Fifty years ago, a young woman named Karen Silkwood got into her car alone.She was reportedly on her way to deliver sensitive documents to a New York Times reporter.
She never made it.And those documents she'd agreed to carry were never found.Do you think somebody killed her?There's no question in my mind that someone killed her that night.
A new investigation into the life and death of America's first nuclear whistleblower.
Listen to Radioactive, the Karen Silkwood mystery from ABC Audio.Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.This is a CBC Podcast.
Tante, hello.Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day and summer solstice.I'm Rosanna Dearchild, host of Unreserved, a fearless space for indigenous voices.
I'm popping up in your podcast feed to indigenize your summer with our best book, movie, podcast, recipe, and Pride event recommendations.You can thank me later.And if you've never heard our show before, an extra special welcome to you.
Hello and welcome.This is Unreserved.I'm Rosanna Deerchild.June 21st is National Indigenous Peoples Day.To celebrate, we've gathered some friends to share some amazing recommendations to add a sparkle to your day and your whole summer.
I would say I've loved movies my entire life. Cheryl Carey is the host of the Red Gaze podcast, where they watch movies through an indigenous lens.Find out what her small screen picks are for summer.And if a book on the beach is more your style.
I read books all the time.Author Melissa Blair will have your book bag full with her reading list. And our friend and CBC host Phelan Johnson is here with her indigenous podcast recommendations for those long drives.
There's just a different level of authenticity here and fun.And I kind of just love to hear it.
Plus, indigenous chef Aisha Smith-Belgaba is back to help you cook up some of the best flavors for your potlucks and barbecues.
Take these ingredients, do what you will with them, but please experiment in new ways.
Another great way to come together this summer is around pride.Kyron Potts is a two-spirit social media influencer with some great tips on how to celebrate with our 2SLGBTQ plus community.
Just be mindful of your space and be mindful of the energy that you're bringing in.Remember that it's a celebration leading with love.
From books to movies to food to pride celebrations, your summer to-do list just got Indigenous. If you're a big reader looking for summer suggestions, you might find them on TikTok.Or should I say BookTok?That's TikTok for book nerds.
That's where you'll find Melissa Blair sharing her reading list.She is an Anishinaabe author and avid reader with over 40,000 followers on the social media platform.And today she's bringing BookTok to the radio with her summer reading list.
Hello, my name is Melissa Glare.I am an Anishinaabe author of fantasy books.I started on TikTok and I stumbled onto this TikTok community called BookTok.
And I loved watching videos of people talking about all the books they're reading because I read books all the time.
And no one was talking about Indigenous books and I read Indigenous books all the time so I started posting videos about all the wonderful Indigenous books people could read and different Indigenous books in different genres.
People started following me and I just kept at it and here we are. In the summer, I like to read nonfiction, which I read all the time.
And then I try to read standalone books and some lighter books, things you might read on the beach, or at least I would read on the beach.
My suggestion for a beach read is if you're on the younger side, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Fergensen.
I would call it a coming of age novel about an Indigenous young woman who's coming up and has just broken up with her boyfriend and is dealing with a lot of those feelings and then things start happening with her family.
I love getting into the main character's head and perspective and stories being told by young Indigenous women.
Those were stories that I never got to read as a young Indigenous woman growing up, so to see them on my bookshelf and on other people's bookshelves now is my favorite part about the book.
And then if you're a romance lover, there is a book called The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava that is coming out.And it is the first traditionally published indigenous authored romance book to come out with a big five publisher.
It is about main character, Amber Lee, who finds herself in a not allowed because of the policy office romance.The book isn't out yet.It actually comes out August 6th of this year.
So it'll be perfect for that late summer beach read, getting that last bit of sun in, and I think everyone will enjoy it. My unconventional beach read pick would be Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead.
I don't think it's a book a lot of people would pick out as a summer read, but I love it.It's super short, you could definitely get through it in one afternoon on the beach, and it follows
an indigiqueer main character leaving the res for the first time and dealing with life in the city.
It is a heavier book, it is a coming-of-age book, but it's told with a lot of truth and a lot of authenticity and I think Joshua Whitehead is a fantastic author that everyone should check out.
So for younger readers trying to get some reading in the summer, I would definitely recommend Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Booley.She's an Anishinaabe writer.
You might know her because she had a breakout debut novel called The Firekeeper's Daughter. Warrior Girl Unearthed is a follow-up set in the same world and in the same nation.
It's a fantastic book for young readers with really great themes about the missing and murdered Indigenous women's movement and that impact that it has on our people. I love reading anything Angeline Booley puts out.
