Unreserved
CBC
A fearless space for Indigenous voices. Join Rosanna Deerchild every Friday for vibrant conversations with our cousins, aunties, elders, and heroes. Rosanna guides us on the path to better understanding our shared story. Together, we learn and unlearn, laugh and become gentler in all our relations. Our award-winning show is rooted in radio, where we’ve spent the last decade becoming a trusted space for Indigenous-led conversations. We are based in what is now known as Canada. Rosanna hails from O-Pipon-Na-Piwan Cree Nation at South Indian Lake in northern Manitoba, and now lives and works in Winnipeg (Treaty 1).
Shrinking sea ice and the Inuit response to a climate crisis
Along the northern coast of Labrador there are holes in the ice where Inuit could once travel freely and access the things they need to survive. A warming planet means sea ice is disappearing and Inuit are grappling with dramatic impacts on their way of life. Rosanna speaks with elders and researchers on the significance of ice in the North and how Inuit are adapting and building resiliency in the face of a climate crisis.
Feb 28, • 54:08
Creating safe spaces in unexpected places
Whether it’s inside a mall in downtown Winnipeg or on a farm beneath Toronto’s hydro lines, Indigenous helpers are creating safe community spaces that offer care, knowledge and connection. Rosanna speaks to three of these helpers who are transforming these unexpected places.
Feb 21, • 49:19
Balancing our lives with Indigenous wellness practices
Indigenous wellness experts are changing the way we think about health and beauty, challenging us to look beyond ourselves and ditch the shame. Try adding a cup of nettle tea to your day, dedicating a workout to a family member or playing a game with an elder. Rosanna speaks with three women approaching wellness in new ways, guided by Indigenous knowledge.
Feb 14, • 51:01
Forging culture, history and land into Indigenous jewellery
Have you ever heard of ammolite? It’s a rare gemstone made of fossilized ammonite shells that can be found in Canada’s Rockies. The stone is processed by lapidary artists like Bert Tallman, who cut, shape, sand and shine it up to be set in silver or gold jewellery. Rosanna speaks with jewellery makers who are creating wearable art inspired by culture, history and their traditional territories.
Feb 7, • 49:09
Harnessing the power of children’s programming
Mahsi’ choo means “thank you” in the Gwich’in language. It’s one of hundreds of Gwich’in words that are being brought into homes around the world through Molly of Denali. Rosanna speaks with creators who know the power of educational programming and are using it to share important teachings from an Indigenous perspective to the next generation.
Jan 31, • 50:30
Horses as healers
A horse’s movements can stimulate 300 of our own muscles at once, just by us sitting in a saddle. It’s one of the reasons these animals make incredible physical therapists for those with mobility challenges – but their power encompasses the emotional and spiritual parts of our health as well. Rosanna hears from two women who have built their ranches around the understanding that horses are medicine, and they’re using that healing power to help youth in their nations.
Jan 24, • 37:03
Julian Taylor’s music explores all parts of his Black and Mohawk identity
“Not Black enough to be Black, not red enough to be red,” Julian Taylor’s music hasn’t always leaned into all parts of the singer’s Black and Mohawk identity. Rosanna sits down with Julian and his lifelong friend (and drummer) to talk about race, identity and the power of friendship as they make music out of it all.
Jan 17, • 44:48
Next Generation of Climate Warriors
A big pipe shoots constant fire and thick smoke into the sky above Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario. As a child, Beze Grey thought clouds were made in their backyard because of those flares and smokestacks. A decade later and they’re part of a group of youth taking the government to court over its failure to protect the environment around them. This week Rosanna speaks with climate warriors, including Beze Grey, who are leading the next generation of action, informed by tradition and Indigeno
Jan 10, • 54:09
Bringing Community to the Screen
Canada’s Arctic was the only place the new comedy series North of North could be shot – because there’s no other way to capture the humour, culture and modernity of the people there. Rosanna speaks to four creators behind two new productions that put community at the centre of their storytelling. The documentary New Blood takes us into Blackfoot Territory and North of North gives us a glimpse of Inuit Nunangat through the fictional town of Ice Cove.
Jan 3, • 51:50
Mino-Bimaadiziwin: living the good life in 2025
How will you be bringing Mino-Bimaadiziwin into 2025? Four friends of the show gather to share gifts of poetry, song and wisdom – all to get us thinking about what it means to be “living the good life.” Whether you celebrate the solstice or a new calendar year, join Rosanna for a time of reflection, resolution and rejuvenation.
Dec 27, 2024 • 49:52
Northern lights are our night sky guides
In Cree they are called wawataywin. In Inuktitut, atsaniq and in the Dene language, the northern lights are called ya’ke ngas. But don’t whistle at them, or you might attract unwanted attention out in the wilderness! Rosanna speaks with Indigenous people who are encouraging others to look at the Northern lights with a new perspective taking in lessons that have been passed down through generations.
Dec 18, 2024 • 49:32
Hockey – as healing, history and hope
In many Indigenous communities hockey is a BIG deal! It teaches teamwork, leadership, and brings together family and fans. This week Rosanna speaks with Indigenous hockey fanatics and learns that the game has also been a beacon of healing and hope.
Dec 13, 2024 • 50:02
Letters to my Sarah
The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair started writing letters to his granddaughter shortly after she was born. They are filled with lessons and love, and now they’re being shared with a nation. This week Rosanna explores the legacy of a great Indigenous leader, guided by his granddaughter, Sarah Fontaine-Sinclair.
Dec 6, 2024 • 54:09
Unmapped: Alberta
Áísínai'pi (where the pictures are) holds more than 200 petroglyphs and pictographs that tell the story of the Blackfoot in southern Alberta. They help tell a different story of a province known for its hikes, ski slopes and dinosaur bones. This week Rosanna heads to Alberta to explore popular tourist destinations through an Indigenous lens. From the Rockies to the Badlands, take the road less traveled with our Indigenous guides.
