Troy Shantz
A Northern Collegiate student has won a provincial Drysdale Student Achievement Award for her multi-media work.
The music video Claire Tillapaugh composed, performed and edited won top prize in the digital arts category for students in Grades 9–12.
The five-minute piece retraces Canada’s indigenous heritage over the past 100 years and is based on the competition theme, “Ahead of the Century.”
“I had the idea for the song, Shoeless, for two years,” said Tillapaugh, 17, who is part Cree.
“I was protective of my stuff but I wanted to release it. I wanted people to know what I had to say.”
The song’s lyrics are animated throughout and evoke the trauma of First Nation, Inuit, and Métis families after 150,000 children were taken and sent to residential schools.
The Drysdale Awards are a writing and creative arts competition open to all public secondary students in Ontario, and is the top honour bestowed by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.
Tillapaugh received a framed certificate and $1,000.
The competition is designed to encourage intellectual development and an interest in society, the Federation said.
Tillapaugh said her symbolism-packed video is meant to challenge viewers about the reconciliation of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Progress has been made but there’s still a long way to go, she said.
“How much can 100 years do to us? In the Indigenous community, not a lot has been done,” she said.
The “Shoeless” in the song title is a symbol of understanding, she said.
“We wear our shoes like protective covers that keep us from seeing the truth. And when we take them off, we’re connected with what we can see, connected to the earth.”
Tillapaugh will graduate this year but is unsure whether she’ll attend college or university. Her focus right now is on improving her music and videos while finding a wider audience, she said.
“I love making the video… knowing exactly where I want to go, being able to take control of it instead of passing it over to someone else’s hands.”
She has connections in the Toronto music scene and a producer plans to further refine Shoeless this month, she said.
Remarkably, Tillapaugh was one of four Lambton County students to win Drysdale Awards this year, with the other attending LCCVI in Petrolia.
Her video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WP0_G8KJfM&feature=youtu.be