Because she's Anishinaabe like I am, she writes culture right on the page in a way that's just, for an Indigenous woman reading about her own culture, it just feels like home in a way.So I instantly relate to these characters.
It's beautifully done and each of the books are super thrilling and have a pace that keep you turning the pages.
Another book that I would love to recommend for younger readers, especially readers who might not have the time or might not want to read a 300 page novel, I love A Girl Called Echo.
It is the first book or the first volume in a graphic novel series called The Pemmican Wars.I really love it because it's right from the perspective of a young Métis girl who is in school and is trying to find her way.
And she doesn't feel comfortable as a lot of teenagers do.She's trying to find herself and she's trying to understand her people and she's trying to understand history.
And she ends up going back in time to the Red River Rebellion and seeing all that history firsthand.I think it's a great way to tell that history.I think it's very engaging.And if you love graphics and illustrations, I think the artwork done by
Scott B. Henderson, and then of course the coloring done by Donovan Yasiak is beautiful.
My memoir recommendation on this list is called Heartberries by Therese Marie Malhot about an Indigenous woman who grows up off reserve and in the city and continues to try to connect to her people and connect to her culture and what it means to be Indigenous when you're not living on reserve with your community, what it means to have the identity as an Indigenous person.
Her writing is so honest and so poetic. and it is a beautiful, beautiful little book.It's not very long but it will definitely stay with you for a long time.
Melissa Blair is an Anishinaabe author and book talker.You're listening to Unreserved on CBC Radio 1, Sirius XM, U.S.Public Radio and Native Voice 1.I'm Rosanna Dearchild. all across Turtle Island, summer is pride season.
From June to September, the 2SLGBTQ plus community celebrates.For Kyron Potts, uplifting the two-spirit community is a year-round responsibility.He's a two-spirit social media influencer and youth advocate.
Kyron also has some expert tips to help you celebrate pride this summer.Welcome to Unreserved.
Thank you so much for having me and it's lovely to meet you.
It's lovely to meet you, too.Let's start with the term Two-Spirit.What does the term Two-Spirit mean to you?
Well, to me, it's a spiritual identity.To me, it's a bit of a role.It's a bit of a responsibility that I play in the community and one that takes the form of, you know, being an educator, being
somebody who is a mediator, somebody who brings new perspectives and tries to encourage people to be themselves and love however they show up in the community.And so that's the quick and easy version of it.
Obviously, there's a very lengthy history to the term Two-Spirit and not everybody ascribes to that and takes that on. every single Indigenous community that's out here believes their own things.
And so, you know, I'm Nakota Sioux, I'm Ixcabi Nakota from Treaty 6 Territory, from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, and I speak from my experience in my community, and Two-Spirit has sort of always been something that existed in our communities, just maybe wasn't necessarily called Two-Spirit, because that's obviously a newer English term.
Mmm, so it's more than just about your gender identity or your sexuality.It's sort of a bigger piece in the community.How does your two-spirit identity influence the way you live and work in community?
Well, first of all, yes, you're exactly right.I always tell people, I'm like, it's not synonymous with just, for example, being a gay native person, which is what I think there's a little bit of a misconception about that.
But as I've learned and all of the teachings that I've got through my community, I kind of actually said a little bit earlier, I have more of a duty, I think, a role to play where I look out for the younger generation.
I try my best to provide representation and to lead with love and to be somebody in the community who accepts them for who they are, shows them that there's no one right way to be.
an Indigenous man, for example, and that femininity is beautiful and reminding them that that feminine energy that exists in our communities, whether it's through our Two-Spirit people or whether it's through our women, is something that's sacred and beautiful and should be celebrated and not stifled or combated.
And what kinds of things, you know, do you do publicly to fulfill this role of, you know, taking care of the youth and representing in a beautiful and loving way?
I do a bunch of things, but I think the biggest one that people know me for is being that of a content creator.
And so it takes the form of me making short videos or sometimes long videos, telling anecdotes about my life and my story and sharing that with my audience, of which a lot of them are young. and talking about terms, educating them.
And then another thing is I actually go out into First Nations.I go out into reserves.I'm in about 100 reserves a year.
I'm always, always, always in different nations, just meeting with young people, going and hugging them and sitting down with them and spending time with them and talking to them and becoming friends with them.
And so that's probably the biggest thing is delivering workshops, doing presentations and hosting events in communities.
And what kinds of, you know, things do young people tell you when you visit them in their communities or through, you know, your social media content?
One of the biggest things that they tell me that really resonates with me and sits with me is Kai, I think that I'm this.Kai, I think that I'm that.But I don't know if I can tell my family.Kai, there's nobody in my family who knows that I'm this.
