Ilona Verley: Finding Your Voice
2023 Host Shoshona Kish speaks with Two-Spirit artist and performer Ilona Verley. Hailing from the Nlaka’pamux Nation, Verley’s vibrant and boundary-pushing presence on the reality TV show “Canada’s Drag Race” garnered widespread attention. With a flair for combining Indigenous culture, pop cultur…
Victoria LaBillois: Breaking Business Barriers
2023 Host Aysanabee speaks with Mi’gmaq entrepreneur Victoria LaBillois who owns Wejipeg Excavation Inc. and co-owns Wejuseg Construction Inc. She is from Listuguj, Quebec and has served both the First Nation and federal public service, working at the Band, regional, and national levels. Victoria …
Cindy Blackstock: Our Children Are The Future
2023 Host Shoshona Kish speaks with Cindy Blackstock, a member of the Gitxsan First Nation, and the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. She is also a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of experience working in child we…
Alan Greyeyes: Reciprocity & Reconcilation in the Music Industry
2023 Host Aysanabee has a conversation with Alan Greyeyes, the Festival Director for the sākihiwē festival who has been providing artist and project management services in the music industry for nearly 20 years. He also volunteers with the Polaris Music Prize board of directors; the RBC Convention …
Sandra Laronde: Indigenous Storytelling On Stage
2023 Host Aysanabee speaks with Sandra Laronde, is a visionary artist, director, choreographer, and leader renowned for her transformative contributions to the world of Indigenous performing arts. A proud member of the Teme-Augama Anishinaabe (People of the Deep Water), her creative journey is deep…
Jean Teillet: The Great Grandniece of Louis Riel
2023 Host Shoshona Kish speaks to Jean Teillet about the legacy of the Riel family, her Indigenous rights work surrounding Indigenous identity fraud and the complications around Métis identity. Teillet is an author, women’s rights advocate, and Indigenous rights lawyer. In October of 2022 she wro…
Jordin Tootoo: The First Inuk Player in the NHL
2023 Host Aysanabee speaks to former NHL player Jordin Tootoo about his community work and his experience as the first Inuk player to be drafted by the league. Over his 13-year career, he played for the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and Chicago Blackhawks, banking 161 p…
Amy Cardinal Christianson: Traditional Indigenous Fire Practices
2023 Host Shoshona Kish speaks with Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson, an Indigenous Fire Specialist with the National Fire Management Division at Parks Canada. She is Métis from Treaty 8 territory, currently living in Treaty 6. Her research explores Indigenous fire stewardship, Indigenous wildland fi…
Jeremy Dutcher: Motewolonuwok [The People of Great Spiritual Power]
2023 Host Aysanabee has a conversation with fellow musician Jeremy Dutcher about his commitment to Indigenous language revitalization through his art. Jeremy Dutcher is a Two-Spirit song carrier, composer, activist, ethnomusicologist, and member of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in Eastern Canada.…
Banakonda Bell: Traditional Knowledge & Teachings
2023 Host Shoshona Kish has a beautiful conversation with her mother, Banakonda Bell about the knowledge she holds as an elder. Banakonda Kennedy-Kish (Bell), Bear Clan, is a Traditional Practitioner and Elder-in-Residence at Laurier University’s Lyle S. Hallman Masters of Social Work program, in t…