Canadian R&B and soul singer Jully Black is being praised online after simply changing one word during her Canadian national anthem performance at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
Black took to centre court in Salt Lake City and quickly drew attention when she sang “O Canada! Our home on native land,” in which she paused before emphasizing the word “on,” ultimately changing the original lyrics of “our home and native land.”
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The singer-songwriter’s “minor change with major impact/meaning,” as one fan wrote online, certainly didn’t go unnoticed amid an ongoing national conversation about Indigenous rights. Following Black’s performance, the hashtag #ourhomeONnativeland began trending on Twitter.
Sounds like O Canada just got another appropriate update to the national anthem—unofficially officially—by Jully Black.
And it ain't on that 3 Tenors bullshit.#AllStarGame #OurHomeOnNativeLand https://t.co/bFIYQuqEbb
— Jordan Roca (@JRoc23) February 20, 2023
#ourhomeonnativeland 🙌🏻 as a indigenous woman, when I heard @JullyBlack swapping the national anthem for the natives I felt seen & respected🧡 thank you for this 👏🏻
— 𝘓𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶🧚♀️ (@lalouu_h) February 21, 2023
Total respect to Ms. @JullyBlack for speaking the truth. #ourhomeONnativeland 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
— Liv (she/her) 🇺🇦🌻 (@quiet_quinn) February 20, 2023
House of common, please push for this change because we are truly are on native land#ourhomeONnativeland #houseofcommon #Parliament #parliamentofcanada https://t.co/5KLgGVX9BU
— Adi .I.A. (@adi4adiele) February 21, 2023
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Black even replied to rapper Chuck D, in part tweeting, “This is less about me and more about being apart of the change in any way I can!”
Elsewhere, Black was applauded by the director of the School of Music at the University of British Columbia.
“All I can say is ‘good for Jully,’” T. Patrick Carrabré told The Washington Post. “I hope that Jully and others who are trying to sing the new Canada into being will be more successful.”
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Jay Soule, an artist who also goes by the name Chippewar, added that “seeing it being sung on a national stage is just fantastic.”
Canada’s national anthem was last changed in 2018 when its lyrics were officially updated to make them gender-neutral. At the time, “all thy sons command” was altered to “all of us command.”