What can I do?Like, or you know, hey Kai, I have my Kukum with me and she wants to know what she can do better to help me.And I've had that happen quite a bit.It's always the Kukums for some reason.
They're always the ones that people confide in and they go to events like the ones I put on.Young people, whether you're Two-Spirit or not, young people take on different identities.
They try different identities, different hairstyles, different names.
everyone does that and and that's just a normal part of being a young person and so it's our job as aunties in the community or two-spirit people in the community to be a soft place to land for them and just kind of like helping them out and supporting them on their journey.
That's a wonderful role that you are playing in the in the community.
It's so important You know having that community is really important as you've just said, you know, it can be very lonely You know feeling like you're the only one out there and you know, that's why things like pride have been created how does pride fit into you and your life as a two-spirit person and
You know, completely honestly, Pride is an everyday thing for me.I don't act or do anything any differently during Pride Month that I don't do, you know, 12 months of the year already.And so Pride to me is more for other people.
It's more for the outside community who you know, gets an opportunity to come in to take a look at all the different colors of the rainbow, if you will, that exist in our communities.
And I'm not talking about Indigenous communities, I'm just talking about queerness at large, because I truly do think that there's a big difference between the way that Two-Spirit people celebrate their pride versus non-Indigenous people who are celebrating their pride in those spaces.
Although I'm very for pride and I'm a big supporter of pride, I also am very transparent with the fact that I think that maybe not a lot of these spaces are going to be as welcoming or safe for brown people or, you know, Indigenous people, people of colour.
And so that's why we have things like, for example, the Two-Spirit Pow Wow, and we have spaces for our kin where we can go to celebrate, which is really exciting.
And then there's obviously the very traditional queer pride parades that happen in all of the major cities, and even some in Indigenous nations, I'm finding.There was a lot of news last year of different
First Nations, which some of them are quite small of just like a couple thousand people, who are celebrating their first ever pride.
And I got to be at one of the first ever prides in the Nawash community, Chippewa's of the Nawash in Northern Ontario last year.And it was just amazing seeing how many young people in these nations are just like being supported.
That's really heartwarming because you know, queer people, we have very high rates of mental health crises and also of unaliving ourselves.And that's a really real thing to talk about.
And seeing all of the support that's coming out now from older generations is, I think, the biggest, most heartwarming thing.
Yeah, absolutely.And you talk about, you know, Pride sort of being for the greater queer community.And, you know, when I was coming out two decades ago, it was hard to find a place within that community because it was very non-Indigenous led.
Where can we find a place?What is your biggest Pride season must do for Indigenous, you know, queer, two-spirit, however they might identify on that spectrum?
Well, because I'm an artist and because performance art and acting is something that I'm really passionate about, I find myself drawn to drag performers quite a bit because I love comedy, I love laughing, and I love things that are over the top, and I love the drama of theatre and of watching something come to life that I can't really totally
Like sometimes it's hard to even understand what's happening on the stage, but it's like so enthralling.So that's where you'll find me.
I'm usually always at a drag show watching some of these incredible indigenous drag queens that we now have coming out left, right, and center, screaming and laughing and having a great time watching these incredible performers.
Is there any particular sort of event that you would want people to keep their their eyes open for our performer that they should watch for?
Yeah, Edmonton is having the Edmonton Two-Spirit Society is having a Two-Spirit Powwow that's happening in June.But then also I think if you just look at like a Two-Spirits in Motion Society, they have tons of amazing events.
Out Saskatoon has a ton of great events. the GTA there's going to be a whole calendar full of them.All you have to do is go and look at the Two-Spirited People of the First Nations website and you'll be able to see those.
They're really good at posting quite frequently so you're up to date on everything that's happening and they're always looking for volunteers and stuff like that too.
So if you want to be a part of the festivities but you want to help out a little bit more you can definitely probably put on a volunteer shirt and hand out waters and do stuff like that and just be of service to the community which is a great way to support the community as well.
What about the homebodies or the people who live away from big centers?What are smaller ways to take part in Pride?
Majority of the events are live streamed too, so you can watch them on social media, which is incredible.And if you have like accessibility needs, then there's definitely a lot of events that are happening online.
One thing that I tell people is you can go on social media and search different hashtags, for example, Two Spirit, things like that.And if you look at those hashtags on, for example,
TikTok, what you're going to find is that a lot of people who are at these events post in real time or are on live as well.So definitely check those out and you won't miss out.
Oh, that's great.Thank you for that tip.I'm going to write that down.Hashtag TikTok.
Totally.It's where it's at.
What do you recommend for people who, you know, might want to be allies to support the Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer community, you know, as we celebrate Pride this month?
