Yellowknife’s Prince of Wales Heritage Centre is getting ready for a unique event this weekend.
On Saturday, April 22nd, Nadine Neema, a singer and songwriter from Montreal, will be launching the audiobook version of her award-nominated novel, Journal of a Traveling Girl.
Neema has had a successful career in music, with four albums of music and spoken word poetry. She has done a few international tours, and has even been the opening act for big name artists such as Joe Cocker & Elton John. She was even mentored by Leonard Cohen.
Journal of a Traveling Girl is set in the NWT, on the lands of the Tłįchǫ community. Neema had started working with the Tłįchǫ in 1999, first as a community manager, then assisting with land claims negotiations. She has maintained a strong bond with the community through workshops, photography projects, and canoe trips. Neema also leads creativity, song-writing, poetry, storytelling and public speaking workshops in schools to empower youth to find their own voice.
The book is a coming of age story about a young girl who embarks on an annual Tłįchǫ canoe trip retracing the trails of their ancestors on their way to the celebrations of 2005 for the effective date of the Tłįchǫ Agreement. The book follows three best friends and their adventures on the journey. The teachings mainly come from one of the girl’s grandparents through stories they share around the fire about their traditional way of life, Treaty 11 and the subsequent self-government agreement.
It was written at the request of John B. Zoe, Chief Negotiator of the Tłı̀¨chÇ« Agreement, as a way of teaching the Tłı̀¨chÇ« youth about that landmark achievement.
There is no fee for the launch event, and all members of the public are welcome. It will begin at 1:30 with a performance by the Tłı̀¨chÇ« Drummers and a Feeding of the Fire event. Then from 2:00 to 3:30, Neema will perform some readings from the book. Some short films and musical performances will also be shown.
Tea and bannock will be available in the Café after the event.
