Quebec and Algonquin rap artist Samian to share his story with Earl … – Surrey Schools

Award-winning French-Canadian rap artist Samian is coming to Surrey’s Earl Marriott Secondary Wednesday (Oct. 18) to perform for the school’s Grade 9-12 French Immersion students and talk about his Indigenous and cultural identity, growing up on reserve in Quebec.

Samian, born Samuel Tremblay, is a rap artist from the Abitibiwinni First Nation in Pikogan, QC. Born to an Algonquin mother and a Québécois father, Samian performs in both French and Algonquin, and uses his music to express himself creatively while sharing his mixed culture with others.

The opportunity to host him came when French Immersion teacher Nathalie La Roche, who is also vice-president of the Association Provinciale des Professeurs d’Immersion et du Programme Francophone de Colombie-Britannique – an organization under the BCTF that offers professional development activities for teachers in French and French Immersion – invited him to their annual conference.

“I stay very much connected with what’s happening on the cultural side of things and having our students connected with cultural events as well, not just the language,” said La Roche. “Truth and reconciliation is something we talk about, we also do a lot of poetry and music in our classrooms, and Samian is a very well-known artist in Quebec. I just had the idea of proposing to bring him in to see both educators and students.

“I fired him an email, and right away, he answered back. He said he’d love to come over and meet students and talk about his identity.”

La Roche said Samian has an interesting background, growing up on reserve in Quebec, but attending a Catholic school off the reserve. She said he struggled to fit in at school as an Indigenous student, as well as among his peers at home for not going to school on reserve.

“For him, that was really challenging and I think we have a few students who are in the same boat at our school, getting a mixed message about who they are,” she said. “Part of his message is, you don’t need to stay on the reserve to be a member of a First Nation, it’s still part of your identity wherever you go.

“He writes about who he is, his identity living in this world, and he has a strong message about the environment and the land. We do have quite a few students who are part of the Semiahmoo First Nation, and we want to help students identify themselves, whether it’s through the books we use in the classroom or speakers we bring in – we want to be representative of all students.”

La Roche said she’s seen the positive effect that previous visiting speakers and artists have had on EMS students, and said it’s important to engage students on matters of identity, culture, lifestyle and history.

“It’s an opportunity to challenge our students as critical thinkers,” she said.” When we encounter First Nations people, we want to be curious about who they are, and that’s something Samian has been talking about – show that you’re interested in learning about other people’s lifestyle and what is important to them. We do have differences, but we need to celebrate those differences.”