A local rendition of the song "Stand By Me" is shining a light on residential schools with the intention of providing a sense of hope and healing for survivors.
Members of the Wallaceburg Brass Quintet have teamed up with Walpole Island First Nation community members to create a video showcasing the power of art through music.
Dan White, a member of the Wallaceburg Quintet, said the idea came after 215 unmarked graves were discovered on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C.
It was then that White contacted Tina Aquash, a member of Walpole Island First Nation, with the idea of creating a video to the song.
"The most important part of the video was the interview with Tina," said White. "There's a part where she says 'I always thought everybody knew about residential schools and just didn't care,' and I thought that was profound."
White said the band felt the need to open up the dialogue and be there for the community by standing by.
"There are some people who think we should be over this," said White. "Out of awareness, this is something that happened for over a century and it just ended a couple of decades ago. You don't just get over that."
The Quintet chose the song Stand By Me for the kindhearted message it sent. The majority of the video was filmed at the Walpole Island Residential School Memorial Monument.
"We wanted to make sure the quintet was not front and center because that's not what the video was about," said White.
Since its release, the video (which can be seen below) has been viewed over 1,300 times.
"The most powerful thing for us was taking the time to listen without judging."