Nov 29, 2024 • 54:09
Sacred Seven: Turtle’s teachings of truth
We live on the back of a great turtle, according to the stories of many nations. The turtle represents the teaching of truth, and is a healer of the land and waters. This week Rosanna speaks with turtle protectors and land defenders who are safeguarding our shell-dwelling friends, and passing on their stories and songs.
Nov 22, 2024 • 50:00
Igniting the Indigenous Vote in America
From Arizona to Alaska, the Indigenous vote is the sleeping giant. The U.S. presidential election is over for another term, and activists say the results could have been drastically different if more Native Americans showed up to vote. This week Rosanna sits down with three voter rights activists and organizers to talk about the power of the Indigenous vote and what it will take to harness it.
Nov 15, 2024 • 54:09
Finding new and meaningful ways to honour our veterans
In one of Canada’s oldest and largest cemeteries, clerks get multiple calls a day from people looking for loved ones. This week Rosanna takes us on a personal journey to Brookside Cemetery, in search of her grandfather Stanley McLeod. Along the way we learn how others are finding new and meaningful ways to honour our veterans and mark Remembrance Day.
Nov 8, 2024 • 54:08
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Remembering Murray Sinclair and his mission to "change one mind"
Mazina Giizhik (the One Who Speaks of Pictures in the Sky) — also known as Murray Sinclair — made his journey to his ancestors yesterday. His death has Rosanna reflecting on a very special visit to his family home in September 2021, recorded in the lead up to the first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Join us for a revealing, poignant and emotional conversation with Sinclair, Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge, a former senator, lead commissioner
Nov 5, 2024 • 50:12
Ray St Germain: the man, the music and the proud Metis
Ray and Glory St. Germain are the co-authors of a 50-year love story. This week Glory joins Rosanna for an intimate conversation about the legacy of Ray St. Germain, all of which was driven by his love of music and love of family. Ray St Germain started out as a country and rockabilly musician in the 50s, sharing the stage with the likes of Johnny Cash and Kenny Rogers. At a time when many Metis people kept their identities quiet, Ray was loud and proud of being Metis -- and he wasn't afraid to
Nov 1, 2024 • 54:44
Indigenous writers bring new narratives to the horror genre
Scary stories are meant to freak you out, but they also share important truths about our lives and our planet. Rosanna catches up with three Indigenous horror writers who are bringing new narratives to the genre, from films to poems.
Oct 25, 2024 • 50:53
Sacred Seven: Respecting and restoring our buffalo relatives
The buffalo teaches us about respect, but those teachings come with a responsibility to support these animals and bring them back to their traditional lands. Rosanna travels to Blackfoot territory to meet people who are raising buffalo and buffalo consciousness – educating others on the ecological, biological and spiritual importance of this sacred creature. It’s also a time of celebration as an agreement between nearly 70 Nations – the Buffalo Treaty – turns 10 years old.
Oct 18, 2024 • 54:09
Healing 150 years of healthcare harm
Medical experiments, forced sterilization, incidents of racism that lead to patient deaths – these are just a few of the historic and ongoing harms against Indigenous people in hospitals across Canada. The Canadian Medical Association has acknowledged and apologized for it, but what comes next? Rosanna speaks with three leaders in the medical field about the way forward.
Oct 11, 2024 • 52:29
Turning the page on the fantasy genre
The fantasy genre often features magical worlds ruled by kings and conquerors with no mention of Indigenous people or of the harms of colonization. This week Rosanna speaks with Indigenous creators who are changing the narrative of fantasy from novels to comics and even board games.
Oct 4, 2024 • 49:42
NDTR: Sharing a way forward
The road to reconciliation is filled with bumps and turns along the way. This week, as Canada recognizes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Rosanna speaks with three women who’s journeys are helping to show us a way forward.
Sep 27, 2024 • 54:09
Indigenous influence on the punk music scene
The sweat lodge had a lot in common with sweaty punk rock shows for Gabe Colhoff, the singer of 1876. This week Rosanna speaks with punks about the long history of Indigenous influence on the scene, from fashion to lyrics to pow wow.
Sep 20, 2024 • 56:48
Star Wars Anangong Miigaading: A new hope for language revitalization
It took a little creativity to find the Ojibway words for a sci-fi glossary fit for Star Wars, but concepts like "The Force" and "The Resistance" are familiar concepts to Indigenous people. It made Star Wars: A New Hope a rewarding challenge to dub into Anishinaabemowin. Rosanna speaks with the actors who brought the words to life, and the translators who are passing language to the next generation. Plus, we step into the triology and hear how Padme Amidala looks with a little Choctaw flare.
Sep 13, 2024 • 54:09
Sacred Seven: Eagle guides us with Love
After 50 years on the endangered species list, the eagle is making a comeback in Canada’s largest city. It’s one of the things we’re celebrating as we explore what the eagle can teach us about our health, our environment and our spirit. This week Rosanna takes us into our first episode of Sacred Seven – a new occasional series that explores the seven sacred teachings and introduces us to Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and community members who are putting those teachings into action.
