Indigenous Sexual Futures

In Episode 10, Doris invites Dr. Savage Bear, (Nêhiyawiskwew) to the Indigenous Sexual Futures table to unpack for us, the expansiveness of Indigenous eroticism that goes beyond just talking about sex and sexuality. If you have you ever wondered how Indigenous eroticisms connects to the land, #Landback and sovereignty and so much more, then you will have to listen to this episode where Savage unpacks it all for us.  Savage Bear is a citizen of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation. As well as serving as the Director for the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute, she is an Assistant Professor within the Indigenous Studies Department, and the National Director of Walls to Bridges. Bear won the Governor General Gold Medal for her outstanding 2016 PhD dissertation. In 2023 Bear was appointed to the Order of Canada for her exemplary achievement and positive impacts for transformative change in the areas of Indigenous rights, prison education and academic leadership.AcknowledgementsWe would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 10 of Indigenous Sexual Futures   Special GuestDr. Savage Bear - NêhiyawiskwewHost Storyteller/Producer Doris Peltier Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee  Executive Producer Feast Centre - Randall Jackson  Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator), Freddy Monasterio (Research Coordinator), Sabina Rajkumar (Research Assistant) & Catherine Booker (Finance, part-time)Podcast Branding Design Compassion Creative Podcast Web Development Will Gooding, Doris Peltier    We acknowledge our funders: Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests. Suggested Reading list coming soon...

In Episode 9, Doris invites Melissa Morris, 2-Spirit/Indigiqueer Community-based researcher, along with Dr. John Schellenberg, Assistant Professor in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at UofM to the table to talk about their research on assessing Syphilis rapid-testing diagnostic needs in community. Doris asked them to talk about their research approach in terms of how they combined basic science methods with Indigenous methods in their research. How do you deliver a project titled, Needs assessment for STBBI screening and other diagnostic services in Indigenous and non-Indigenous community settings: Experiences, preferences, and deal-breakers to community for it to be palatable and understood was the starting question, and off they went to tell the story of their research. A key point that John underscored was that quite often in research, Knowledge Translation is often relegated to the end when he believes that it should be at the front of your research, particularly in basic science. This episode also commemorates World AIDS Day 2024 and Indigenous AIDS Awareness week and highlights the tremendous gains in both scientific and Indigenous HIV research. Exciting!!! We hope that you will enjoy this episode.  We would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 9 of Indigenous Sexual Futures  Special Guest(s) John Schellenberg Melissa Morris - Métis  Host Storyteller/Producer Doris Peltier Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee  Executive Producer Feast Centre - Randall Jackson  Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator), Freddy Monasterio (Research Coordinator), Jordan Carrier (Research Assistant), Justin McDonald (Research Assistant), Sabina Rajkumar (Research Assistant) & Catherine Booker (Finance, part-time)Podcast Branding Design Compassion Creative Podcast Web Development Jordan Carrier   We acknowledge our funders: Canadian Institutes of Health Research  Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests. Suggested Reading list coming soon...

Ep.8: Indigiqueer Futures with Joshua WhiteheadIn Episode 8, Doris invites Joshua Whitehead, Oji-Cree/nehiyaw, Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1) to the table to share what underpins his writings and their connections to Indigenous Futurisms. While studying at the University of Winnipeg as a youth and beginning to contemplate writing, he recalls how very little representation there was of two-spirit characters in books and wanted youth to see themselves depicted, “I wanted Indigenous readers, specifically Indigenous youth to see themselves represented”, and says that they were not being fully represented in that contemporary/urban way. He pays homage to what he calls the first wave of Indigenous authors and positions himself as part of a second wave of Indigenous authors. He says he was drawn into the romance of language but wanted to write about the grit rather than write about romanticizing the land which he inadvertently did do with his book, a memoir titled, Making Love with the Land. What he really wanted to write about was “the healthy, powerful and sometimes hurtful beautiful queer Indigenous relationships.” He also unpacks the usage of the term Indigiqueer and acknowledges the youth legacy that underpins what we are currently seeing with Indigiqueer/Two-Spirit Indigenous youth who are blazing a trail forward to the future. Joshua Whitehead is Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary and is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies.Navigate to the Feast Centre Podcast Webpage to see Guest BIOs:http://bit.ly/feast_podcast OUR FEATURED GUESTJoshua Whitehead is an Oji-Cree, Two-Spirit member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer, Jonny Appleseed, Making Love with the Land, and Indigiqueerness: a Conversation on Storytelling as well as the editor of Love after the End: an Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction. Currently, Whitehead is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary (Treaty 7) where he is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies.   We would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 8 of Indigenous Sexual Futures    Special Guest(s)  Joshua Whitehead - Oji/Cree   Host Storyteller/Producer  Doris Peltier    Technical Producer Paula Burrows - Jupiter Productions    ISF Theme Music and Creative Sound Cozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden    Indigenous Knowledge Advisory  Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee       Executive Producer  Feast Centre - Randall Jackson        Feast Centre Staff  Will Gooding (National Director), Justin Macdonald (Research Assistant), Jordan Carrier (Research Assistant), Sabina Rajkumar (Research Assistant) and Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator)   Podcast Branding Design  Compassion Creative    Podcast Web Development  Jordan Carrier      We acknowledge our funders:  Canadian Institutes of Health Research     Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this terrSuggested Reading list coming soon...

