Singer releases Haida language Christmas album

Singer-songwriter Carsen Gray has released an album of Christmas songs in the Haida language.

The four song EP includes classics like Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, First Noël and Amazing Grace all sung in Haida.

The idea for the album came from Gray's mother, Lynn Hughan, who said she wondered if any Christmas songs had been recorded in the Haida language before. They both live in the Haida community of Skidegate, B.C., on Haida Gwaii. 

"I thought that was a fabulous idea and a great idea because the elders and just everybody pretty much in our community loves Christmas so much," said Gray.

She said it's a time for family gatherings, dinners and a community Christmas concert that happened every year where the elders, local choir and youth would do performances. That's where Gray said she got her start performing. 

"It's a very treasured holiday here," she said. 

Gray said she played the album for the community's elders. 

"They said it sounded great and they had no complaints," she said. 

She only had time to record four tracks but Hughan said it should be called Haida Christmas, Volume 1, so that everybody knows there's another one coming next year. 

Gray said she's working to become a fluent speaker of Haida. 

"I want to be able to pass that onto my children, it's very important to me," she said. 

She added it's challenging to learn because to make the sounds the language requires you have to make your mouth, tongue and even throat move in ways that are different from other languages. 

Her mother is impressed with how well the songs turned out.

"What I find really interesting, because our language has a lot of pronunciation, is how she was able to maintain the flow and tone of the song while also maintaining her use of the language," said Hughan. 

This is the first album Gray has done that is all in Haida, but while singing in English she does incorporate a few Haida words in her songs. Gray said she hopes the album will serve as inspiration for children to want to learn the language. 

The album is available on streaming platforms like iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify and Gray is putting together some physical copies for community members.