I think one of the biggest things is helping us to combat a lot of the myths and stereotypes that exist out there.Just having people be really ignorant and totally not understanding what Two-Spirit identity is and not really respecting it.
And so one of the things I tell non-Indigenous people who are asking how to be allies is, go read a book, go listen, open your ears, open your heart, and really take it in and be respectful.
And then the second thing I say is e-transfer me immediately.I'm a Two-Spirit person.Support me!No, just kidding.But there are ways that you can support the different organizations.I already mentioned a couple of them.
Two Spirits in Motion Society, which is a national organization that does a lot of work for our Two-Spirit communities all over the country.
And then we have Two-Spirited People of the First Nations, which is Ontario, all of Ontario, which is an incredible organization.I used to work for both of them.
And then also the Edmonton Two-Spirit Society, which is a great organization, which I also work for, who does a lot of frontline stuff with the community, which is super, super, super needed.
You know, being a safe place for our young, our little Two-Spirit babies who deserve to be protected.
Absolutely.And as people go out there into the world, maybe go to a celebration, a pride celebration, what should they be mindful of as they take that space and share that space with people?
You're going to see some things that maybe you haven't seen.Your eyes are going to be placed on a lot of people who are being vulnerable, and you have to remember it's their space.
You're a guest in that space, and when I'm a guest in people's spaces, I act accordingly. I think it's all about just keeping an open heart and open mind, being very respectful, and always ask for consent if you're trying to touch anybody.
I know you think my earrings are gorgeous, because they are, but that doesn't mean you get to come up and rip on them and touch them.Also, don't touch my hair.Don't touch a drag queen's hair.Drag is a non-contact sport.
But then also, yeah, just be mindful of your space and be mindful of the energy that you're bringing.And remember that it's a celebration leading with love.And if there's no love in what you're doing, then respectfully stay home.
Excellent tips and reminders.Thank you for that.And finally, what's on your Pride playlist in terms of, you know, IndigiQueer, Two-Spirit people who are making music and getting all on the dance floor that way?
Well, I think everybody needs to go and check out Kwanna Style, who is a two-spirit queer pop icon who releases banger after banger after banger and will just get your dance floor pumping and pumping.
There's an artist named Natasha Fisher from Toronto who's two-spirit, makes incredible pop music that's Just reminds me of being out in a meadow with like butterflies and a bright sun.
It's just feel-good, happy-go-lucky music, which is super incredible.Bobby Sanchez.Also check out Bobby Sanchez.
Incredible two-spirit artist from the States who does really powerful, almost like spoken word poetry rapping, which is, it just gives you chills when you listen to it.
Yeah, the list can just go on and on and on, but those are some good ones to start.
You're a beautiful, beautiful spirit.Thank you for spending time with me today.
I had so much fun.Thank you so much for having me.
Kyron Potts is a two-spirit social media influencer and youth advocate.Let's listen to one of the artists on his playlist. That's Quanah's style and love is calling.Definitely adding that one to my playlist this summer.
And you know what else a good playlist needs?Podcasts.Phelan Johnson is the host of The Secret Life of Canada, now in its sixth season.You can definitely add that pod to your favorites.Here's Phelan with a few more.
I'm Phelan Johnson.I'm the co-host and co-creator of the Secret Life of Canada podcast on CBC, now in its sixth season.I'm Mohawk and Tuscarora from Six Nations in southern Ontario, and here are some podcast picks.
I recently came across a couple of podcasts that I hadn't heard of before.And they're both sort of similar in the sense that they're about Indigenous representation on film and TV.And that's something that I'm really excited about right now.
I think with shows like Reservation Dogs and movies like Killers of the Flower Moon, the Scorsese film that Lily Gladstone was nominated for.It just seems like there's a lot happening, more than I've seen before.
And while all of it isn't perfect all of the time, seeing that representation on the small screen and on the big screen is really exciting and makes me feel like there's a whole world of possibility.
So the first podcast is called Actors and Ancestors and it's hosted by Joel D. Montgran.He's a Cree guy and he works in the industry so he was just on the latest season of True Detective.
It is an interview-style podcast with different Indigenous performers.A lot of them he does admit to being friends with, like, and I mean our community is small, right, so that makes sense.We all kind of know each other.
I went to theatre school and so, like, I was an actor for a hot minute.
So hearing someone talk about the industry from that perspective, and it's so specific to our experience, you know, and the things that happen in the industry and the thing that these actors are, you know, they come up against or they're faced with.
and how complicated that can be, but also how exciting it is right now to be seeing so much representation and to be seeing so much more opportunity for our talent.
