Celebrate National Indigenous History Month with CBC
Honour Indigenous voices & stories all month long
June is National Indigenous History Month, a time to celebrate and commemorate the heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of Indigenous Peoples from coast to coast to coast.
National Indigenous Peoples Day, observed on June 21, is a day of celebration that honours the heritage, resilience, and contributions of Indigenous People across Turtle Island. This June, join CBC in celebrating the rich cultures, stories, and spirit of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples from across Turtle Island. Discover powerful storytelling, the songs of resilience, and achievements showcased at the Indspire Awards. Let's come together to honour, learn, and celebrate.
Highlights of CBC's National Indigenous History Month programming include the following:
B.C. Stories
Read/Watch National Indigenous History Month stories on cbc.ca/bc:
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New signage on Vancouver Island's Wild Pacific Trail honours Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ elders. Read here.
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Vancouver's Trutch Street to officially be renamed following unanimous council vote. Read here.
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These First Nations kids played a song to attract grizzly bears — and it worked. Read here.
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Victoria Film Festival presents Indigenous film event. Read here.
CBC British Columbia Indigenous podcasts
From journeys of self-discovery to uncovering land theft in Canada, CBC British Columbia has an array of Indigenous podcasts that you can listen to during National Indigenous History Month and beyond.
THE URBARIGINAL: Torn between two worlds and turned away from his community and culture, Tsimshian author and entertainer Rudy Kelly embarks on a journey to uncover who his father really was and, along the way, discover more about himself. Listen here.
LAND BACK: From Gitanmaax to Sen̓áḵw to Unist'ot'en, and from blockades to court battles and government negotiations, Gitxsan investigative journalist Angela Sterritt looks at the ways Indigenous people are pushing against colonial institutions to take their land back. Listen here.
PIECES: Join 19-year-old Jeremy Ratt on a journey of self-discovery as he seeks to understand his roots and all of the distinct "pieces" that form who he is today. Listen here.
CBC Gem
Resonate: Songs of Resilience - June 21 on CBC Gem and CBC Indigenous' YouTube channel.
Also available on CBC News streaming channels June 21 and 22.
CBC Indigenous takes you into Indigenous country to hear songs of roots and resistance. Watch the one-hour special, Resonate: Songs of Resilience, celebrating communities and families through music, while sharing personal stories and experiences.
7 p.m. (8 AT, 8:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem
Twelve outstanding Indigenous achievers from a diverse list of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities will be celebrated during the broadcast of the 2025 Indspire Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements from Indigenous peoples across the country in a variety of fields, including: the arts; business and commerce; culture, heritage and spirituality; education; health; law and justice; public service; sports; and lifetime achievement.
Three Youth Award winners are also honoured for their accomplishments, serving as role models to other First Nations, Inuit, and Métis youth across Turtle Island. After 31 years, the Indspire Awards have honoured over 400 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals who demonstrate outstanding achievement across Turtle Island and beyond. Learn more about the 2025 recipients.
Searching for Winnetou looks at the fine line between appreciation and appropriation of Indigenous traditions. The documentary follows Ojibway author and humourist Drew Hayden Taylor as he travels to Germany to investigate "Indianer" camps, where obsessive hobbyists erect teepees, fashion tomahawks, bead leather, and hold powwows.
Drawing from her own experiences as a child, filmmaker Tracey Deer provides a poignant and engaging chronicle of real-life events that shook the nation. Beans takes place at the height of the 1990 Mohawk Resistance at Kanehsatà:ke (also known as the Oka Crisis), a 78-day standoff between Indigenous land defenders, Quebec police, the RCMP, and the Canadian military, over the proposed expansion of a golf course on to a Mohawk burial ground. Twelve-year-old Tekehentahkhwa (nicknamed Beans) grapples with her anger over the treatment of her people. The CBC Films-supported film won Best Motion Picture and the John Dunning Best First Feature Film at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards.
Indigenous-themed documentaries from the Absolutely Canadian documentary series showcase powerful locally produced films from communities across Canada. Tea Creek explores the rich history of Indigenous agriculture and the ongoing impacts of colonization; The Death Tour follows wrestling hopefuls pursuing their dreams through remote Indigenous communities in Canada's far North; Northlore elevates extraordinary true stories of survival on the land through animation; Giiwe:Returning Home is the filmmaker's journey to reconnect to his traditions and culture; and The Forgotten Warriors follows the true story of Mi'kmaq activists who went on a hunger strike to secure their rights to self-determination.
Featuring a variety of series, documentaries and feature films including a short doc celebrating a special graduation season for a James Smith First Nation family, Graduation Day; an Ininimowin-language version of Tanya Talaga's docuseries, The Knowing; documentaries Aitamaako 'Tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun, following the thrilling Indian Relay horse race, and Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya narrated by Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone and chronicling a decades-long initiative to bring wild buffalo back to the Blackfeet Reservation; Season 2 of competition series Bears' Lair, as 18 Indigenous entrepreneurs pitch their business plans; Delta Dawn, the winner of the Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary Award about Indigenous wrestling sensation Dawn Murphy; Season 2 of crime drama Tribal; and feature film Rosie, a cross-cultural family drama.
CBC Music & CBC Books
Broadcasting June 18 on CBC Music and June 22 on CBC Radio, Reclaimed with host Jarrett Martineau features Part 3 of National Indigenous History Month, showcasing a special celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day and a Summer Solstice Dance Party. Catch up on Part 1 and 2 of Reclaimed's National Indigenous History Month series on CBC Listen. CBC Music will also feature an Essentials segment on Mornings and a Deep Dive segment on Drive covering the Halluci Nation (June 20), and CBC Music hosts will be presenting special playlists and interviews with Indigenous artists all week and into June 21 across all shows.
CBC Books offers recommended reading lists curated by Indigenous writers David A. Robertson, Monique Gray Smith and more.
On CBC Radio, CBC Books will feature Indigenous writers across all programs including Bookends with Mattea Roach in conversation with David A. Robertson about his book 52 Ways to Reconcile (now streaming) and a panel about memoirs featuring Tanya Talaga, author of The Knowing (June 22). The Next Chapter discussed Christian Allaire's memoir, From the Rez to the Runway (now streaming), and shares a Prout Questionnaire from Michelle Good (June 21). Also available on CBC Listen and wherever you get your podcasts.
Check out CBC Music's incredible Indigenous Playlists available to stream on CBC Listen and featuring everything from traditional beats to hip hop and electric powwow.
CBC Music recommends Five Indigenous musicians to know in 2025. These emerging Indigenous artists are carving out spaces for themselves with their music, from soulful singer-songwriters to fiddlers who are embracing folk and country, to experimental rockers.
CBC Kids
How do you say "fox" in Cree? Or "wolf" in Inuktitut? How about "moose" in Ojibwe/Anishinaabemowin? The new CBC Kids Indigenous Language playlist on YouTube teaches animal words in three languages.
CBC Kids News visits Ulukhaktok, N.W.T. for a multi-part series with digital stories and videos that showcase the community and their traditional practices. Available on CBCKidsNews.ca and the CBC Kids News YouTube channel.
Photos courtesy of CBC.