Alberta musician sings about residential schools

September 30, 2015. Alberta musician John Wort Hannam’s latest album, to be released Oct. 2, includes a song about residential schools. Entitled “Man of God,” it talks about his time as a school teacher on the Kainai Blackfoot reserve, tackling the legacy of residential schools, which earned the endorsement of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Hannam spent nine years on the Kainai First Nation, first as a university student and then as a high school teacher, before quitting his job to become a full-time musician in 2002. He said he wrote the chorus for “Man of God” six years ago before finally finishing it 10 months ago. He was hesitant to finish the song because he isn’t First Nations and it wasn’t his own personal experience. He rewrote the song into third person, but felt it lost its emotional appeal. He returned to the first person perspective and sent it to several Elders on the reserve to get their opinion. “They all wrote me back or called me back and said, ‘No, you nailed it. Please sing this song,’” said Hannam. Since recording “Man of God,” it has become one of the biggest hits on his new album, Love Lives On.