Sep 6, 2024 • 54:09
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How Inuit women brought birthwork home (via The Current)
Somebody had to refuse to get on the plane. For decades, Inuit women in northern Quebec had to travel south, far from family and community support, to give birth. But then one mother’s act of defiance ultimately shifted maternal care in the north. In a bonus episode from our friends at The Current, Duncan McCue shares the history that led to the creation of the North’s first midwifery clinic in 1986. His documentary, originally released last fall, is called Hands of a Midwife. For more
Aug 30, 2024 • 28:50
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The future we want has already existed (via IDEAS)
Jesse Wente’s great grandparents weren’t futurists, but they knew their traditional way of life was ending, and they had a long-term survival plan. We’re talking seven generations long.In this special bonus episode from IDEAS, the author and arts world changemaker explains how the Anishinaabe conception of time might help us all prepare for the end of the world as we know it. "We are, after all, post-apocalyptic. Our world ended, and we survived, and we’re still here.”If you want more mind-expan
Aug 23, 2024 • 54:41
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Treaty 6 and the double-dipping translator (via Secret Life of Canada)
It’s one of the most thoroughly documented treaties in Canadian history, but the true story of Treaty 6 was deliberately lost in translation. Today, our friends at The Secret Life of Canada tell us a tale of deception, broken promises, and Canada’s largest mass hanging. In this special bonus episode — co-hosted by Falen Johnson and Leah-Simone Bowen, featuring Kyle Muzyka — we learn how the Dominion of Canada took control of a land mass roughly the size of Poland. For more hidden histo
Aug 16, 2024 • 57:30
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Meet the ‘Turonno boy’ behind Bear of ‘Rez Dogs’ fame (via Actors & Ancestors)
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai beat out a lot of people for his leading role in Reservation Dogs — including his own twin brother! — but the newly Emmy-nominated actor says he’s still humbled on the rez. We think you’ll love his raw and funny interview on Actors & Ancestors, which we’re dropping as a bonus in our podcast feed today. This podcast, hosted by Rocky Cree actor Joel D. Montgrand, brings us behind-the-scenes with the hottest Indigenous stars as well as elders of stage and screen. They
Aug 9, 2024 • 57:01
BONUS EPISODE: Our award-winnining episode on Two-Spirit Artivists
Rosanna pops into your summer feed to tell you about the Indigenous Media Awards that were handed out in July. Unreserved is honoured to receive three awards -- and we're dropping one of those award-winning episodes today: Two-Spirit Artivitsts Share Two Ways of Seeing the World. Unreserved will be back with all new shows Sept. 6, 2024.
Aug 2, 2024 • 49:22
Unreserved live: 10 year anniversary show
Unreserved turns 10 (that's like 100 in rez dog years). Join Rosanna for a special live taping for our ten year anniversary celebration recorded at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg.
Jun 21, 2024 • 1:06:32
Our recommendations on how to celebrate NIPD all summer long
Podcasts, movies, books, Pride events and some favourite summer ingredients -- your summer lists just got Indigenous! We gathered some friends to put together a list of recommendations that will help us all celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day and keep it going all summer long. It already has Rosanna on to a couple new podcasts. We hope it inspires you too!
Jun 13, 2024 • 51:15
Bonus: Connie Walker joins Kathleen Goldhar on Crime Story to discuss her new podcast
Every week, Crime Story host and investigative journalist Kathleen Goldhar goes deep into a tale of true crime with the storyteller who knows it best. In this special episode of Crime Story, Connie Walker joins Kathleen to discuss the new season of her Pulitzer Prize winning podcast Stolen: Trouble in Sweetwater that investigates a crisis of policing on America’s largest reservation. Connie investigates the disappearance of two women on the Navajo Nation, a place where people say you can ge
Jun 12, 2024 • 51:50
Radiodays (live): Raising Our Voices
From a time when skidoos helped deliver important radio messages to today’s ever-evolving content in the podcast world, we hear from three experts on what it takes to claim space and share our stories. Recorded live at Radiodays North America, Rosanna is joined by Shawn Spruce, the host of Native America Calling, David McLeod – CEO of NCI-FM, and Shayla Oulette Stonechild who is founder and host of the Matriarch Movement podcast.
Jun 7, 2024 • 49:45
The power of the paddle
Grab your paddles and hop in our canoe as we learn how canoeing does more than bring us closer to nature. This week Rosanna takes us on a journey across Turtle Island to learn how the canoe connects us to our past and carries knowledge into the future.The sights and sounds of the river can teach language and culture and heal intergenerational trauma. This week Rosanna speaks with paddlers and paddling enthusiasts about how canoes are more than objects for transportation, they carry stories and o
May 31, 2024 • 44:49
Intersections
Drawing from nimîipuu and Nigerian traditions, beadwork is one way for Afro-Indigenous artist Mikailah Thompson to express her identity. She's one of the people speaking with Rosanna this week about living and creating at the intersections, where multiple cultures, practices and traditions meet.
May 24, 2024 • 50:26
Honouring our mothers and the generations of knowledge they carry
A moss bag is a traditional way of carrying our babies, sometimes called a baby’s second teacher. The first is their mom. Our women hold important knowledge and this week Rosanna speaks with three warriors who are reclaiming traditional parenting ways.From caring for mothers through trauma using tipi teachings to using story to inspire parents to raise little warriors and passing on Inuvialuit culture. These Indigenous women are holding up those who hold up our worlds - Happy mothers day.
May 10, 2024 • 54:09
Decolonizing the classroom
No more pencils, no more books - we’re taking a break from the classroom to learn about the land, each other and our cultures. This week Rosanna speaks with Indigenous educators about decolonizing the classroom. From curriculum bundles that help Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers incorporate traditional knowledge in their classrooms to communities looking to re-write curriculum completely, Indigenous approaches are changing the way we teach and learn.
May 3, 2024 • 49:55
Hockey – as healing, history and hope
Canada’s beloved game has a well-known dark side: a racist, sexist, toxic culture. But Indigenous lovers of the game are using the power of hockey for positive change, making the ice a space for healing, inclusion, and a ton of fun. This episode shares their stories, from elite players to amateur hockey organizers to fans, and explores how and why they use hockey to change lives. And along the way, celebrate that Indigenous people rock at hockey!
Apr 26, 2024 • 49:59
Reclaiming Inuit Throat Singing
Join us in studio where Inuit throat singers share songs and the stories behind their rhythmic patterns and sounds. This week Rosanna speaks with four Inuit throat singers who are reclaiming this almost lost tradition. For nearly a century, Christian missionaries in the north banned the practice as part of government and church efforts to assimilate Inuit. This is a show about survival and reclamation.
