Singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume has debuted “100 Years,” a song about Canada’s scarred history that is sure to resonate with Canadians reeling from the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
“Young bodies buried in the ground,” she sings. "Will you finally listen now? … Can you feel the heat / underneath your feet / Rising on the land, stirring in the street / Waking from a hundred years of sleep.”
The song was inspired by words attributed to Métis leader Louis Riel, who led the North-West Resistance in 1885: “My people will sleep for a hundred years but when they awake, it will be the artists that give them back their spirit.”
(The Nov. 16 release of “100 Years” marks the date Riel was hanged for treason.)
“As a citizen of the Métis Nation, I want to honour the rich and challenging history of my Nation and all indigenous people,” Rheaume explained, in an Instagram post. She said the song, produced by Hill Kourkoutis, is about “resistance, resurgence, and Spirit calling.”
“100 Years” came with a video directed by Sean Stiller and shot in Ottawa.
The track is part of Rheaume’s forthcoming album The Spaces In Between, which is due in April. She has released four studio albums since 2011 as well as collection of Christmas songs. Her 2013 album Keep a Fire was nominated for Aboriginal Album of the Year at the JUNO Awards.
Check out "100 Years" below: