B.C. students and Indigenous artists release music video on reconciliaction and environmental stewardship at Indigenous awards
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The Artist Response Team (ART), in partnership with Éy St’élmexw St’elt’ílém / Good Medicine Songs (GMS), Chilliwack School District, and with generous support from Tire Stewardship BC (TSBC) and Interchange Recycling, is proud to announce the release of a new song and video project titled “Step in the Right Direction.” This unique and moving collaboration brings together youth, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and professional musicians to inspire ecological action and reconciliaction through the power of music.
Building on the success of the 2023 Voice of the Stream concert with Imagine High Integrated Arts & Technology Secondary, “Step in the Right Direction” expands the reach of this creative movement. Over the 2024 and 2025 school years, band, choir and drumming students from Chilliwack Secondary, Sardis Secondary, and GW Graham Secondary Schools came together to record this original bilingual song in Halq’eméylem and English—created by Holly Arntzen, x̱ótxwes Jonny Williams, and Kevin Wright, with Halq’eméylem guidance from Elders Dr. Siyamiyateliyot and Siyamequot Viv Williams.
“The challenges we face today such as the climate crisis, toxic drug deaths, and homelessness, can feel immense and overwhelming,” said Holly Arntzen, producer and performer at ART. “But when we take small, meaningful actions like learning and singing in Halq’eméylem to honour Indigenous culture, or recycling used oil, antifreeze and tires to protect our environment, we begin to reclaim a sense of agency and shared purpose. This project is about showing that collective action, rooted in respect and awareness, can lead us toward real change and hope for the future.”
The video for “Step in the Right Direction” was officially released on May 22 at the 48th annual Chilliwack Indigenous Awards, organized by the Indigenous Education Department, and held at the Chilliwack Landing Sports Centre. This annual celebration honours Indigenous graduates and student success across a range of categories including cultural, physical education, and academic achievement. With up to 1,300 attendees this year, the event was an opportunity to recognize students’ efforts and formally unveil the video as part of this important celebration. The first edition of the event was held in 1977.
“Singing in Halq’eméylem is a powerful act of reconciliation,” said x̱ótxwes Jonny Williams, co-founder of GMS. “These youth are not only learning our language, they’re also helping bring it to life. In doing so, they’re also embracing a deeper sense of responsibility to care for the land, the water, and one another. Language carries our teachings, and through these songs, students are becoming stewards of both culture and the environment.”
“We jumped at the opportunity to involve our students in the “Step in the Right Direction” project. As high school music specialists we are challenged to bring Indigenous content into our classes. There are a few pieces of music that are relevant, but you can’t keep playing the same pieces over and over,” said Bob Tarr, the Band Director at Chilliwack Secondary. “Also, it gave our three schools a rare chance to do something that brings our students and families together.”
“It was an honour to debut the “Step in the Right Direction” video at our Indigenous Awards,” said Brenda Point, Principal, Indigenous Education, at Chilliwack School District. “This project reflects the strength and creativity of our youth, and beautifully weaves together cultural expression, community spirit, and the importance of environmental stewardship. It’s a meaningful and hopeful contribution to our ongoing journey of reconciliation.”
“We are proud to support “Step in the Right Direction” and to help connect environmental stewardship to education and culture,” said David Lawes, CEO of Interchange Recycling, and Rosemary Sutton, Executive Director of Tire Stewardship BC, in a joint statement. “Projects like this show how small actions, such as recycling used oil, antifreeze, product containers, and scrap tires, contribute to protecting our environment, and how culture and community are at the heart of that journey.”
Watch “Step in the Right Direction”: https://www.artistresponseteam.com/goodmedicinesongschapter6
About Tire Stewardship BC
Tire Stewardship BC is a not-for-profit society formed to accept responsibility for the provincial scrap tires recycling program. Tire Stewardship BC was founded in 2003 by the Tire & Rubber Association of Canada, The Retail Council of Canada, and the Western Canada Tire Dealers, with the addition of the New Car Dealers Association of BC in 2007, and it continues to be governed by a Board that is made up of representatives from these four organizations. Tire Stewardship BC focuses on collecting scrap vehicle and bike tires and recycling them into new things including playground surfaces, athletic tracks, horse mats, and garden mulch. Since 1991, over 122 million tires have been recycled in B.C.
Extended Producer Responsibility is a provincial government strategy to place the responsibility for end-of-life product management on the producer and consumers of a product, not the general taxpayer. For more information on Tire Stewardship BC, visit www.tsbc.ca.
About Artist Response Team
Established in 1991, ART is an independent Vancouver-based production house, headed up by singer/songwriter/producers Holly Arntzen and Kevin Wright and their band, the Wilds. They have written a library of eco-rock songs and specialize in music and entertainment that educate about ecology. For more information on ART, visit www.artistresponseteam.com
About Éy St’élmexw St’elt’ílém/Good Medicine Songs
GMS is a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who collaborate to promote revitalization of Halq’eméyelem through bilingual songs and stories, and inspire reconciliation, belonging and unity. GMS is headed up by Dr. Siyamiyateliyot Elizabeth Phillips, the last remaining fluent speaker of Halq’eméylem. Other GMS performers appearing in the video include Speplól Tanya Zillinsky and Kevin Wright.