Apr 19, 2024 • 45:47
Unmapped: Niagara Falls
This week we’re taking you to Niagara Falls for the second installment of our occasional series Unmapped. Rosanna is unmapping Niagara Falls, aka Onguiaahra – from the Haudenosaunee contributions to the War of 1812 to the Tuscarora women keeping their culture and traditions alive through beading, there is much more to know beyond the iconic waterfall.
Apr 12, 2024 • 51:05
Indigenous Data Sovereignty
Data tells a story, and that’s why survivors of the notorious Mohawk Institute – Canada’s longest running residential school – are reclaiming data and sharing their truths. This week Rosanna speaks with Indigenous people who are reclaiming data to better understand the past and build towards the future. From traditional knowledge passed down through oral storytelling to the records kept by governments and institutions, data is power. Keeping that power in Indigenous hands is data sovereignty.
Mar 29, 2024 • 54:09
Dancing to our own beat
What can, or should, we do with pieces of the past, such as audio recordings of our ancestors? They can inspire art and action but there are also protocols around how these things are shared. This week Rosanna talks with artists who are combining lessons of the past with their own artistic flare and passing it on to the next generation.
Mar 22, 2024 • 49:06
Indigenous playwrights take centre stage
“Humour is the WD40 of healing.” Indigenous playwrights are telling stories their own way – and it includes a lot of laughter! This week Rosanna explores what’s behind a shift in the theatre world that has Indigenous playwrights showing works on about a dozen of the biggest stages in Canada. They’re moving away from the early years of tackling mostly heavy subjects to telling stories that can be playful, unique, dark and funny.
Mar 15, 2024 • 54:08
Dance revolution
Resistance and rebellion run deep in the history of dance in Indigenous communities. Margaret Grenier’s Gitxsan grandmother hid family items in her walls to protect important dance traditions from destruction. This week Rosanna speaks with dancers and choreographers about how they are reviving, restoring and re-imagining the art of dance.
Mar 8, 2024 • 50:04
Food and memory
For many Indigenous people, food memories are intricately tied to family, community and culture. Meet three Indigenous chefs who are using their food knowledge to transport people to the past and inspire Indigenous menus of the future.
Feb 23, 2024 • 1:00:13
Claiming space in the Great Outdoors
Join us as we check out some birds, hit the halfpipe and prepare for the sugar bush. You'll hear how Indigenous nature enthusiasts are empowering others to get outside and claim space in the Great Outdoors.
Feb 16, 2024 • 51:20
2SLGBTQ+ Love Songs
There are a lot of love stories out there, but not everyone can see themselves in them. This week we hear from Trans, Queer and Two Spirit artists on how they’re pushing against heteronormative narratives in today’s love stories and love songs. So everyone can see - and hear - themselves in love.
Feb 9, 2024 • 53:58
Gentle book, giant impact: 10 years of Braiding Sweetgrass
It was an invitation to reconnect with the land, but Robin Wall Kimmerer's bestselling book ended up being more of a call to action. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is now ten years old. Robin tells us how her humble book of essays spread like seeds in the wind around the world, selling more than 1.6 million copies in the US alone. We also hear from readers and friends who were inspired by the book and took action in their own lives to ch
Feb 2, 2024 • 51:31
Unmapped: NYC
We're headed to New York, baby! This episode is part of a travel series from Unreserved called Unmapped. The series invites us to look for the Indigenous presence in some of the most iconic travel destinations around the world. Meet the people who are nurturing community and raising the visibility of Indigenous pasts, presents and futures.
Jan 26, 2024 • 54:08
Daring to be different as Indigenous entrepreneurs
Many Indigenous entrepreneurs start their own businesses to fill a void that the mainstream is missing -- because they want to create businesses that were better aligned with their values and the values of their communities. From coffee to tech to cosmetics, we hear from entrepreneurs who dared to do things differently. The result is business success - and mainstream industries are starting to take notice.
Jan 19, 2024 • 54:09
Blast from the past
This we go back, waaaaaay back to our second episode ever as a national show. Unreserved turns 10 this year and we’re celebrating how far we’ve come and getting excited about the journey ahead. This episode features 2014 throwbacks to award-winning Cree journalist Connie Walker, Kagagi superhero creator Jay Odjick, Winnipeg visual artist Casey Adams, science educator Wildfred Buck, and -- since we're talking about stars -- we decided to throw in one of our all-time favourite interviews with astr
Jan 12, 2024 • 46:34
Songs and Stories for the Holidays
This week, ‘tis the season for traditions and gathering around songs and stories. Indigenous people love a good story! Especially during the long cold nights of winter. For Anishinabeg and Gwich'in Knowledge Keeper Jack Hoggarth, sharing traditional stories like those of the Anishinaabe spirit Waynaboozhoo is a connection to our ancestors. Community, friends and families would come together to tell these tales, passing them down through generations and creating winter-time traditions that con
Dec 22, 2023 • 47:52
A light in the darkness
From Solstice ceremonies to Siqinnaaiut, we share stories that lead us to light out of the dark days of winter. The winter solstice will soon be upon us. That means shorter days and longer nights. Many Indigenous Nations take this time to slow down and acknowledge a new season. For Sarah Sunshine Manning - it means decolonizing the calendar - starting with Christmas. Sarah and her family stopped celebrating Christmas a few years ago and started celebrating Solstice. Sarah is a Shoshone-Paiute w
Dec 15, 2023 • 49:47
Two-Spirit artivists share two ways of seeing the world
ʔasqanaki is a Ktunaxa word that means to tell two versions of the same story. It’s also the name of a new podcast that shares this traditional world view. Host, Smokii Sumac - Ktunaxa and transmasculine poet - speaks with Indigenous storytellers and creators. They talk on topics ranging from representation to sexuality; from language learning to aunties teaching. After learning to see himself in a new way Smokii Sumac hopes to help others look at the world differently through ʔasqanaki. She’s
Dec 8, 2023 • 46:11
Healing After Harm: The Buffy Sainte-Marie Investigation
A month has passed since the investigation into Buffy Sainte-Marie rocked the Indigenous community. The CBC’s Fifth Estate aired the investigative documentary on Friday, October 27th. It cast doubts about the iconic musicians Indigenous identity. In the end the report labeled her a “Pretendian," the term used to describe people whose claims of Indigenous identity have been found false or built on distant family lineage. The report was a bombshell and it hit the Indigenous community hard. Those w