In Episode 7, Doris invites Inuk Elder Naulaq LeDrew to the table in an episode titled Saanginiiniq Qalunaanimiutauluni. In Inuktituut, the title translates to ‘being strong in the urban setting’, which speaks to how she maintains her Inuit way of knowing and being despite having lived away from her homeland for many years. Naulaq is an artist and an avid storyteller and shares about her upbringing and her deep connection to the land and to her Inuit culture. From stories about the importance of food gathering on the land as part of survival to sharing about how throat singing reflects the sounds of the land, animals and water, but more importantly, she tells us that throat singing was for the babies who were carried in the amautis that Inuit women wear to carry their babies. She finishes with the powerful story of Sedna and highlights why these stories were told. We would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 7 of Indigenous Sexual Futures  Special Guest(s) Naulaq LeDrew – Inuk (Apex Hill) Host Storyteller/Producer Doris Peltier  Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions  ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden  Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee    Executive Producer Feast Centre - Randall Jackson       Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator), Jordan Carrier (Research Assistant)   Podcast Branding Design Compassion Creative   Podcast Web Development Catherine Booker     We acknowledge our funders: Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests. Suggested Reading list coming soon...

In this special WORLD AIDS Day episode, Indigenous Sexual Futures puts a spotlight on Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc., a remarkable Indigenous community-based organization in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Doris invited Aunties, Leslie Spillett, Jacqueline Flett and Laverne Gervais to the table to tell the story of Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. The Aunties tell the story of the community ceremony that put the medicine in motion to build this organization in 2001, highlighting key points in the community building story of Ka Ni Kanichihk by visionary community leaders, Elders and Aunties. Ka Ni Kanichihk is a Cree word that means - those who lead. This podcast went LIVE on World AIDS Day to honor and remember all our relatives and to mark this day in remembrance. Photo of Leslie Spillet -  Photo credit, Red Works Photography#AuntiesRock We would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 6 of Indigenous Sexual Futures Special Guest(s) Leslie Spillett - Cree MétisJacqueline Flett - MétisLaverne Gervais - Anishinabe/Dakota/French Canadian   Song featured in this episode:Drum Song for World AIDS Day – sung by Jacqueline Flett Host Storyteller/Producer Doris Peltier  Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions  ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden  Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee    Executive Producer Feast Centre - Randall Jackson     Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Catherine Booker (Research Coordinator) and Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator)  Podcast Branding Design Compassion Creative  Podcast Web Development Catherine Booker    We acknowledge our funders: Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests. Suggested Reading list coming soon...

In Episode 5, Doris invites Feast Centre Elders Wayne Seward (Snuneymuxw) and Catherine Martin (Mi'kmaw) to the table to talk about cultural healing and how each brings their gifts to the people. From speaking about the importance of cedar brushing, to acknowledging the four medicines, to acknowledging 'laughter' as the fifth medicine in our healing, these two Elders use the power of storytelling, mixed with a little bit of humor here and there, to speak about what they bring to community. You will not want to miss this episode! As we always do, this podcast will also feature a song from each Elder, songs that they were given permission to share with the people.We would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 5 of Indigenous Sexual Futures Special Guest(s) Wayne Barry Seward - Snuneymuxw Coast Salish  Catherine Martin - Mi’kmaw Millbrook First Nations  Songs featured in this episode:Prayer Song – sung by Wayne SewardAuntie Maudie’s Song – sung by Wayne SewardIIGWANAY (Mi’kmaw Chant) – sung by Catherine Martin Host Storyteller/Producer Doris Peltier  Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions  ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden  Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee    Executive Producers Feast Centre Co-Leads - Randall Jackson & Renée Masching   Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Catherine Booker (Research Coordinator) and Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator)  Podcast Branding Design Compassion Creative  Podcast Web Development Catherine Booker  Recorded at Lyons Media Centre (McMaster University) We acknowledge our funders Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests.  Suggested Reading list coming soon...

