Protest song from Willie Dunn gets a contemporary remake with archival footage in new video

 By Sam Laskaris  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A short video that mixes historic images with contemporary film and honours Indigenous sovereignty and resistance is now available on YouTube. “I Pity The Country” was released on Sept. 29, one day before the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Willie Dunn, the late Mi’kmaq musician, film producer and politician, first recorded “I Pity The Country,” a powerful protest song, in 1971. The song begins with the lyrics “I pity the country. I pity the state. And the mind of a man. Who thrives on hate.” The new version of the video from filmmakers Door Number 3 Productions includes Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, a musician and writer of eight books from Alderville First Nation in Ontario, singing portions of the song. Simpson…

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