Dec 1, 2023 • 54:09
The Root of it
This week, we chef up some Indigenous cuisine! Share in the spirit – and the science – of cooking with pre-contact ingredients. Unreserved associate producer Aicha Smith-Belghaba also happens to be a chef and it didn’t take us long to see her passion for Indigenous foods. Join us in the kitchen for our first cooking video, as Aicha cooks up decolonial dishes. On the menu: Sweetgrass Tea, Lyed Corn Berry Parfait and Sister Salmon Cannelloni. While Aicha and I chef it up, she’ll introduce u
Nov 24, 2023 • 54:09
Waubgeshig Rice live in Toronto
When the apocalypse hits – the best place to be might be the rez! This week, a special presentation of Unreserved: A live studio interview with Anishinaabe author and journalist Waubgeshig Rice on his latest novel, Moon of The Turning Leaves, recorded at the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon in the Toronto Public Library on October 18, 2023. Waubgeshig Rice takes us back into a world he first dreamed up after his own "end of days" moment: A world that fell into chaos after the lights went out but where
Nov 17, 2023 • 49:04
Honouring our Indigenous Veterans
From museums and monuments to letters and laughs shared around the dinner table, Indigenous veterans are being remembered across Turtle Island. Take a walk with us through the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where Canada’s military history is told. Indigenous Military Historian Danielle Teillet is our guide. She tells us why so many chose to fight, what they were fighting for and recounts some of the common experiences she's heard from Indigenous veterans. Then we head to Labrador where Heather
Nov 10, 2023 • 50:49
Two books, forty years of resistance
This week, In Search of April Raintree celebrates 40 years and a new essay collection traces 40 years of history of Indigenous resistance in Winnipeg. In 1983 Beatrice Mosionier wrote a book about two sisters - separated by the child welfare system; one embraces her Métis identity, the other tries to leave it behind. Much of their journey mirrored Beatrice’s own life. She reflects on how she drew on those memories and how the book inspired a generation of storytellers. Forty years later - her s
Nov 3, 2023 • 50:19
Two films about tomorrow
Jules Koostachin is a Cree filmmaker from Attawapiskat First Nation. Her new documentary WaaPaKe explores how children of Residential School Survivors “survive the survivor.” Her mother, Rita Okimawininew is a residential school survivor and is at the heart of the film documentary and the heart of Jules’ own story– because so much of her mother’s story has influenced her own. It’s a part of the legacy of Residential Schools but one that is still finding its voice. Let The River Flow is a histo
Oct 20, 2023 • 46:43
The Returning of Names
As Indigenous people our connection to the land is at the core of who we are. Every river, lake and piece of land had a name and a story. It might tell us what the land looked like, who lived there or whether the area had good hunting and fishing ground; stories handed down and remembered. Since early contact, our lands have been renamed by Canada’s settlers. Many of our traditional place names were erased and replaced. Some names were derogatory like Killsquaw Lake in Saskatchewan. Other names
Oct 13, 2023 • 54:09
The Little Bird Story of the 60s Scoop
During the “Sixties Scoop” thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families. These children were forced into the child welfare system and often placed in non-Indigenous homes. The exact number of children taken, of families torn apart, varies – it’s estimated that over 20,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were removed during the Scoop. But many still don’t know this story. Enter: Little Bird. Little Bird is the first television series to explore the Sixties Scoop. It is
Oct 6, 2023 • 54:09
Phyllis Webstad and her orange shirt
It's Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. September 30th is a day to talk about the effects of Residential Schools; about the trauma that continues to ripple across Turtle Island. It’s a day that honors the experiences of Indigenous survivors, celebrates our resilience and affirms a now familiar phrase: every child matters. It started with an orange shirt. Taken from a little girl in residential school. Every year on September 30 that little girl tells her story
Sep 29, 2023 • 45:30
Music That Carries Truth
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity for Canadians to listen to the wisdom coming from Indigenous communities: to learn and unlearn our shared story. Music is a powerful way to share it.Music That Carries Truth was recorded live at CBC Manitoba Studio 11 and features music and conversation with Nadia and Jason Burnstick (Burnstick) and Sebastian Gaskin.It’s folk music that brims with the kind of chemistry that could only come from a husband and wife. Nadia, a Francopho
Sep 29, 2023 • 54:09
Coming Home
This week, we learn how history, culture and science can all play a role in bringing people home. For decades, policies like the Sixties Scoop saw thousands of children fostered or adopted out to non-Indigenous families. Now, thanks to DNA detectives, resilience research and mapping projects Indigenous adoptees are finding their way home. You might remember Dean Lerat from last season. He’s an RCMP officer by day and DNA Detective by night. Dean helps people in his community find the families t
Sep 22, 2023 • 46:17
Cafe Daughter: The Honourable Dr. Lillian Dyck
Cafè Daughter is a movie inspired by the life of a little girl with a secret that would drive her passion for science, advocacy, and ultimately lead her back home. At 78 years old the Honourable Dr. Lillian Eva Dyck is a former Canadian Senator, a highly respected neuroscientist, and a champion of Indigenous rights. Born in 1945 to a Chinese father and a Cree mother, Lillian grew up in small-town Saskatchewan working at her family's cafè. As a residential school survivor, her mother Eva was taug
Sep 14, 2023 • 54:09
Search the Landfill
This week, a powerful season opener featuring a daughter leading a resistance with a call to Search The Landfill. Cambria Harris is the daughter of Morgan Harris, one of four Indigenous women who Winnipeg police say was murdered by the same man. Morgan is believed to be buried in the Prairie Green Landfill, along with a second woman Marcedes Myron. Police were led to a serial killer after the remains of Rebecca Contois were discovered in a city garbage bin and at the Brady Landfill. The remain
Sep 8, 2023 • 54:08
Star people
