How Indigenous creators claim — and grow — spaces in radio and podcasting
CBC’s Unreserved sat down with Indigenous radio and podcasting personalities at Radiodays conference
From Indigenous radio stations to podcasts to programs on the CBC itself, Indigenous broadcasters are raising their voices more than ever before.
It's about claiming space — and inviting others into the circle.
Rosanna Deerchild, host of CBC Radio's Unreserved, was joined by Shawn Spruce, Shayla Oulette Stonechild and David McLeod in Toronto at the Radiodays North America conference for a panel titled Raising Our Voices.
Finding the voice
Claiming Indigenous spaces for radio and other forms of audio broadcasting was a key objective for Native Communications Inc (NCI), which is based in Winnipeg and airs across Manitoba.
Before its launch in 1971, media and pop culture from newspapers to movie theatres were moving into the north of the province, with its remote and isolated population — but none of it had any Indigenous content.
Everybody has a story. The only thing is that some people need a little bit of help telling their story.- Shawn Spruce
"It was as though this eruption, volcano of communications came to an area, a region, [with] no representation of the people that were there," said McLeod, NCI's CEO, who is a member of Minegoziibe Anishinabe First Nation.
"So it comes from wanting [the] community to have a voice. And that voice matters so much."
The radio's format played a big part, said McLeod, since it's inexpensive to access, and provides an instant, often-live connection with the people on the air.
Spruce, who is Laguna Pueblo and host of Native America Calling, a call-in radio show based in Albuquerque, said he wanted to bring in more diverse perspectives to the program when he was asked to host it.
"I'm a very firm believer [that] everyone has a story, right? Every single person in this room, everybody listening to my show, all these other shows and podcasts, everybody has a story. The only thing is that some people need a little bit of help telling their story. And that's where I really see my role is," he said.
Pushing against common narratives
Stonechild, who is Métis and Nehiyaw Iskwew from Muscowpetung First Nation, wears several hats in podcasting, media and business from hosting her podcast, Matriarch Movement, to being a global yoga ambassador for Lululemon. She said her main goal is to help amplify the voices of Indigenous women and two-spirit people, and to help flip the script of how they're often portrayed in media.
"Oftentimes Indigenous women are seen in a state of vulnerability or a state of survival. Yet when I looked around in my communities and my friend groups, that's not what I saw," she said.
"I saw women that were trailblazing industries they've never seen themselves in, that were the backbones of their families, that are healing intergenerational trauma."
Stonechild also weaves in her interest in Indigenous futurism into her podcast, "because, oftentimes, I feel like non-Indigenous people think of us in a historical sense. Either we're like riding on a horse," she said.
"Or getting shot off one," added Deerchild.
Broadening the conversation
As Spruce's program airs on many NPR stations in the U.S., he said he's thought a lot about his role bridging the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences.
"We have this one guy who calls almost every single day. He's from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He listens on their tribal station, Keely Radio. His name is Chanupa.... He always calls me, you know, little brother Shawn, and I say big brother Chanupa! And I just run with it, you know?" said Spruce.
Another caller — perhaps an NPR listener who is non-Native, he suggested — might ask for a more technical explanation about "the sovereign relationships between tribes in New Mexico." In that case, "I've got to be able to pivot," he said.
When it comes to guests for his show, Spruce said he tries to find people who can bring a range of perspectives and experiences, even on topics that one might believe most Indigenous people largely agree on.
He might look for people with opposing opinions on the use of Indigenous imagery in sports logos and mascots — or even talk to people who have some positive memories from their times in Native American boarding schools, which were similar to residential schools in Canada.
"I've heard those other perspectives of people [saying], yeah, it was a rough time. It was a horrible time. But, you know, I learned from that experience. And I think ultimately I became a better person because of it," he said.
Indigenous music going mainstream
McLeod, who has spent the last 25 years collecting stories and music from Indigenous artists, has seen Indigenous music cross many bridges into the mainstream of Canada's music scene.
While this year's Juno awards had two categories dedicated to Indigenous music, seven other categories had Indigenous nominees.
To McLeod, it's a long overdue recognition of the artistic talent that's always been here — and has struggled to survive amid colonialist efforts to stamp it out.
"The fact that [it] exists is incredible," he said.
The importance of radio, podcasts and audio
Beyond music, audio as a medium — whether on radio, podcasts or other platforms — carries certain advantages for raising Indigenous voices.
McLeod said a long radio broadcast can give space for elders to share stories that they would never be able to fit in a television program where a producer would ask them to fit into less than a couple of minutes.
Spruce says it's the closest analogue to Native communities' oral storytelling traditions.
"Just hearing that voice, sometimes — you don't need a video ... you don't need social media. Just hearing that person tell that story can be, in some ways, the most impactful and powerful words you'll hear," he said.
To Stonechild, it's about healing relations both among Indigenous communities and with non-Indigenous people.
"I'm tired of always being in a state of survival. And I feel like when you can be heard and when you can be seen, it shifts how you feel and it shifts how you act and behave with other people," she said.
Youth learning the languages
McLeod said he was excited about the future of new and younger Indigenous voices becoming part of the conversation, whether on broadcast or elsewhere. In particular, he said he's encouraged by the many young people eager to learn the languages of their elders, ensuring those languages' survival.
Stonechild, for example, has been studying Cree. She said the languages can provide "a framework for the future" that connects them to traditions older than colonialist influences.
"It's kind of like learning through oral tradition, but then transporting those teachings into now," she said.