Cree family shoots for 'aunty laughs' on Family Feud Canada

A Cree family with roots in the James Bay regions of northern Ontario and Quebec says it's happy to be able to show some important Indigenous representation on the latest season of Family Feud Canada.

The Wabano family was in Toronto last month to tape in front of a live studio audience for season four of the show,

"We wanted to do this [to] show that there is space for Aboriginal voices … for Aboriginal promotion and awareness of the resilience of our people," said Virginia Wabano of Mistissini, Que., who is competing with her children Scott, Rick and Vicky, as well as her daughter-in-law Maroline.

The Wabanos have ties to the Cree community of Waskaganish, Que., and Moose Factory, Ont., where Virginia grew up and raised her family.  

Son Scott Wabano is an influencer and an up-and-coming star in the fashion world. A two-spirit wardrobe stylist, fashion designer, model and popular TikToker who now lives in Toronto, Scott was recently named to the Globe and Mail's best-dressed 2022 list. 

"It's important that we continue to show that Aboriginal people are very strong, resilient people," said Virginia, adding the family wanted to do this to continue to push the envelope of Indigenous representation. 

"Many times we don't really see that representation in those types of games or in other areas like the fashion industry … like with my son Scott," said Virginia. 

Other Indigenous representation

In the first three seasons of Family Feud Canada, seven Indigenous families competed. For season four, there are another seven Indigenous families competing, including the Wabanos.

Scott coordinated the outfits the family wore at the tapings, which happened on Sept. 12 and 13 at CBC Toronto. The ribbon skirts were made by Cree artisan Chelsea Blackned from Moose Cree First Nation in Moose Factory, Ont. 

The family also wore beadwork by Ocean Kiana, an Nishinaabe woodland style artist from northwestern Ontario.

Scott put out a call on social media for Indigenous folks in the Toronto area to join them for the tapings in September.

'Aunty laughs in the crowd': Scott 

"We would love to hear lots of aunty laughs in the crowd," they wrote. 

Family Feud Canada, like its American version, pits two families against each other to guess the most popular answers to survey questions. The show is hosted by actor and comedian Gerry Dee.

It was a natural fit for the Wabanos to take part because playing games is something they do often at family gatherings, said Virginia. 

"We've always enjoyed watching Family Feud and we used to compete with each other when we would play along with the show," she said. 

For the application, the family had to go through a few interviews —both as a group and as individuals — and take part in a game trial. 

"It was very fun … We did it through Zoom and we had to answer a lot of questions about ourselves, our family, our community and activities that we do as a family, funny things that happened in our lives. There's a lot of different questions," said Virginia. 

The Wabano family's appearance on the show is set to air on Monday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBC TV and CBC Gem.