The next podcast that I'm excited to dive deeper into, this one is called Real Indigenous.So again, film and TV.I love the interview style.It gives lots of space for whoever they're interviewing to speak.So you really feel like you're hearing them.
The format is interview style, but also them deep diving into films from days of yore.So films like Thunderheart.But then they also, I listened to a great interview with Benedita Horne, who plays Dear Woman.
from Reservation Dogs, and that was just live on stage.
And there's just something about this type of content where it's, you know, it's our entertainers and our artists speaking to, you know, other people who are either in the industry or interested in the industry, that we can just go down a deeper level and we can have more of a real conversation.
There's just a different level of authenticity here and fun, and I kind of just love to hear it. In making a list like this, I would be remiss to not include Connie Walker's work. If you haven't heard Surviving St.
Michael's, that's sort of my favorite one because it's so personal because it is a story about her family.So she gets to take what she does so well, which is that personal journalism with a mix of investigative and really push them together.
And it's so intimate and there's so much heart in that series.I had the opportunity to speak with her about this recently and I got to say to her, I was like, you put ceremony in a podcast. I heard it.
There's a montage with, you know, original scoring and an honour song.I was listening to it and I remember I just, like, had to kind of stop because I was so like, oh my god, I'm in ceremony.
And whether, you know, whether you know it or not, like, whether you're Indigenous or not, you might not know what that is, but there was so much weight to it in a way that I was, I was in awe.I was in awe of it and I always am.
Like, her work is stunning and smart.She makes this work and she admits her mistakes and she's so honest about it and forthright that it just kind of makes you love her as a storyteller and trust her.
Well, and you know, if none of those work for you, there's always a really good history podcast called The Secret Life of Canada.It's in its sixth season and it's featuring the two lovely voices of Leah Simone Bowen and Phelan Johnson.
This year I went in with this feeling of wanting to look at Canadian history as not something that just happens in Canada.I wanted to sort of reach further and see, you know, where Canada has had an impact in other places.
And so we did an episode on the secret life of the Canadian teen drama and looking at the global impact of Degrassi, the series.All of the iterations of Degrassi and then also talking to international fans.
Then things are going to get a little heavier in the next few weeks.We've released an episode on the Royal Proclamation.We're doing a big episode on Treaty 6, which is a deep dive.
And then one coming up that's coming up later in the season is I'm looking at Indigenous people abroad.
Because it's documented about, you know, many Indigenous people going overseas at different points, whether they went by choice or were taken as slaves or captives or prisoners, our feet did touch that land.
And so I kind of want to look at those people's stories and see what happened to them.
Phelan Johnson is Mohawk and Tuscarora from Six Nations.You're listening to Unreserved on CBC Radio 1, Sirius XM, U.S.Public Radio, and Native Voice 1.I'm Rosanna Dearchild.
Today, from books to pods to music playlists, we got your summer plans right here.Now that we know what to read and listen to, let's see what there is to watch.Someone pass the remote!
This woman is so adept at being a criminal, it's not funny.
I've never seen a shit show quite like the story of Sarah King.
She conned people out of $10 million.But infamy comes with a price.If we don't have her money by tomorrow morning, you will be gutted like a fish in Newport Harbor.
Lady Mafia, available now on The Binge.Search for Lady Mafia wherever you get your podcasts to start listening today.
Cheryl Carey is obsessed with movies and has been her whole life.A few years ago, she started a podcast called The Red Gaze.
As you might guess, it offers a counter-narrative to the so-called white gaze or the assumption that those watching and buying movies identify as white.In her podcast, Cheryl and guests dissect movies and TV shows through an indigenous lens.
From classics like Thunderheart to newer productions like Reservation Dogs and Killers of the Flower Moon, there's a lot to talk about.Cheryl is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
She's here to tell us more about the Red Gays and be our guide to what we should be watching this summer on the small and big screens.Cheryl, welcome to Unreserved. Thank you.Thanks for having me.So when did you first fall in love with movies?
I would say I've loved movies my entire life.Going to the movies was always fun.As a kid, we had a local drive-in.And so just going to the drive-in was a really cool thing.And we lived way out in the country where there wasn't a whole lot to do.
And so watching movies was always a good thing.
Yeah.And what role did movies and watching movies play in your family's life?
Well, growing up, I mean, there wasn't a whole lot of Native representation in movies, so that was always a challenge.
I think it wasn't until I was in probably middle school and high school that there was probably a little bit more representation than there had been in the past. movies became a little more fun.And they're a lot more fun now.Yeah.
Was your family the kind of family that like went out together and, and went to the drive in and then talked about the movies and just was very excited sort of sort of event, I suppose?