Nicole Mann and NASA made history this past October when Mann became the first Indigenous woman in space. A member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Nicole rocketed into orbit 20 years after Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington became the first Indigenous person in space. She spent 157 days on the International Space Station as the mission commander and conducted research and experiments to prepare for explorations to the moon and Mars. Wilfred Buck is a star Knowledge Keeper f
Jun 23, 2023 • 52:16
The art of the mash-up
This week, we speak with two Indigenous artists who mash-up traditional with contemporary as a way to carry on culture Joshua De Perry, a member of Long Lake 58 First Nation, is a fancy dancer who you might see strutting his traditional style at a pow wow. But he’s just as comfortable on a dance floor break-dancing to the beat of his own music. Also known as Classic Roots, the music producer and DJ blends pow wow and electronic music to create pow wow techno. And that’s not his only mash-up. Du
Jun 16, 2023 • 47:39
An "Indspired" episode
We're celebrating four Indspire Award recipients who create, educate, and inspire The Indspire Awards represent the highest honour the Indigenous community bestows upon its own people. Every year, a dozen First Nation, Metis and Inuit people are chosen for their outstanding achievements across Turtle Island and beyond. Nations Skate Youth is where Joe Buffalo and his team teach kids to skate, as a way to empower, inspire and instill pride. Joe is a legend in the skate community. Not just for h
Jun 9, 2023 • 54:09
Good medicine from two top Indigenous medical professionals
Two Indigenous health care professionals; two leaders in their field. They talk about the challenges and the opportunities to fix a broken healthcare system that too often harms Indigenous people. Dr. Alika Lafontaine says Indigenous people are starting to take their place in institutions like the medical field. He would know, he’s done it as the first Indigenous physician to head the Canadian Medical Association - the largest advocacy group for Canadian doctors. Dr. Lafontaine, who is Oji-Cr
Jun 2, 2023 • 49:38
A new era of archaeology
Archeology that reconnects the past, present and future of Indigenous history Archaeology has always studied Indigenous history without us. It was something that was done to, instead of with Indigenous peoples. But a growing number of Indigenous archaeologists are pushing back against the colonial boundaries of the field. Cree/Metis archeologist, Paulette Steeves makes the case that Indigenous peoples have lived on Turtle Island a lot longer than previously thought. The Canada Research Chair i
May 19, 2023 • 54:09
5 rising musicians share their songs and success
Today, the beautiful resistance of Indigenous music makers carrying powerful messages Digging Roots is Raven Kanatakta and Shoshona Kish. The blues/folk/soul duo just won a JUNO Award for their latest album Zhawenim. Their fourth studio album takes inspiration from skylines and mountain ranges; something the couple call Anishinabek Songlines, an ancient way of creating music. Rising star Aysanabee also got to shine on Canada’s JUNO stage this year. The singer/songwriter from Sandy Lake Firs
May 12, 2023 • 51:57
Celebrating Indigenous Drag Kings and Queens
You never know what you’ll find when you walk into Sunshine House. There could be people singing karaoke or making get well cards for a friend. This resource centre in Winnipeg’s centennial neighbourhood provides harm reduction supplies, a cup of coffee and community. In the center of this community: Drag. Feather Wolfe and Davey Francis Kole are the heart and soul of Sunshine House – and two of the Queens behind the Like That drop-in program, primarily focused on the LGBTQ2S+ community and invi
May 5, 2023 • 54:09
Decolonizing our colleges and universities
This week on Unreserved we explore what it takes to decolonize our colleges and universities. Amanda Tachine is Diné from Ganado, Arizona. She is an assistant professor at Arizona State University and the author of Native Presence and Sovereignty in College: Weapons to defeat systemic monsters. She tells us how her students are taking on settler colonialism and finding power in kinship and love. And we don't know where we're going unless we know where we come from. Harvey McCue tells us how he
Apr 28, 2023 • 54:09
Water is sacred
For Indigenous people water is more than just hydration. Water is alive and holds a spirit. Water is life. Stephanie Thorassie advocates for the Seal River Watershed, a pristine region in northern Manitoba, about 200 km west of Churchill. It is a vast area central to the Sayisi Dene people, who have served as its guardians for millenia. As the executive director of the Seal River Watershed Alliance Stephanie leads a partnership of four First Nations pushing to have the area designated an Indi
Apr 21, 2023 • 54:09
Preserving, protecting and passing on Indigenous growing practices
Indigenous agricultural practices kept our ancestors alive for millenia. They not only fed their own communities but also taught settlers how to grow food across this vast territory. Indigenous people, like Cree-Métis Winnipegger Audrey Logan, keep that tradition alive and growing! Audrey’s whole life revolves around growing food. It has to. We tour Spirit Park, a community garden she helped create, in the West Broadway neighbourhood where she shares her journey from being depressed, overweigh
Apr 14, 2023 • 47:23
Duncan McCue: Award-winning storyteller and changemaker
He is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, professor, and author. After 25 years at CBC,the Anishinaabe storyteller is moving on from the public broadcaster and on to a new stage. Duncan began his career at the CBC as a reporter in Vancouver in 1998. These days, he’s the host of Helluvastory on CBC Radio One and the podcast Kuper Island, an 8-part series about the notorious Residential School by the same name. Many know him from the years he hosted Cross Country Checkup. He’s also the au
Apr 7, 2023 • 54:09
Community Heroes
By day, he’s a police officer; by night, a DNA detective. Dean Lerat is an RCMP Staff Sergeant at Fort Qu’appelle, Saskatchewan. But when he’s not on duty, he helps Sixties Scoop survivors find their families, using DNA testing kits, ancestry websites, public documents and other resources. It all started with a curiosity about his own family tree and history. Up until two years ago, youth in Kinngait, Nunavut didn’t have much to do. The Inuit hamlet of about 1400 people had zero hockey games, a
Mar 31, 2023 • 49:22
Blazing a trail on the catwalk and beyond
Sage Paul grew up watching the women in her life sew, bead and craft. She turned these skills into a career, and has been dreaming and designing clothes for over a decade. But clothes aren’t the only things she wants to create. As the executive and artistic director of Indigenous Fashion Arts, Sage also creates opportunities for other Indigenous designers to find success in the fashion industry. This past February, the Dene designer and artist led a delegation all the way to Milan Fashion Week.
