Storykeepers Podcast

Latest Episodes:

This Place: 150 Years Retold Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

This month Jennifer discusses the graphic novel anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold with one of its contributors, writer and artist Brandon Mitchell. Published in 2017 by Portage & Main Press, the anthology explores the history of what is now called Canada through the eyes of Indigenous creators. This Place has received numerous awards for its profound imagery and storytelling that highlights the stories of Indigenous people and communities often neglected and ignored.
More on This Place:
https://www.portageandmainpress.com/Books/T/This-Place
More on Brandon Mitchell:
Brandon Mitchell is Mi’gmaq from Listuguj First Nations in Quebec and currently resides in the unceded Wolastoqiyik territory of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is a husband to Natasha Martin and father to Brayden and Bryce Mitchell. He carries a Diploma in Animation and Design from the New Brunswick Community College of Miramichi and holds a master’s degree in Education from the University of New Brunswick. He is the founder of Birch Bark Comics and creator of the Sacred Circles comic series, which explored his Mi’kmaq heritage through a contemporary lens.

He has authored six stories for Indigenous Story Studio: Lost Innocence, Drawing Hope, River Run, Making it Right, Emily's Choice and Tomorrow’s Hope. He was approached to by the University of Alabama to script and illustrate Jean-Paul's Daring Adventure: Stories from Old Mobile. He was also a contributing author of "Migwite'tmeg: We Remember It" for “This Place: 150 years retold” which recounts the events leading up to the infamous salmon raids that took place in Listuguj in the summer of 1981 by Highwater Press.

Brandon is also the creator and author of a new young readers series “Giju’s Gift” published by Highwater Press. In it, a Mi’kmaw girl battles an ancient giant and forms an unexpected friendship with a mythical creature, this is the first volume of an ongoing series of graphic novels inspired by traditional stories.

Five Little Indians by Michelle Good Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

This month Jennifer and Waubgeshig are joined by Ry Moran, the Associate University Librarian – Reconciliation at the University of Victoria to talk about Five Little Indians by Michelle Good. Published in 2020, the novel follows five residential school survivors from their detention in the institutions into their adulthood, as they embark to heal from the trauma of their experiences. The book has won several awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and CBC's Canada Reads.
National Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
More on Five Little Indians:
https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443459181/five-little-indians/
More on Ry Moran:
Ry Moran is Canada’s inaugural Associate University Librarian – Reconciliation at the University of Victoria. Ry’s role within UVic Libraries’ focuses on building and sustaining relationships to introduce Indigenous approaches and knowledge into the daily work of the Libraries and more broadly across the campus community. In so doing, Ry plays an active role in advancing UVic’s strategic goal of being a globally recognized leader in areas of reconciliation.
Ry came to this position from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) hosted by the University of Manitoba. As the founding director, Ry guided the creation of the NCTR from its inception. Along the way, Ry contributed to major national initiatives such as the creation of the National Student Memorial Register, designation of multiple residential schools as national historical sites, development and launch of the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, and a major educational broadcast which reached over three million Canadians.
Prior to the NCTR, Ry served with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). On the TRC’s behalf, he facilitated the gathering of nearly 7,000 video/audio-recorded statements of former residential school students and millions of pages archival records.
Ry’s life-long passion for the arts and music continues to be an important part of his life as he continues to write and produce original music.
Ry is a distinguished alumni of the University of Victoria and was awarded a Meritorious Service Cross by the Governor General. Ry is a proud member of the Red River Métis.

The Shoe Boy: A Trapline Memoir by Duncan McCue Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

We're very pleased to welcome journalist Lenny Carpenter to the show this month to talk about Duncan McCue's The Shoe Boy: A Trapline Memoir. Lenny chatted with Jennifer about his journalism background and upbringing in the James Bay region and how he related with McCue's book. The Shoe Boy is a coming-of-age memoir that documents the renowned journalist's time as a teen on the east side of James Bay.
More on The Shoe Boy:
https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-shoe-boy
More on Lenny Carpenter:
Lenny Carpenter is an Omushkego (Swampy Cree) writer based in Timmins, Ont. He is a member of Attawapiskat First Nation raised in the James Bay community of Moosonee. Lenny has experience in journalism, primarily as a reporter and editor/publisher with Wawatay News covering First Nations in northern Ontario. He has experience in media development from when he was the Indigenous Reporters Program manager with Journalists for Human Rights. The program was aimed at increasing the number of Indigenous voices in Canadian media and educating non-Indigenous media on improving their coverage. Lenny is a graduate of the Film Production program at Confederation College and was the festival director of the B’iindigaate Indigenous Film Festival in 2013.

