their traditional tongue while honouring Haida values, concepts, and teachings. At first, Williams-Davidson says, she hesitated.
“I was a little reluctant to do an album about Christmas because of what Christmas has symbolized,” Williams-Davidson tells Stir. She explains that for many people, Christmas feeds into the consumerism that underlies colonialism and the exploitation of Indigenous lands. However, like other First Nations, the Haida outwardly adopted Christianity as one way to practise Haida ceremonies “underground” and keep them alive. As an example, Christmas dinners allowed Haida families to maintain aspects of traditional Haida potlatches.
Williams-Davidson’s late father, Godfrey (Collinson) Williams, embraced Christmas carols. He attended residential school, and those holiday songs were a way for him to sing at a time when traditional songs and music were not permitted.
“I spent a lot of time with him singing Christmas songs in church,” Williams-Davidson says. “I thought it was a little odd that he loved those songs so much but then I realized because he wasn’t allowed to sing traditional Haida songs—for a people who are very expressive and who express themselves through song, dances, and ceremonies—Christmas became his way for his soul to sing, a way for him to work through colonization.
“When I saw the translations, I was excited about the way elders had translated certain concepts and phrases and I thought the songs could be touchpoints to learn more about Haida culture,” she adds. “We’re at an important stage in the history of Canada trying to find our way through how to reconcile our past. I think that there are beautiful values and laws that come out of the Haida worldview that will benefit all of us and help us work through the history of colonization.”
sGaanaGwa. Photo by Farah Nosh
Williams-Davidson’s new album is titled Haida Solstice and it’s by her band and project called sGaanaGwa. The group consists of Henderson, Claire Lawrence (also formerly of Chilliwack), bassist Jodi Proznick, vocalists Saffron Henderson and Camille Henderson, and percussionist Geoff Hicks. The artists combine traditional Haida music with jazz, blues, folk, and rock. sGaanaGwa will be performing on December 21 at The Cultch. Acclaimed Haida artist Robert Davidson will be in attendance.
“It’s important for me to sing in Haida as Canada seeks to address the injustices and harms resulting from previous assimilationist and colonizing policies,” Williams-Davidson says. “We’re proud to contribute to the work of reconciliation and healing through this music.”
Williams-Davidson, who was born in Haida Gwaii, notes that her maternal grandmother was a song custodian who kept Haida songs alive, which is how she began singing them early in life. By recording new tunes in Haida, she hopes to reach younger generations as well as people beyond the First Nation. The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the period between 2022 and 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. She says that the Haida language is unique with many distinct sounds that are not heard in English.
“I love that the musicians were willing to have those sounds featured in the music,” Williams-Davidson says. “If we use the Haida language every single day that contributes to keeping it alive. For me it’s important for young people who do celebrate Christmas to hear the Haida language in songs so they can connect with language and keep it alive. We did a concert for the elders and some of them were weeping to hear songs sung this way, and kids are so excited to hear songs performed this way.
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