Unreserved

Crime, history, science and adventure: Tuning in to Indigenous podcasts

More and more Indigenous people are turning to podcasts as another way to record their stories, reclaim their histories and educate others on things often left out of history books. Today, we're sampling Indigenous podcasts from around the world.
From left, first row: Warrior Life, Molly of Denali, Woman of Size. From left, second row: Coffee and Quaq, This Land, NDN Science Show. From left, bottom row: Unravel's Blood on the Tracks, All My Relations, Medicine for the Resistance. (Apple Podcasts)

More and more Indigenous people are turning to podcasts as another way to record their stories, reclaim their histories and educate others on things often left out of history books.

But others are now focusing on expanding their storytelling — wading into science, true crime and fiction.

This week on Unreserved, just a few Indigenous podcasts we're listening to — ones involving warriors, adventurers, and even murder. 

One podcast that made waves this year was This Land, a podcast about a murder case in Oklahoma that could have big repercussions for the Cherokee Nation. Rebecca Nagle, the host of the podcast, explains what's at stake.

Jana Schmieding, host of Woman of Sizeaims to talk about Indigenous bodies, Indigenous lives and claiming space in an urban setting. 

Coffee and Quaq, a podcast hosted by Alice Glenn, is about contemporary life in Alaska and deals with nuanced subjects like cultural appropriation, decolonization and traditional tattoos.

The first season of an Australian Broadcasting Corporation podcast series called Unravel started with "Blood on the Tracks.Hosted by Muruwari journalist Allan Clarke, it's about an unsolved death of an Indigenous man named Mark Haines. Since the podcast launched, the case into his death has been reopened.

Podcast Playlist host Lindsay Michael drops in with a podcast recommendation. All My Relationshosted by Adrienne Keene and Matika Wilbur, explores relationships to land, relatives and to one another. 

NDN Science Showhosted by graduate students Annie Sorrell and Loga Fixico, is a podcast that combines traditional, Indigenous knowledge with Western science in a thoughtful way.

Patty Krawec and Kerry Goring, the hosts of Medicine for the Resistance, found there were some common experiences between black and Indigenous living and they wanted to talk about them. 

A wildly successful kids' podcast, Molly of Denali, is about a young Alaskan girl whose wild adventures are anything but ordinary. Sovereign Bill, who voices Molly, talks about what Northern representation means to her. 

Pam Palmater is a successful lawyer and activist from Eel River Bar First Nation — but her podcast, The Warrior Life, was created to inspire people to act. She's had many high-profile guests, including Cindy Blackstock, Tantoo Cardinal and Adam Beach.

Don't see your favourite Indigenous podcast here? Check our episode from last year! Don't see it there either? Let us know which ones we're missing: @CBCUnreserved or unreserved@cbc.ca.

This week's playlist: 

Robbie Robertson's new album, called Sinematic, finds inspiration from his upcoming film projects.
Robbie Robertson. (Don Dixon )

Robbie Robertson and Glen Hansard — Dead End Kid