A Tseshaht man has composed a celebration song that he intends to donate to all of School District 70 when school resumes in September.
Aaron Watts stopped by at Ha-Shilth-Sa with his five-year-old daughter Niamaya. He said he had been talking to newly-elected Tseshaht Chief Councillor Cynthia Dick and learned that First Nations cultural programs in the district often struggle with finding songs to teach the children due to ownership and permissions protocols.
“Kids should be able to sing and so I think they should have their own song,” said Watts. He composed a celebration song that he will present to officials of SD70 this fall.
“It’s a very big honor to be given a song, but because this is a light-hearted, fun song, there is no real protocol to be followed in giving it away. It just needs to be done in a public forum,” said Watts.
Watts says he’s always wanted to help children in any way he could and has been involved in teaching Nuu-chah-nulth songs in local schools for years. He said it is important for children to have something of their own to sing.
“They are our pride. They are our tomorrow,” said Watts.
