Ä́’sía Keyi - Grandfather's Land

Kluane National Park and Reserve

 

Ä́’sía Keyi - Grandfather's Land

Transcript

[Parks Canada beaver logo]

Text: Kluane National Park and Reserve of Canada

Title: Ä́’sía keyi (Grandfather's Land) Performed by Diyet Written by Diyet van Lieshout

Scenic shots of landscapes, First Nations people and wildlife in Kluane National Park & Reserve.

sounds of drumming

Ä́’sía keyi, nedį́shį̀ ka

dak’anuta du

dak’anuta du

Ä́’sía keyi, dach’ana

kwats’ä`n diyą ughą

yats’a säy na

ughą yats’a säy na

Ä́’sía keyi,

nakwats’än diyą

äju yats’a säy, ak’an

äju yats’a säy, ak’an

Ä́’sía keyi

nakwanich’i ū

A’hų tashäníthį

A’hų tashäníthį

Kwänischis yadįnį

Kwänischis yadįnį

sounds of drumming

logos: Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, Kluane Park Management Board and Kluane First Nation

[Parks Canada Logo]

[Text: Her Majesty the Queen in Rights of Canada, Represented by Parks Canada, 2011]

Canada wordmark

To view the video in full screen click on the Youtube link in the bottom right corner of the video

Ä́’sía Keyi was written and performed for Kluane National Park and Reserve by Diyet van Lieshout, a member of the Kluane First Nation. The song, written in Southern Tutchone, shares the feelings and connection to the land of the First Nations peoples who have traditionally called the park lands their home. It reflects on their history of forced removal and final reconnection to the land that is now Kluane National Park and Reserve.

After consulting with members of both Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and Kluane First Nation, Diyet worked with Elders fluent in the Kluane dialect of Southern Tutchone to write the lyrics for the song and set it to music. The Southern Tutchone translation was done by Kluane First Nation Elder Lena Johnson. The lyrics for the song in Southern Tutchone with the English translation can be found below.

Southern Tutchone lyrics

Ä́’sía Keyi
Ä́’sía keyi, nedį́shį̀ ka
dak’anuta du
Ä́’sía keyi, dach’ana
kwats’ä`n diyą ughą
yats’a säy na
Ä́’sía keyi, nakwats’än diyą
äju yats’a säy, ak’an
Ä́’sía keyi
nakwanich’i ū
A’hų tashäníthį

Kwänischis yadįnį

English Translation

Grandfather's Land
Grandfather’s country
you take care of us.
Grandfather’s country you
were taken from us and
we cried for a long time
Grandfather’s country you
came back to us and
we don’t cry anymore
Grandfather’s country we
are happy to see you again

Thank you for everything

This song was originally commissioned for the soundtrack of the Kluane National Park and Reserve Visitor Centre video ‘Living Land’. It was also recently released as a track on Diyet’s 2018 album Diyet & the Love Soldiers http://www.diyetmusic.com/music/. Diyet has performed the song at various public events and live music performances.

Diyet is a contemporary singer/songwriter of Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, Scottish and Japanese ancestry. Born and raised in Lhùʼààn Mân Ku Dán keyi (Kluane First Nation country), Diyetʼs music and stories are deeply rooted in her Indigenous world view and northern life. She tours nationally and internationally with her band and is also dedicated to learning and keeping alive the traditional songs of her ancestors.

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