WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
It was a raw, powerful moment that seemed to stop time — a song performed emotionally in Cree to the tune of Canada’s national anthem by an Indigenous woman wearing traditional regalia.
In an interview Thursday with CBC News, Si Pih Ko, also known as Trina Francois, said the song lyrics were an ancient ballad to the land and the village. Other local language speakers have translated it as: “Our creator, keep our sacred land, Canada. Our land here, Canada. Our Sacred Land.”
After she sang, over applause and cheering from the crowd in Maskwacis, Alta., Si Pih Ko spoke directly
