China News Service, February 22. "What I sing is the truth! We are actually walking, breathing and living on this (Indian) land."

  A few days ago, at the NBA All-Star Game held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, African-American female singer Julie Black from Canada voluntarily modified a line of the lyrics when she sang the Canadian national anthem before the game.

  Although she only changed one word, this small change has a huge meaning, full of her recognition of the aborigines living on this land.

Her move also aroused widespread concern from the outside world.

Image source: Screenshot of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report

"What I sing is the truth!"

  Originally, the Canadian national anthem "Oh!

Canada" should have started with, "Canada! Our home and native land!", but Blake changed it to "Canada! Our home on aboriginal land." native land)!", she also slightly emphasized the "on" when she sang.

  Blake said she made the slight change to the lyrics after much thought and thought.

  According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Black has said that she decided not to sing the Canadian national anthem a few years ago, after evidence of the discovery of the remains of a large number of children at the site of the former Indian boarding school continued to be exposed in Canada.

  Some 150,000 Native American children were taken from their families in the 19th and 20th centuries and placed in boarding schools funded by European colonial governments, where at least 3,200 are believed to have died, the report said.

  "It really woke things up," Blake said.

"Our home and native land is a lie, our home is built on (Indian) land is the truth."

  When Blake was asked to sing the national anthem again at the NBA All-Star Game, she decided it was time to mull over those familiar words and speak the truth.

  "What I sing is the truth! We literally walk, breathe and live on this (Indian) land," Black said.

"That's what I call brave and inspirational!"

  The fine-tuned new lyrics have attracted widespread attention from the outside world.

  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported that Blake became emotional as she recounted how a close Indigenous friend of hers reacted to her newly revised lyrics.

  "I didn't know what it really meant to him. But now I do. For every generation of Indigenous people, I just want the world to know that their lived experience matters," Black said.

  There were many who praised Blake's revised lyrics.

  "What Julie Black did was share her strength and give us a chance to be noticed," Native American Niigaan Sinclair, a professor of Aboriginal studies at the University of Manitoba, told the BBC.

  Some netizens wrote on social media Twitter, "(Changed lyrics) This is what I call bravery and inspiration!"

  Some netizens also wrote, "(Canada) House of Representatives, please push for this change, because we really live on (Indian) land."

  But some Canadians have criticized Blake for arbitrarily changing the national anthem, saying she was deliberately creating controversy.

  Frédéric Bellard, a lecturer at the University of Montreal's law school, said the change in lyrics might offend some and suggested it might "attack the symbolism behind the anthem."

Screenshot of Toronto "Sun" columnist Lori Goldstein's social media

  Toronto Sun columnist Lori Goldstein tweeted: "Canada is 'home and homeland' to anyone born in Canada, no matter when they were born."

"I can't sing the national anthem the way I used to"

  For Blake, she welcomes any comments and feedback.

"Even for people who might have a negative view of it ... it's still a conversation, so it's a win anyway," Black said.

  This isn't the first time the Canadian national anthem has been altered.

As early as 2018, the late Liberal MP Mariel Blancher proposed that the national anthem should be gender neutral and more inclusive.

  Immediately, the new lyrics of the English version of the national anthem changed "True patriot love in all thy sons command" to "True patriot love in all of us command".

  "The national anthem now includes us all," the Senate of Canada wrote in a statement at the time.

  Now, many want Black's unofficial change to be permanent.

  At least, the change is permanent for Black.

"I can't sing the national anthem the way I used to," Blake said.