This
song comes from the Sesewis medicine of the Northwest Coast.
My friend Beaverchief heard it from his Uncle, Frank Hillaire,
of the Lummi Tribe near Ferndale, Washington, where I grew
up. Beaverchief, me, and a friend of ours, Barbara Leischner,
put out 18 songs in 1990. We called it BIG MAGIC. I arranged
these NW Coast songs for rock band, girls choir, orchestra
and drummers.
The music met with a lot of
controversy, both from traditional people who didn't want
to see it change, and from white people who didn't want to
see it change. He believed very deeply that this effort was
hard but very important for the children. His dream was to
create an art center in downtown Seattle for kids where they
could learn to dream big.
Despite this, Beaverchief
obtained permission to do these songs from his elders and
was an incredibly brave person. It may be said that he was
the first NW coast native to attempt a sound that would eventually
reach a mass audience. The music features many Seattle musicians
working at the time. The guitar solo on this song is by John
Auer of The Posies. This song was being recorded at the same
time and in the same room with Soundgarden as they rehearsed
for their first major label tour.
Beaverchief died of a brain
aneurysm in 2001. He is survived by son, Freddy, brother George,
Mother and other relatives, who live in Seattle. -MN