Mar 24, 2023 • 48:54
Moving through grief with How to Lose Everything
When it comes to loss and moving gracefully through grief, Christa Couture knows a thing or two. The multi-talented writer, singer and now filmmaker has lived through more than her fair share of loss. At 11 years old, she received a cancer diagnosis. She lost her first son when he was just a day old due to complications during childbirth. Her second son died at 14 months old due to complications with his heart. Soon after, her marriage ended. And just as some new beginnings emerged, cancer retu
Mar 17, 2023 • 50:19
Copycats and copyrights of Indigenous art
It was a crime that shook the art world. One hundred million dollars in suspected forgeries, over 1000 more fakes seized and 8 arrests in a far-reaching forgery ring of renowned Ojibwa artist Norval Morrisseau’s work. Police call it one of the largest art fraud schemes in history. But it's not just Morrisseau who has faced fakes and forgeries. Indigenous art makers and supporters all across Turtle Island say it is rampant and the cost is not just their livelihood – it is their culture. Indige
Mar 10, 2023 • 44:11
Using music to tell Indigenous stories
Justin Delorme is Métis and an award-winning composer who has scored hundreds of television episodes like the true-crime series Taken, films like Finality of Dusk, and documentaries – including Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On. At just 29 years-old his career is only getting started. Raven Chacon is a Diné composer from the Navajo Nation. In 2022, he became the first Native American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his piece Voiceless Mass. The piece debuted in the Cathedral of St
Mar 3, 2023 • 51:09
Got Land Back
Got land you want to give back? That may be harder than you think. Even when a group or individual is ready and willing to give land back to First Nations, there is no system in place to make this happen easily. Still, those who believe in land back are making it happen. SISCENEM, formerly Halibut Island, is a small island in the Salish Sea. When it went up for sale, Tara Martin, professor in conservation science in the department of Forest and Conservation sciences at UBC, wanted to return the
Feb 24, 2023 • 54:09
Tackling the Crisis of MMIWG2S+
From the people searching on the frontlines, to those who hold Canadians to account and the women who know the solutions, we find power and place amidst the national crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2Spirit people. Winnipeg’s North Point Douglas Women’s Resource Centre is the home of the Mama Bear Clan. The volunteer patrol walks three times a week in this neighbourhood, the poorest in Winnipeg and where many of the city’s most vulnerable have few places to get warm an
Feb 10, 2023 • 54:09
Calling back the salmon
Three Indigenous nations along the Pacific coast of Turtle Island are working tirelessly to save the salmon because salmon is an integral part of who they are - spiritually, culturally, socially and economically. Brook Thompson is a member of the Yurok and Kurok tribes in Northern California. She is a restoration engineer working to restore the Klamath River. In November 2022, her people successfully won a legal battle to have four dams removed from the Klamath River to help restore decimated s
Feb 3, 2023 • 50:15
How Indigenous people are strengthening fur traditions in an anti-fur world
Fur has become a fashion faux pas in some circles. Aggressive anti-fur campaigns with graphic images and slogans have made furs, feathers and hides increasingly unpopular in popular culture. Animal rights groups say fur farms are cruel, wild animals are trapped inhumanely, and fur just isn’t necessary. It has brought international attention to a move to ban it all together. But for these Indigenous trappers and artisans who use fur, it’s a way of life: Since 1971, the Manitoba Trappers Associa
Jan 27, 2023 • 48:24
How Indigenous yogis and meditators are adapting and reclaiming 'wellness'
This episode of Unreserved shines a light on Indigenous people who are culturally-adapting and reclaiming wellness practices. Michael Yellow Bird, is a citizen of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota and he is the dean of the faculty of social work at the University of Manitoba. He’s been practicing mindfulness for decades and he researches the effects of Indigenous ceremony and mindfulness on the brain. He says mindfulness can decolonize the brain. Smudging - burning herbs like sage -
Jan 13, 2023 • 50:13
Land Back
Indigenous lands back into Indigenous hands: that is the aim of the Landback movement. In Gillam, Manitoba, treaty promises clash with hydro development. As the people of Fox Lake Cree Nation continue to push for land from the government, leaders like Conway Arthurson try to find middle ground with an industry that has historically tried to push them out. In the 1960s, Manitoba Hydro moved into this area - building dams and flooding the land that once held the people of Fox Lake. Arthurson has
Jan 6, 2023 • 54:09
Bringing birth back into Indigenous communities
For thousands of years and up until a few generations ago, Indigenous babies were born on the land. They were born in their communities, surrounded by culture, with the help of expert birth workers – women who knew just what to do when the water broke. Colonization and the western medical system nearly destroyed Indigenous birthing traditions, but people like Ellen Blais are bringing birth home. Ellen is from the Oneida Nation of the Thames. She’s a trained midwife and currently serves as the
Dec 16, 2022 • 50:09
Indigi-Gifts
Unreserved is getting in the festive mood with an episode about gifts — material items you can give to family and friends, as well as the intangible gifts of community and culture. We take a tour of an Indigenous-led market in Ottawa that doesn't accept money — and instead is going back to old ways of trading and exchanging. The marketplace is run by the Assembly of Seven Generations. Co-founder Gabrielle Fayant and A7G volunteer Madeleine Kelly reflect on what makes this market such a gift for
Dec 9, 2022 • 43:45
How the Labrador Innu are picking up the pieces of the past to build a new future
