This song was written during the pandemic as a tribute to those going through the toughest times in our lives. Dedicated to Leela's husband Darrel Mack, who is a warrior and an inspiration.

Hold On

One of the tracks on my latest album "Heart of the People"

Rescue

This is a hymn, a prayer, the word literally means “Star people” or holy people. It is a prayer for wholeness, thanks to Creator, recognition of ourselves as a continuum- ancestors who help us daily.

North Star Calling

Yake Gotine

This is a song about being there as a community, holding people up that need help.

We Are Here

I have struggled with depression in my life and have known and loved many people who have mental health challenges. I have lost friends to suicide. The suicide rate in the north is higher than in the whole world. This song is about finding your way home through darkest days. “We were born broken, though borne of love, Bearing the scars of a war we don’t speak of, Fighting our way from cradle to grave Searching for light through darkest days”

This is about letting go of how I thought my life would go. But rolling with the changes is the only way to survive and thrive and live in the sun. I originally called this song Resurgence.

Let It Roll

This is a tribute to two of my friends whose flames burned so bright, and yet they were not able to survive this life. I know we will be with them soon. Time in the spirit world is not like time here.

Space

It’s -50 in the middle of the winter in Denendeh.  In the light of the moon you can see snow glittering against the sky like diamonds. Your breath shows as you breath out- the cold would kill you. But the beauty of the northern lights, the stars, the echo of the drumbeat across the land. Calls me home from all parts touring down south and the world over. For some reason I only ever dated, and eventually married in Denendeh. The pull of my home- the beauty of the land, has always been my compass. My lover and my home- both equally powerful magnets pulling me home, into my place. Into the ancient pathways of my ancestors.  The tea dance song slowed down, layered with vox- has Dene drums in it. The drum is the heartbeat of the people.  This song is that heartbeat calling me home.

Falling Stars

This is my love song for my husband Darrel. It took us a while to find our way back to each other after we split, but that way was always clear. This is a duet with Logan Staats.

One Thing

(A song I wrote for the project celebrating resilience of Indigenous northerners- Gho-Bah (first light of dawn). Natse Ju- healing, to heal. We are healing together. This song is about the legacy of colonization and its impact on our (Indigenous) family relationships- part of what happened in residential school was the dismantling of the Indigenous family structure. This was intentional- if you take away children from their families you deprive them of the love and cultural traditional values that growing up in a loving home gives to them. This song is about some of those relationships. Part of this was inspired by the tragic deaths of Colton Boushie and Tina Fontaine.

K'eintah Natse Ju

(A song I wrote with Jadea Kelly)
Life is sometimes hard for many people. We deal with loss, death, disappointment, bleak and even life-threatening circumstances.  I have always believed in the duality of fate and choice. But sometimes things happen, or circumstances we are born into are just plain terrible. We all experience moments of terror, of despair, of staring off the edge of the void. There is strength in the power of our beliefs- our ceremonies, our relationships with the strong and complicated people in our life. We all choose to approach pain and loss in different ways. For me, one of the things that grounds me is literally the earth- the land. It is what holds me, sustains me, even in times of hardship. And when my life is done I will be returned there. This is not a song of grieving but a song of hard truths. As fast as I’m running I can find that visceral guide, cold but reassuring comfort. Bad things happen to good people and sometimes there is no reason. This is a song of acceptance, of letting go of those things.

Hard Ground

I imagined that the sound of all the people from all the nations that gather to protect the earth and the water sounds like a rolling thunder, it is so powerful. Inspired by and dedicated to the Water Protectors. Water is our most precious resource and we as humans must rally to defend it from those who would exploit it for profit, misuse and pollute it.

Rolling Thunder

Giants is a song that was written for the 2020 World Cup of Cross Country Skiing in Canmore, Alberta. It was inspired by the idea that we are strong because are connected to our ancestors, that their blood flows through our veins, and we are more powerful than we can imagine. Written and performed by Leela Gilday and Hill Kourkoutis. Produced by Hill Kourkoutis. Mastered by Phil Demetro.

Giants

Leela Gilday is a singer/songwriter from the Dene Nation in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She has a powerful and expressive voice that she uses to tell stories of the north, love, longing, loss, and being a traveler in this beautiful world. 

Leela Gilday

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