TORONTO (AP) — The lead singer and songwriter of Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip will release a new solo album with an accompanying graphic novel and animated film.

Gord Downie's latest endeavors come just weeks after the band performed its final concert after he announced earlier this year that he has terminal brain cancer.

The new project is inspired by the state-funded church schools that Canadian First Nation children were forced to attend from the 19th century until the 1970s.

Downie's "Secret Path" project tells the story of a young First Nation boy who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario.

The album and book will be released on Oct. 18 and the film will air on CBC on Oct. 23.