Yeah, I, I think not so much growing up, but as I got older and started my own family, um, just watching movies with my kids.
And I always said, we, we talk in movies, so we'll say movie quotes to each other, our favorite movie quotes, you know, that apply to a certain circumstance or something like that.
And just, you know, we, we always know which movie we reference because there's certain movies we watched over and over and over and over again.
Yeah, I know the feeling.What is your favorite movie to quote?For me, it's Princess Bride, but you know, because that's the greatest movie ever made.But what is it for you?
Oh, my God.Yes.I can tell you that Princess Bride, my daughter and I speak Princess Bride fluently to each other.We quote Little Big Men a lot.Yeah, there's a lot of those old movies that we just they have some some really cool one liners.
What's your favorite one liner from Little Big Man?
Yeah.And I love Chief Dan George, any movie that he was in.So. He has some really fun quotes from the outlaw, Josie Wales, when he he's talking to Clint Eastwood about, you know, his experiences with the government.
And he's he's talking about an instance where he went to the met with the president and the president told him, endeavor to persevere.
He shook our hands and said, endeavor to persevere.
And he says it in this, just the way he says it.So anytime we're, like I tease my daughter when we're having a hard time, then I'll say, endeavor to persevere.
People must think you're a bit off when you're in public.Oh yeah, definitely.Yeah, bit of a weirdo.That's okay.Us nerds have to stick together. Heck yeah.I'm right there with you.
You mentioned representation a little earlier, Indigenous representation in movies.Do you remember the first time you noted that most movies you were watching and that were made didn't have a lot of Indigenous people in it?
I can remember the movie that made me aware that we could be in movies. I, you know, I never, we never watched Westerns or anything like that growing up.So I didn't, it wasn't until I was older that I actually saw a Western and was outraged.
at the representation there.But I remember when I was in middle school somewhere, and I saw Billy Jack.And I mean, obviously, you know, Billy Jack's a white guy, but I mean, in the movie, he was half, he was a halfie like me.It just blew my mind.
Like, oh, wow, that's, you know, I'm in a movie, you know, a person like me is in a movie. And, you know, and he was just fighting for Native rights and, you know, standing up for Native kids.
And like I said, it kind of blew my mind because up until that point, it was such a normal state of movies to not see Native representation that it blew my mind to think that, wow, like, we could make movies like this.
Mm, Billy Jackman, the original hero.
Just saying.How does that line go?I'm gonna take off my right boot.
I'm gonna put my right foot on your left jaw, and there ain't nothing you can do about it.
I'm gonna take this right foot, and I'm gonna whop you on that side of your face.And you wanna know something?There's not a damn thing you're gonna be able to do about it.
That's it, that's it.And do you remember like a time when there was a moment that the industry started to realize, hey, we can make movies for indigenous people, movie lovers, and they will come and see it?
I think for me, the time period that I grew up, Dances with Wolves was the really big like shift where people were like, wow, this could, you know, these types of movies could really win awards and they
know appeal to a popular audience and obviously it was still a white savior type of movie but it didn't we weren't just props as you know like so a lot of the movies that we review now through the red gaze we talk about how we're simply props and uh you know we're not really integral to the story whereas i think in dances with wolves it was a really the first major effort
to take us out of the background and make us part of the story, a true part of the story.And so I think that really, as much as we doggone dances with wolves, I think it really was a shift for the theater industry, the movie industry.
Absolutely.And everybody we knew was in it. Great.Hey, that's my cousin.You mentioned the Red Gaze podcast, which has dozens of episode already under its belt.How would you describe it to someone who hasn't heard it before?
I would say it's just a bunch of little kids talking about movies and Native representation in movies.We were not by any means a professional podcast.We just kind of, you know,
get together as much as we can and review the movies that we all loved watching and continue to love watching.
A lot of the movies, the classics, The Little Big Man, The Thunderheart, Powwow Highway, the ones that we really enjoy watching, but then also being able to pick apart movies that are really problematic like Pocahontas and The New World and different ones that are really
problematic for us.So we just enjoy visiting, teasing, you know,
having a conversation about movies.Let's get into some recommendations.What's your top movie recommendation for listeners this summer?
Well, I went back to the the podcasters that were all part of this and just said, you know, what were some of the favorite movies that we've looked at recently?And so there were three that came out on top.
I don't know if we have one really top, top movie.I'm going to I'm going to guess Prey was probably our top movie that we just loved.Everybody loved it.It was great acting, great perspective.It was indigenous centered.
Prey was centered in an indigenous woman who ran into the early versions of the Predator and basically outwitted him and was able to save her people and really be recognized as a warrior. It checked all the boxes, you know?
