Gord Downie

Secret Path is a collection of ten songs that tell the story of Chanie Wenjack (whose teachers miscalled “Charlie”), a twelve year-old boy who died fleeing the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario fifty years ago. Chanie was attempting to walk the 400 miles back home to the family from whom he was taken. Downie was introduced to the story by his brother Mike, who shared with him Ian Adams’ Maclean’s story from February 6, 1967, “The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack.”"Chanie haunts me.