In Focus: Musician Annie Humphrey Performs For Bemidji Area Schools

Culture and music go hand in hand, and Bemidji Area Schools wanted all their students to experience it. That’s why they decided to host a special concert.

“We’re working to integrate culture into the classrooms and into the everyday lessons, so we have a culture and curriculum specialist that helping teachers integrate those things into the classroom, and then we’re trying to provide other opportunities for students to learn, says Sonia Wadena, the Indian Education Coordinator for Bemidji Area Schools.

Musician Annie Humphrey performed for Gene Dillon 4^th graders, BYLAW Program students, Bemidji Middle School students and Bemidji High School students. In total, her music reached around 1200 kids in the district.

“I’m a songwriter and I would talk to the kids about what I write about, and my songs are just myself trying to sort out my own thoughts,” says Humphrey.

Humphrey wanted to make sure that the students could connect to her music, which is why she chose her song topics very carefully. She kept it light for the younger kids, but for the older students, she expressed the importance of going deeper.

“You know, the last session with these junior and seniors, I went ahead and I threw in one about going to rehab and about a family trying to get things right again I think that, we shouldn’t, you know, if a kid’s having that issue in their home, what a relief is it to have someone else talking about it,” says Humphrey.

This was the first time Bemidji Area Schools hosted an event like this. They hope to bring more cultural programs to students that share a positive message.

Humphrey says, “I hope they take away that we are all – we’re people, you know, and we should treat one another accordingly and not be judgmental by how we look and try to understand the struggles of other people and understand that ultimately, we are all are in this world together.”