A Grade 10 student from an Eskasoni high school got a shout-out from Paul McCartney for singing The Beatles’ Blackbird in Mi’kmaq in a music video that went viral in April.
Emma Stevens was featured in the video, which was produced by Allison Bernard Memorial High School music teacher Carter Chiasson. The song was translated by Katani Julian and Stevens’ father, Albert “Golydada”Julian.
The video was also shot by Mattew Ingraham and grade 12 multimedia students from ABM High School.
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McCartney is the writer of the song and has recently been on tour in the United States, with his latest performance taking place in Lexington, Ky.
“There’s an incredible version done by a Canadian girl. See it on YouTube; it’s in her native language,” McCartney said in a video shared on Twitter.
#EmmaStevens gets a shout out by @PaulMcCartney "There's an incredible version done by a Canadian girl, see it on youtube, its in her native language." See her play at the opening of the @unhabitat @UN #UNHabitatAssembly - https://t.co/CqMSgF1VuE #paulmccartney #blackbird pic.twitter.com/WsuQaaczp3
— UN-Habitat Youth (@unhabitatyouth) June 2, 2019
For Stevens’ video, Blackbird was translated to mark the International Year of Indigenous Languages, a United Nations observance.
READ MORE: Eskasoni high schooler hopes Mi’kmaq music video inspires others to learn language
Stevens is currently on her way back from Nairobi, Kenya, where she spoke about the red dress movement in Canada that’s intended to draw attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Stevens also sang the Mi’kmaq Honour Song at the first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly of the United Nations Human Settlements Program on May 27, 2019.
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