In Episode 4, Doris invites Métis Elder Marjorie Beaucage to be featured as a special guest to talk about her 'hot off the press' published book titled, leave some for the birds - Movements for Justice. In this podcast storytelling episode, we hear in her own words about the movements in her life that culminated in the writing of her poetic memoir that highlights seven decades of living and seeking justice as a Two Spirit Métis woman who still retains her Michif language. Additionally, as part of celebrating Indigenous History Month and PRIDE Month, Marjorie is a beautiful fit for this special episode . Marjorie is an acclaimed filmmaker, art-ivist and educator, land protector and a water protector. Born in Vassar, Manitoba, to a large Métis family, Marjorie’s life’s work has been about creating social change, working to give people the tools for creating possibilities and right relations. She is a beloved Feast Centre Elder and a soul-filling storyteller!For more information about Indigenous Sexual Futures, and to see the BIOs of our featured guests, please visit the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research podcast website @ https://feastcentre.mcmaster.ca/podcastsACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 4 of Indigenous Sexual Futures Special Guest Auntie Marjorie Beaucage Host Storyteller/Producer Doris PeltierIn Grandmother's Hands - PoemRead by Marjorie Beaucage Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee  Executive Producers Feast Centre Co-Leads - Randall Jackson & Renée Masching Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Catherine Booker (Research Coordinator) and Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator) and Feast Centre Research Assistants Bridget Marsdin and Esther KimPodcast Branding Design Compassion Creative  We acknowledge our funders Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the Dish with One Spoon wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests. Suggested Reading list coming soon...

In Episode Three, Doris invites Gayle Pruden for a very special storytelling session. Gayle is known and loved by many Indigenous people across Turtle Island, the diversity of the communities that love Gayle is vast, from the Two-Spirit community across Turtle Island to the Jingle Dress dancer community to the Grandmother (Kokum) community in her circles. Her storytelling focuses on her traditional upbringing by her great-grandfather and her grandparents who raised her. She says they imparted love to her in her upbringing and it is love that continues to carry her into her present life, Gayle embodies how she was raised. She says her great-grandfather and grandparents did not experience residential school and spoke their Anishinaabe language fluently and according to Gayle, their traditional knowledges were strong.  Notably, in listening to her story about her great-grandfather and grandparents, what they passed on to Gayle was embodied culture and tradition, we do not see too much of this anymore in today's contemporary Indigenous world. Interspersed with Anishinaabemowin, Gayle tells her story with poignancy, wonder, beauty and of course with her unique and infectious Anishinaabe humor. She is a woman of indomitable spirit for the future and a gifted storyteller. For more information about Indigenous Sexual Futures, and to see the BIOs of our featured guests, please visit the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research podcast website @ https://feastcentre.mcmaster.ca/podcasts ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 3 of Indigenous Sexual Futures Special Guest  Auntie Gayle Pruden (Dancing Bear)Host Storyteller/Producer Doris PeltierE-inigoowa'ikawaag oowi aki, abi-izhinoowa'amawishin (Rattle song)Sung by Gayle Pruden (Special thanks to Jordy Ironstar for the remote recording of this sacred song.) Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee  Executive Producers Feast Centre Co-Leads - Randall Jackson & Renée Masching Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Catherine Booker (Research Coordinator) and Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator) and Feast Centre Research Assistants Bridget Marsdin, James O'Grady and Esther KimPodcast Branding Design Compassion Creative  We acknowledge our funders Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the Dish with One Spoon wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests. Suggested Reading list coming soon...

