Homecoming: Ovid Thomas Reclaims History on the Poundmaker Cree Nation

Homecoming: Ovid Thomas Reclaims History on the Poundmaker Cree NationThis week on ReThreading Madness, Bernadine speaks with Ovid Thomas, a Sixties Scoop survivor and social media creator known for his educational content on Cree history and the Poundmaker Cree Nation.  Taken from his family at just two weeks old, Ovid grew up in a non-Indigenous home in northern Manitoba, facing  abuse, neglect, and systemic discrimination.Ovid shares his journey of survival—from enduring racial bias in education and being falsely accused of cheating, to challenging policies that barred First Nations students from university-track courses. He opens up about how trauma, partial deafness, and years of misdiagnosis shaped his early life, and how returning to his community became a path toward healing. Together, Bernadine and Ovid explore his reconnection with the Poundmaker Cree Nation, where he discovered family, belonging, and cultural roots long denied to him. They discuss his efforts to correct mistranslations of speeches by Poundmaker and Big Bear, his research into colonial distortions of Cree history, and his ongoing fight against medical and institutional racism.This conversation moves from the personal to the political—linking Ovid’s lived experience with thebroader legacy of colonial systems that continue to harm Indigenous peoples. It’s a story of truthtelling, reclamation, and resilience.Music by Shari UlrichBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support.www.rethreadingmadness.ca