Fare Thee Well Wicapi Omani

Gord Downie is honored by the Assembly of First Nations for his work towards Canadian reconciliation with Indigenous peoples on Dec. 6, 2016. He died on Oct. 17 at age 53.

Gord Downie, a rock 'n' roll icon and Canadian cultural centerpiece who as his swan song took on the cause of Indigenous reconciliation, died on October 17, 2017 at age 53.

He had battled glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, since being diagnosed with the disease in late 2015.

Many know him as the singer and lyricist for the rock band The Tragically Hip, which played at Akwesasne's All In Lounge on Nov. 3, 2007 with openers The Joel Plaskett Emergency. It was the only show played at the venue, which closed shortly after. The show can be streamed or downloaded in mp3 format for free at goo.gl/3VhzC4. People can go to hipbase.com to find other free Hip bootlegs, interviews, videos and more, going back as far as 1985.

Downie along with guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay, formed The Hip in Kingston, Ontario in 1984.

He was known for his poetic lyrics deeply rooted in all things Canadian, and his on-stage animation and stream-of-consciousness stories and rants.

The band toured the world, but never really achieved the status elsewhere that they did in their home and native land.

They recorded 13 full-length albums, an EP and a live album, and released a compilation and a box set. Members of the band also have done solo works. Downie has an album set to be released Oct. 27, "Introduce Yerself." Its 23 songs are individually written for different people who were part of the singer's life.

His passing prompted tributes from fans worldwide, including an emotional public statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and fan vigils across Canada. Chez 106 played nothing but Hip songs from Oct. 18 to 22, featuring recordings of fans calling in with their personal "Tales from the Hip." One of them was Joan Szarka-Eddy of Massena (Hi Maw!), who recalled the time in August of 2000 when she saw The Hip in Bolton Valley Ski Area in Richmond, Vt. and met Downie. She was wearing a red leather jacket, which she said the singer loved and signed, and the two also connected over the different pairs of boots they were each wearing.

Downie, after learning of his diagnosis, made his last hurrah a call for Canada to reconcile the atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples through the residential school system. He gave a brief monologue at their last show in Kingston, Ontario on Aug. 20, 2016.

"We're in good hands, folks, real good hands ... he cares about the people way up north, that we were trained our entire lives to ignore, trained our entire lives to hear not a word of what's going on up there," Downie said. "And what's going on up there ain't good. It's maybe worse than it's ever been ... but we're going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help.

"Prime Minister Trudeau's got me, his work with First Nations. He's got everybody. He's going to take us where we need to go ... it's going to take us a hundred years to figure out what the hell went on up there, but it isn't cool and everybody knows that. It's really, really bad, but we're going to figure it out, you're going to figure it out."

The show was the final stop of their Man Machine Poem Tour, which they announced at the same time they told the world of Downie's illness. Go to goo.gl/vrqmYk for a look at the Aug. 18, 2016 Ottawa show.

Shortly after, he released a multimedia project called "Secret Path," which told the story of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack. The Ojibway boy died in 1966 while trying to walk from a residential school in Kenora, Ontario to his home about 400 miles away.

Downie met with Wenjack's mother, Pearl Wenjack, and received her blessing to do the project. On its heels, Downie and his brothers Mike and Patrick formed the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund.

There are three components to the initiative: Support of the Winnipeg-based National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation; education (involving the incorporation of Secret Path into school curriculums); and something Downie calls "reconcili-actions," according to an Oct. 19 story that ran in the Globe and Mail at goo.gl/suD5te.

The actions are typically funded with $5,000 micro grants and aimed at helping the lives of Indigenous people, the story said. "It's real and it's personal, and it's making a difference," Mike Downie told the Globe and Mail.

The Assembly of First Nations in December 2016 honored Downie with a Lakota name - Wicapi Omani - which means Walks Among the Stars. He was also given an eagle feather at the ceremony, a high honor, and wrapped in a star blanket. The star blanket is bestowed to demonstrate respect and admiration for an individual. It is wrapped around someone to convey protection, warmth, love and family, according to the Assembly of First Nations.

"I honour the life and work of Gord Downie, a dedicated and accomplished artist who used his profile to advance reconciliation and build support for First Nations peoples," AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde said in a statement honoring Downie shortly after his death. "Gord had the ability to reach people who might not be otherwise engaged in our issues. This was a tremendous personal effort on his part, one that illustrates his commitment to justice and his belief that every Canadian has a role to play in reconciliation.

"I will always be moved by the powerful moment last December at our Assembly when we honoured Gord for his work, and gave him the Lakota name Wicapi Omani – Walks Among the Stars. Today, he begins a new journey among the stars, but his music, his art, his work and his memory will always be with us. I convey my deepest respect and send sincere condolences to his family and his partners in music and in life."