The thing that we loved about it the most was it, like, it blew white men's minds to have a kick-ass Native woman hero, you know, who used her wits to outsmart this threat.
Why do you want to hunt?Because you all think that I can't.
I saw a sign in the sky.I'm ready. Yeah, so we we just loved Prey.Yeah, I can't say enough about how great that movie was.
Yeah, it was really special.What's your number two recommendation?
Number two was War Pony.War Pony was not didn't get as much attention, I think, as Prey, as much marketing and things like that as Prey.But War Pony was probably the most relatable film that we've ever done that that was
showed the reality of reservation life, but wasn't all about, it wasn't about poverty porn.
It was just a story about a young man trying to survive in his environment and trying to make good by his family and all the challenges that he runs into in trying to do that.And we loved the ending.It's a surprise ending.
I won't spoil the ending for anybody, but War Pony is It's just such a relatable film.Everybody loved that one as well.
All right.Well, keep a watch out for that.And what about your number three recommendation?Fry Bread Face and Me.I'm cheering and waving my arms with joy.I love this movie so much.But the stage is yours.Tell us what it's about.
Yeah, I think all of the the podcasters on The Red Gaze that watched it were like, man, this is really slow.It's you know, it didn't really the first time watching through were like used to the action type of movies.
But then the second time watching it through, just really letting the pace lead the story.
Absolutely.And for people who might not have watched or know about Fried Bread, Face Me, that follows a young boy as he goes from the urban center and spends the summer with his cuckoo on the res, meets his cousin.
They sort of start out with animosity and then eventually they just blossom in cousin love.It's just a beautiful film.
You're gonna spend the summer with your grandma over on the Navajo res.
You said I could go to Fleetwood Mac.
Devil music.Stevie Nicks is a witch.
And this is how my summer began.
Oh, yeah.It just like bloomed in so many ways.And it was such a again, such a relatable experience of especially, you know, going from urban tribal community to reservation community and the and the connections that you make as family.
A lot of us have family that were on relocation.
and came home and so just having that big city experience and then moving back home again and the relationships with your cousins and your grandmas and your uncles and all of that, it was such a relatable experience.
There was humor in it and there was a lot of nostalgia to it.We called it kind of the native stand by me story, you know, where you just really at the end of the movie, you just really feel like, hey, I've been there.
I've been on that journey as well.And so, yeah.And it's interesting that the three movies that we recommend were really not big box office movies.They were streaming, you know, they put out on streaming services first.
And people would say that they're maybe testing out the audience, the viewership to see if there's an audience for Native films.And so,
whenever we do the podcast, The Red Gaze, we always tell people, you know, go watch the movie, give it a like, let the streaming services know that you like these movies and you want to see more of them because that's what will drive this exploration into more Red Gaze type of movies.
And now what about a classic recommendation, something that you could watch anytime?Little Big Man.I mean,
It's kind of got a little bit of the White Savior vibes, but it's not a White Savior film.It's just kind of a commentary.
But the white man, they believe everything is dead.Stone, earth, animals, and people, even their own people.If things keep trying to live, White man will rub them out.
We love the fact that it's really one of those films that criticizes non-Native society and criticizes some of the hypocrisies.And for a film of its time, at the time it was made, that was sort of unprecedented.And so
I think that's something that we like about it.We also just love, you know, Chief Dan George and just like totally made that film.And so, yeah, I think all of us really like that film.
Yes, it's a good classic to watch.Thank you so much for your recommendations and your time today, Cheryl.
Thank you.I appreciate it.Cheryl Carey is the host of the Red Gaze podcast and an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. You're listening to Unreserved on CBC Radio 1, Sirius XM, U.S.Public Radio and Native Voice 1.I'm Rosanna Dearchild.
What summer without food?Whether you like to get your hands dirty in the garden or simply enjoy the summer spoils, this season brings forth plenty of fresh ingredients.We asked our favorite Six Nations chef to share some of her regional favorites.
All she asked is that we think outside the box.Here's Aisha Smith-Belgaba with her top five ingredients for the summer.
Hi, I'm Aisha Smith-Belgaba.I'm Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River, a chef and entrepreneur, and I'm here to talk to you today about five ingredients you should keep your eye out for this summer.
My first recommendation is strawberries and any other berries you can get your hands on.I think they're super beautiful.They're very healthy.I like to have them fresh, just right out of the garden.You can make them into a sorbet.
A traditional drink that we have here in Six Nations is strawberry juice. So we just mash up some fresh strawberries, add some sugar in there and water, and then we have strawberry juice.
Other berries, you can mix them in with the strawberries and actually cook them down and turn it into a sauce.