Lenny is currently a Gladue writer with Nishnawbe Aski Legal Services, producing Gladue reports for members of Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities facing sentencing.

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott May 04, 2022

Show notes

Six Nations of the Grand River is in the spotlight this month with a compelling discussion about Alicia Elliott's highly acclaimed essay collection A Mind Spread Out on the Ground. Writer, researcher, and policy expert Courtney Skye of Six Nations joins Jennifer and Waubgeshig to discuss the book's poignant themes and exploration of contemporary Indigenous realities. Elliott's collection garnered several accolades when it was first published in 2019.
More on A Mind Spread Out on the Ground:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/588523/a-mind-spread-out-on-the-ground-by-alicia-elliott/9780385692380
More on Courtney Skye:
Courtney has led policy development for the public sector at local, provincial, and national levels, with a specific focus on youth development and ending violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. Her work focuses on the promotion of the political mobilization of Indigenous women, Trans, non-Binary and Two-Spirit people to create transformational change in communities.

Her work focuses on re-imagining traditional approaches to policy development in order to meet the diverse needs of Indigenous communities. Her past projects include creating a framework for youth development, a strategy co-developed with Indigenous partners to transform the governance, design, and delivery of child and family services, and a strategy to end violence against Indigenous women.

Courtney is passionate about making sure communities are heard in policy development, and strives to end all forms of colonial violence experienced by Indigenous peoples by entrenching deep commitment to rights and jurisdiction.
https://www.littlesisterconsulting.com

Tainna: The Unseen Ones by Norma Dunning Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

For April's episode, Jennifer is joined by the multi-talented stage and literary artist Reneltta Arluk to talk about the award-winning short story collection Tainna: The Unseen Ones by Norma Dunning. Published in 2021, the book's six stories focus on contemporary Inuk characters, drawn from lived experience and cultural memory. The collection won the Governor General's Award for English-language Fiction in 2021.
More on Tainna:
https://douglas-mcintyre.com/products/9781771622714
More on Reneltta Arluk:
Reneltta Arluk is Dene and Inuvialuit from the Northwest Territories. She is a graduate of the BFA-Acting program from the University of Alberta and founder of Akpik Theatre, a professional Indigenous Theatre company in the NWT. Raised by her grandparents on the trap-line until school age, being raised in a nomadic environment gave Reneltta the skills to become the artist she is now. For over ten years Reneltta has been part of or initiated the creation of Indigenous Theatre across various parts of Canada and overseas as an actor, storyteller, writer and producer. “Keeping Culture Alive,” as her mom would say. She is currently the Director of Indigenous Arts at the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

Métis scholar Celiese Lypka joins Jennifer and Waubgeshig this month to explore Cherie Dimaline's bestselling novel Empire of Wild. Published in 2019, the story follows a Métis woman in search of her missing husband in the face of mysterious and oppressive forces. Dimaline has received numerous accolades for her writing, and the New York Times has named her one of the "Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror and fantasy."
More on Empire of Wild:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/600423/empire-of-wild-by-cherie-dimaline/9780735277182
More on Celiese Lypka:
Celiese Lypka is a member of the Manitoba Métis Nation and lives in Treaty 1 territory, where she has spent most of her life and is now raising her wonderful and wild four-year-old daughter. She is an Assistant Professor of English in the Centre for Humanities at Athabasca University, teaching women’s writing and Indigenous literatures. Her recent work focuses on Métis women’s storytelling as modes of Indigenous resurgence and decolonial love.

Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing by Tomson Highway Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

This month Ojibway playwright, author, and television host Drew Hayden Taylor joins Jennifer to talk about Tomson Highway's classic play Dry Lips Oughta Move To Kapuskasing. First staged in 1989, the award-winning drama is widely considered one of the most influential theatrical works in history.
Also in this episode, Waubgeshig explains his role on the jury for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize, which will take him away from Storykeepers occasionally this year.
More on Dry Lips:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_Lips_Oughta_Move_to_Kapuskasing
More on Drew Hayden Taylor:
https://www.drewhaydentaylor.com/biography/

The Strangers by Katherena Vermette Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

Season 2 kicks off with Jennifer and Waub discussing Katherena Vermette's award-winning new novel The Strangers with artist and curator Jaime Morse. Published in 2021, The Strangers is a companion novel to Vermette's breakthrough novel The Break. It explores the intergenerational saga of a Métis family in Winnipeg, told from the perspectives of its women. The Strangers won the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize in the fall of 2021, and was long listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
More on The Strangers:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/624145/the-strangers-by-katherena-vermette/9780735239616
Jaime Morse's bio:
Jaime Morse is Michif from northern Alberta and has lived on Anishnaabe Territory since 2000. Jaime is the owner of Indigenous Walks and works as an Educator - Indigenous Programs and Outreach at the National Gallery of Canada. Jaime is the mother to four beautiful children and passes on her knowledge of fish scale art, beading and Metis jigging.

Remembering Lee Maracle Dec 10, 2021

Show notes

This month we're taking a break from our usual book discussion to honour the life and legacy of the great Lee Maracle. The iconic Sto:lo writer and storyteller died in November at the age of 71. She leaves behind a revolutionary catalogue of published works, along with an abundance of tremendous stories and other artworks that have inspired and influenced generations of Indigenous storytellers. To honour Lee and her work, we invited writers Tanya Talaga and Armand Garnet Ruffo to join us to share their reflections of their time with her, and how she will continue to shape literature for generations to come.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-what-canada-lost-when-lee-maracle-passed-away/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lee-maracle-death-bc-indigenous-writer-poet-1.6245582
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/books/lee-maracle-dead.html

The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp Nov 04, 2021

Show notes

This month singer/songwriter Leela Gilda joins Jennifer and Waubgeshig to talk about The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp. Originally published in 1996, the coming-of-age story set in the north became a bestseller and garnered international acclaim. It has since been adapted to a film (released in 2012) and long-listed for Canada Reads. Van Camp has published more than two dozen books since.
More on The Lesser Blessed:
https://douglas-mcintyre.com/collections/bestsellers/products/9781771621137
More on Leela Gilday:
If you’re from the North, Leela Gilday’s music is home. If you’ve never been, it will take you there. Born and raised in the Northwest Territories, she writes about the people and the land that created her. The power in her voice conveys the depth of her feelings of love and life in a rugged environment and vibrant culture, as if it comes straight from that earth. Leela’s family is from Délįne on the shore of Great Bear Lake and her rich vocals dance across the rhythmic beats of traditional Dene drumming as smoothly as a bass line onstage the largest venues in the country. And she has played them all.

Leela has toured festivals and concert halls with her four-piece band through every province and territory in Canada. She has played in the United States, Greenland, Australia, New Zealand and several countries in Europe. Her live shows are where she connects with fans who have followed her on a 20-year career and where new fans are born. She reaches into their hearts and feels the energy of every person in front of her as she guides them on a journey through song and experience. She believes music has an inexplicable effect on people. It is a place where she can share light and dark and the most vulnerable moments, with a clarity and genuine purpose that reassures her listeners through every word. She is a storyteller, and through this, reflects the world onto itself.

Five years after her last album was released—five years of growth, healing and head-down work—Leela’s fifth album “North Star Calling” was released in late 2019 and has since won a 2021 Juno for Indigenous Artist/Group of the Year, a Canadian Folk Music Award for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year, and Roots Album of the Year at the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards. It is more raw, more intimate and more Leela than anything you’ve heard from her before.

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