Indigenous Sexual Futures, Episode Two: "Sexual Health is Part of My Medicine Bundle" features guests, Martin Morberg and Lane Bonertz In Episode Two, Doris speaks with Martin Morberg and Lane Bonertz, two phenomenal leaders who work with the Two-Spirit Program at the Community Based Research Centre (CBRC). They share the creation and developmental story of the Medicine Bundle, an innovative, culturally informed and culturally grounded HIV prevention tool geared towards Two-Spirit, Queer, and Trans Indigenous community members. When the HIV self-testing kit became widely available in Canada, the Two-Spirit leadership at the CBRC saw an opportunity to harness culture and tradition for HIV self-testing for the two-spirit community in BC. Martin and Lane also acknowledged the commitment of the CBRC who worked with local Two-Spirit leaders to establish the Two-Spirit Program within their organization. The CBRC recognized that "true reconciliation requires more than an endorsement and have made a series of commitments" to community, utilizing the Calls to Action from the TRC (https://www.cbrc.net/2spirit-program). Listen to our Podcast, this podcast went LIVE on April 12, 2023!For more information about Indigenous Sexual Futures, and to see the BIOs of our featured guests, please visit the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research podcast website @ https://feastcentre.mcmaster.ca/podcasts  AcknowledgementsWe would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 2 of Indigenous Sexual Futures  Guests  Martin Morberg (Tutchone/Tlingit - Yukon)Two-Spirit Program Coordinator - CBRCLane Bonertz (Blackfoot – Piikanni Nation)Two Spirit Program Lead - CBRC  HIV and AIDS Drum Song  sung by Elder Marjorie Beaucage   Host Storyteller/Producer  Doris Peltier   Technical Producer Paula Burrows - Jupiter Productions   ISF Theme Music and Creative Sound Cozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden   Indigenous Knowledge Advisory  Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee   Executive Producers  Feast Centre Co-Leads - Randall Jackson & Renée Masching   Feast Centre Staff  Will Gooding (National Director), Catherine Booker (Research Coordinator), Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator), Bridget Marsdin (Research Assistant), Esther Kim (Research Assistant), and James O’Grady (Research Assistant)  Podcast Branding Design  Compassion Creative   Podcast Web Development  Catherine Booker   We acknowledge our funders  Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests.  Suggested Reading list coming soon...

In Episode One, Doris speaks with Randy Jackson and Grace Dillion about how Indigenous Futurisms is integral to Indigenous sexual futures. Indigenous Sexual Futures is a term coined by the Feast Centre that delineates a vision for tomorrow’s grandchildren that is sexually expansive, healthy, and safe. We consider Indigenous futurisms as foundational to the work we do at the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research moving forward. In the last decade, the Indigenous research community has embedded strengths-based approaches and are already leading the way into the future by prioritizing Indigenous ways of knowing and being in how we conduct research. The Anishinaabe word ‘biskaabiiyang’ is an Anishinaabe concept of ‘returning to ourselves’ and is now widely used as a replacement word for decolonizing the tremendously important work of Indigenous Futurisms. As a fluent Anishinaabe speaker, this word has a deep resonance for Doris, and she hopes it resonates for all of you listeners too. Kwa’Nu’Te, sung by Elder Catherine Martin. Intro/Extro spoken Anishinaabe word by Elder Gayle Pruden. Navigate to the Feast Centre Podcast Webpage to see Guest BIOs:http://bit.ly/feast_podcast  OUR FEATURED GUESTSRandy Jackson (Anishinaabe) is Associate Professor at McMaster University in the School of Social Work with a cross-appointment in the Department of Health, Aging and Society. Randy is a key figure in Community-based research and is considered an expert in HIV in Indigenous communities in Canada. Grace L. Dillon (Anishinaabe)  is a Professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies Department at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, Grace is a key figure in contemporary conversations about Indigenous Futurisms.   We would like to acknowledge the following for their contributions towards Episode 1 of Indigenous Sexual Futures Guests Dr. Grace Dillon  & Dr. Randy Jackson  Kwa’Nu’Te - Ceremonial Song sung by Elder Catherine Martin  Host Storyteller/Producer Doris Peltier  Technical ProducerPaula Burrows - Jupiter Productions  ISF Theme Music and Creative SoundCozmic Cat, Classic Roots, Elder Gayle Pruden  Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Feast Centre Council of Elders and Gathering Lodge Committee   Executive Producers Feast Centre Co-Leads - Randall Jackson & Renée Masching Feast Centre Staff Will Gooding (National Director), Catherine Booker (Research Coordinator), Miranda Black (Research Coordinator), Doris Peltier (Community Engagement Coordinator) and Bridget Marsdin (Research Assistant) Podcast Branding Design Compassion Creative Podcast Web Development Catherine Booker  Marketing & Promotion Miranda Black Feast Centre Research Assistants  For reading and summarizing articles on Indigenous Futurisms    We acknowledge our funders Canadian Institutes of Health Research   Indigenous Sexual Futures is produced on the ancestral lands of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by the “Dish with One Spoon” wampum. We acknowledge the ancestors of this territory, and we also acknowledge the lands and territories of all our guests. Suggested Reading list coming soon...