Davis Inlet is on an island on the north coast of Labrador. But no one has lived there for 20 years. In the early 1990s, video of children sniffing gas in a cold shack made headlines, forcing the government to relocate the Innu to Natuashish. Davis Inlet will soon be decommissioned and the people who once called this place home must decide what story they will tell their children. This past summer, Innu Nation Deputy Grand Chief Mary Ann Nui invited CBC reporter John Gaudi to return to Davis Inl
Dec 2, 2022 • 43:22
A decade of Idle No More
In November 2012, a remarkable movement began. Indigenous people across Canada pledged that they’d be Idle No More. It was in response to proposed legislation that many believed would take the relationship between Indigenous people and Canada backwards. Bill C-45 would affect the Indian Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act and the Environmental Protection Act. Thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people took action. They used teach-ins, flash mob round dances and rallies to try and st
Nov 25, 2022 • 49:56
Decolonizing the sky
This week on Unreserved, Indigenous people who are decolonizing the sky! Pilot and entrepreneur Teara Fraser’s entire career has been about the sky. The Métis woman began as a pilot. Then she started an aerial photography company. But it wasn’t long before she aimed even higher, by being the first Indigenous woman to launch an airline in Canada – Iskwew Air. Now she is a leader in her efforts to rematriate the aviation industry. We fly all the way to coastal Labrador to meet Zoie Michelin. She i
Nov 18, 2022 • 45:35
Honouring our Indigenous Veterans
November is when we don our red poppies and remember our veterans, those who fought for Canada in war time. While November 11th is Remembrance Day across our country, November 8th is National Indigenous Veterans Day. Sargent Tommy Prince is one of Canada’s most decorated Indigenous soldiers. We visited Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Manitoba to learn more about the hero and the man. Students Kash Thompson, Micah Sinclair and Kendrick Bear give us an enthusiastic tour around and show us the humble mo
Nov 10, 2022 • 54:09
Introducing Oji-Cree musician Aysanabee
It started with daily phone calls with his grandfather during the early days of the pandemic. Evan Pang was living in Toronto and he wanted to make sure his grandpa up in Thunder Bay was doing ok. But pretty soon, those conversations got deeper. His grandfather shared stories about his years as a child at McIntosh Residential School, the love-story between him and his wife, and the journey of the family name. Evan began to record their chats and the seeds for personal discovery and a creative
Nov 4, 2022 • 54:09
Scary stories from Indigenous country
It’s the spooky season! Time for jack-o-lanterns, tons of candy and stories to terrify. Indigenous people have told scary stories for generations to pass on important lessons. Tlicho Dene author, Richard Van Camp loves nothing more than hearing ghost stories around a campfire and he grew up watching 80's horror movies. Richard is working on a graphic novel about a deadly monster called Wheetago, one of the many creatures that’s tormented Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island since before anyone c
Oct 28, 2022 • 54:09
In remembrance: an extended conversation with Sacheen Littlefeather
Sacheen Littlefeather, activist, actor and healer passed away on October 2, 2022 from breast cancer. She was 75 years old. Littlefeather is iconic for a moment at the 1973 Academy Awards when she stole the spotlight – rejecting Marlon Brando’s Oscar – and shined it on how Native American people were depicted in film and television, as well as the Wounded Knee Occupation. Fifty years later, the Academy apologized to her for the abuse she suffered during and after the broadcast. Just a few weeks b
Oct 21, 2022 • 44:08
The Return of the Ojibwe Spirit Horse
These ‘tiny horses with giant spirits’ once lived alongside Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island. But after contact with Europeans, they were culled to near extinction. Now the small but hearty breed is making a comeback, thanks to a growing number of Indigenous people. Artist and knowledge keeper Rhonda Snow was a small girl when she overheard some elders talking about the Ojibwe Spirit Horse and was captivated. She has dedicated her life to recovering and reclaiming the spirit horse and making
Oct 14, 2022 • 50:09
The mission, philosophy and wisdom of Buffy Sainte-Marie
Her powerhouse presence in music, education and cultural reclamation left an indelible mark on an entire generation of Indigenous people. Her music stretches over six decades, she has spoken up for Indigenous people during countless interviews, taught us on Sesame Street and won an Academy Award. In this intimate conversation, Buffy Sainte-Marie shares what it takes to stay on the map when others erase you, how to teach tough truths with kindness, and what living in the circle really means.
Sep 29, 2022 • 44:38
Making the most of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
As we gather for the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we find out where we are on the journey and hear from people walking the reconciliation talk. Each year, the Yellowhead Institute writes a report on how many of the TRC's 94 Calls to Action have been completed. Eva Jewell is the research director at the Yellowhead Institute and co-author of the report. Find out why she says Canada is way behind on the reconciliation journey and why September 30th is more than just another sta
Sep 23, 2022 • 46:28
Indigenous stewardship of the land
This week on Unreserved: Indigenous people across Turtle Island conserving, preserving and caring for Mother Earth. You'll meet Rick Beaver, an ecologist who is working to protect the black oak savannah in his home community of Alderville First Nation. He uses an interesting tool - fire. We take you to the Manitoba wilderness where you'll meet Kenton Sangster, Blaze Head, Neepin Cook, Shaquiell Beardy and other Indigenous youth building and maintaining part of the Trans Canada Trail in Duck Moun
Sep 16, 2022 • 50:34