Kym Gouchie creates music with healing message

Salmon Arm Observer
Aug 30, 2018

Kym Gouchie stands rooted on stage, her bare feet connecting her to the ground below, the powerful beat of her hand drum connecting her to her audience. 

The song is Cleansing the Highway, one that stands out for her. 

“It’s a spiritual experience. I bring myself back to that highway, I bring myself back to the feeling of where that song came from originally. It came from a place of fear and my drum absorbed that fear and turned it into song. 

“I really believe it came from the trees, the sky, the earth and it came through me.” 

The song, which features her rich, powerful voice in fusion with the hand drum, was born during a walk in 2016 along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert. The walk was to raise awareness of the girls and women who were murdered or last seen there near the highway. While the RCMP officially list 18 women and girls, First Nations communities along the way estimate much higher.