And that can be served with poultry or fish, red meat, add a little sugar, a little salt, a little bit of pepper, and you just cook it down till it gets thicker.
And then you can serve it with all those different kinds of meat or just have it on potatoes, vegetables, whatever you want. Another ingredient to look out for are garlic scapes.
So garlic scapes are those long green tops that grow out of garlic bulbs.And they are bean-like in look and texture.They're really green and firm.And when they're fresh, they're snappy, how a bean would snap in half.
Good ways to eat those are pickling them.They're so, so, so good as a pickle because they have all that super strong, pungent garlic flavor inside the stock.And you can also use it in place of garlic.
So if you don't have the garlic clove, you can use the garlic scapes, just the same way you would use garlic.And it adds such good flavor.The only difference is it would be green in color instead of the white that the garlic bulb would be.
And coming in at number three are tomatoes.Now tomatoes are probably my favorite food in the whole world.I feel like you can just eat them anytime, anywhere, any place, any reason.But ways I like to eat tomatoes are like an apple.
just right off the plant when it's super fresh, give it a little wash off, take a bite, add some salt, salad, soup, sauces.You can pickle green tomatoes when they're smaller and more firm.They're super crunchy once they're pickled.
Also, I love fried green tomatoes. And an Algerian dish that I would make with my grandma is called Fifla.And it's literally just fresh green peppers that are fire roasted.
And then you cook that down with tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and it's super, super good.And you have it with some fresh bread.That dish always reminds me of my grandma. All right, so at number four, we have fresh greens.
And in this category, I'm putting lettuces in there and fresh herbs.And they have a lot of versatility, more than just a salad.So with endives, so a more firm, not necessarily green, but something that would be used in a salad as a lettuce, sort of.
Those can be grilled.Romaine lettuce can be grilled as well as roasted and it adds a really unique flavor and changes the texture as well.Cold salads, I like to make, you know, just a regular salad with fresh greens, add some herbs in there.
You can use fresh herbs as lettuces too and add that into your lettuce mix and it adds little punches of flavor throughout your salad.Super good.Throw them in pasta salad.
With the herbs, you can dry them, you can make your own herb blends, you can turn them into sauces, vinaigrettes, marinades.
You can lay down a bunch of fresh herbs and then steam fish on top of it and the flavors would impart throughout the fish while the steaming process happens.Yeah, a lot of fun stuff you can do with greens aside from just a regular basic salad.
So at number five, we have peaches and I absolutely adore peaches.I just think they're so delicious.You can eat them in so many different ways.
You can find these in all the same places you would the other ingredients, grocery stores, farmer's markets.
If you want to start a longer journey with a peach, you can go plant a tree, but make sure you have a couple of them because they need to have a group to help each other pollinate.Everyone needs friends and so do peaches.
Ways I like to eat them are grilling them and serving them with fish or some type of chicken or something.You can also make them into vinaigrettes.
Just throw some fresh peach in a blender with some olive oil, a little vinegar, salt, pep, maybe basil.Basil would be good in there.Blend that up and then with no time, you have a vinaigrette.They're great in salads.
You can use them in place of tomatoes. Like have a peach caprese salad with no tomatoes or have tomatoes and peaches.Turn it into marinades.You can make hot sauce with peaches.And of course, desserts like sorbet.Turn it into a cake or a pie.
Super versatile, very good, and yummy. These are my top fives to look out for in the summer.
Take these ingredients, do what you will with them, but please experiment in new ways and let's break that box around people's minds and where fruit should be used.You can use fruit and savory applications too.
Lettuces can go into soups, they can be grilled, they can be roasted.Just really start to explore and experiment with what you have around you and at hand.
I just truly think that food is a great way to stay connected with nature, your community, and yourself, of course.Your stomach is so important to your mental health.
Eating well also contributes to having a good mind, and having a good mind leads to having a great life, so let's eat great food and have great lives.
Aisha Smith-Belgaba is Mohawk from Six Nations.She is a chef and entrepreneur. That's all our time on Radio Indigenous.This episode was produced by Kim Kasher, Rhiannon Johnson, Zoe Tennant, and Elena Hudgens-Lyle.
You can now listen to us streaming live on the CBC News app.Just go to the local tab and press play wherever you are.You can also find and follow us wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm your favorite cousin, Rosanna Deerchild, coming at you from Winnipeg in Treaty One territory.You can ask me a bit now while I go say. That was a special bonus episode of Unreserved, a fearless space for Indigenous voices celebrating 10 years.
If you made it to the end of our NIPD episode, you're definitely invited into the circle.Find and follow Unreserved everywhere you get your podcasts.
For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.
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