Thanks to Rhonda Head of Opaskwayak First Nation for permission to share her recording and video (with family photos) of Silent Night. Congratulations from all of us, as well, on the many recognitions and honours that continue to come her way.
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Quoting from Ace Burpee’s “Fascinating Manitobans 2019” list:
Rhonda Head: She’s an amazing story. From Opaskwayak Cree Nation, she’s an award-winning classical singer who has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Centre. She’s twice survived a brain tumour, is an incredible community organizer, and a published author. She released an autobiography last year title Mezzo Soprano: Memoirs of a Rez Girl.
Rhonda is also preparing for her role as soloist with the Flin Flon Community Choir (“Manitoba’s Biggest Little Choir” under the directorship of my old music school cronies, Mark and Crystal Kolt) when they take New York’s Carnegie Hall by storm next spring.
You can find other recordings of Rhonda’s on YouTube (some in Cree).
And you can find other Christmas songs (with text) and related materials from Christmases past by clicking here, or using the search box on the right.
Silent night has been translated many times. We haven’t been able to get the text that Rhonda sings here, but you can find a y-dialect version with text, sung by Dolores Greyeyes Sand here: https://creeliteracy.org/christmas-songs-and-carols/silent-night/
2 Responses
Could we get a copy of the written lyrics. We would like to learn it for Indigenous Homeschool this year with my sons.
Hi Sandra – Looking a little closer, I see that we haven’t been able to get the text Rhonda sings – and that she’s singing n-dialect! Maybe the y-dialect version sung by Dolores Greyeyes Sand will help. I’ve added the link to this post.