Relentless Indigenous Woman Podcast

"I've always just loved fashion. It really came from going to powwows." In this final episode of the spring/summer season, the host, Dr. Candace Manitopyes, connects with Christian Allaire, a senior fashion and style writer at Vogue, to explore his incredible journey from Nipissing First Nation to the fashion capital of the world. They dive into his work as an author and his pivotal role in bringing Indigenous fashion into the mainstream, tackling the complex reality of representation in an industry that has often missed the mark.The conversation moves beyond the red carpet as they discuss what true reclamation looks like—treating Indigenous designers as artists first, rather than just objects of temporary interest. Christian shares insights on balancing the intense pressures of the fashion business with the deep, intentional storytelling behind Indigenous design, and why pushing creative boundaries is so vital for future generations.Listeners also get a fun, unfiltered look at the person behind the byline. From a shared obsession with Britney Spears and the comfort of an Indian taco to the chaotic, stress-filled reality of working behind the scenes at a fashion show, this episode captures an honest convo between two Rez kids who dared to ask, "what if there's more?" It’s an inspiring, must-listen conversation for anyone who loves fashion, culture, and doesn't give a fck if they're seen as weird for pushing artistic boundaries. -Relentless ActionsDon’t just "like" Indigenous art from afar—make it a tangible part of your daily life. Commit to researching five new Indigenous designers, buying one small, intentional piece (like earrings or a ribbon shirt), and then actively sharing their story when people ask about it. You aren’t just a consumer; you are an ambassador for that artist’s labor, history, and craft.If you are a Native creator or artist, stop shrinking your vision to fit the "explicitly Native" box the industry expects of you. Reclaim your right to be "weird," avant-garde, and unexpected. Your work is Indigenous because you are Indigenous—it doesn't need to wear a stereotype to be authentic. Build the future you want to see, not the one they told you to create.Relentless ReflectionsChristian challenged the colonial assumption that diamonds and European silk are the ultimate markers of wealth. Reflect on what you prioritize in your own life. Are you valuing the "dentallium shells"—the rare, meaningful, and cultural treasures—or are you still chasing someone else’s metric of success? True luxury is often what honours your roots, not what costs the most.Writing a memoir is an act of extreme vulnerability, where you have to look at your mistakes, your trauma, and your early "cringe" years with no ego. Reflect on your own story: are you hiding the messy, unpolished, or painful parts of your life? There is a profound, cathartic power in owning your entire narrative—the "nitty-gritty" parts are often the most important ones for your growth.Relentless ResourcesFrom the Rez to the Runway by Christian AllaireThe Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures  by Christian Allaire Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Beyond the stage and the following: A raw conversation with Fawn Wood about the realities  of sharing your art with the world.In this episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes connects with Fawn Wood, a celebrated Plains Cree and Salish musician, to discuss the intersection of ancestral traditions, modern digital culture, and the healing power of music. The two women laugh about the weird, small-world connections of the internet and bond over the fact that, despite their public profiles, they’re both just trying to find a bit of genuine peace in an increasingly loud world.Candace and Fawn peel back the layers of what it means to be public figures in a digital age. Fawn opens up about the vulnerability of sharing her music—how it’s a spirit that travels from one soul to another, offering medicine to anyone listening, even those outside their own communities. They get real about the "outrage economy" of social media, admitting that while it used to sting, they’ve both become veterans at protecting their energy. It’s a collective lesson in knowing when to step back, hit the block button, and redirect their focus toward things that actually nurture growth rather than hostility.There’s a refreshing honesty when the talk shifts to the raw, human side of their lives—like needing to blast heavy metal to work through ancestral rage, or simply taking a long drive to let the spirit settle. They bond over the necessity of creating a true sanctuary at home, a safe haven where children can grow up without inheriting the heavy, unspoken baggage of the past. The conversation feels less like an interview and more like a shared commitment to a better future. They circle back to the teaching of living in good relation, acknowledging that while the world can be full of noise and hurt, there’s immense power in choosing kindness and intention. It’s a quiet reminder that their work is built on the hope of paving a path that is just a little bit softer and kinder for the next generation.-Relentless ActionsThey two women become veterans at protecting their peace, and you should be too. Take an audit of your online space today—if a platform, a group, or an account is feeding the outrage economy rather than offering connection, exercise your power. Use the block button unapologetically. Your peace is not a performance, and your attention is the most valuable currency you have.Ancestral rage is real, and it needs a place to go. Don’t let it sit in your body or explode into a rage-post that you’ll regret later. Find your physical alchemy—whether it’s blasting heavy metal, going for a long drive, or hitting the pavement for a run. Move the energy through you until your spirit settles, then return to your life with a clear head.Relentless ReflectionsAsk yourself throughout your day: Is the energy I am putting into this room, this relationship, or this screen fostering connection or creating hostility? We often talk about living in good relation as a theory, but it’s a daily practice of checking your intention before you speak or hit enter. Are you building up, or are you just tearing down?As you navigate your day, reflect on what you are inadvertently passing on to the next generation. We are all unlearning patterns to build a better sanctuary for the ones coming after us. Ask yourself: What habits or reactions am I modelling right now that I would be proud for my children (or my community's youth) to inherit?Relentless ResourcesFollow Fawn Wood on Instagram and TikTok here: @fawnwoodSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

"Rage is love on fire."This episode feels like a long-awaited conversation between kindred spirits. Host, Dr. Candace Manitopyes, connects with Kaniehtiio (Tiio) Horn and unravel Indigenous sterotypes from the very beginning of their talk. The two women immediately get into convos about the complicated, beautiful, and sometimes jagged truth of existing as light-skinned Indigenous women.They also talk about rage. Tiio shares how she carried a quiet shame about her anger for years after surviving the Oka crisis; trying to fit herself into boxes that never held her. Now, she uses that energy as creative fuel.Her work, including her role as the Deer Lady in Reservation Dogs and her horror-comedy (and quite cathartic) film Seeds, serves as a vessel for that unbridled spirit. She creates art that demands we look at the reality of who we are, and how there is deep strength in admitting that we all have violence inside us. It's just a matter of learning to channel it into our stories instead of against ourselves.This conversation serves as an invitation to every person who has felt silenced. Tiio reminds us that we possess the agency to craft our own narratives. We are reclaiming our joy, rage, and futures.Relentless ReflectionsStop labeling your rage as something that needs to be hidden or suppressed. Spend time this week sitting with your rage, naming its source, and acknowledging that your anger is a valid response to your history and your environment.Identify the spaces in your life where you are defaulting to people-pleasing to maintain a false peace. Question whether you are shrinking your own voice or your boundaries to keep others comfortable, and sit with the reality of what that silence is costing you.Relentless ActionsSelect one specific area of your life—whether it is your creative work, your advocacy, or your daily decisions—where you will consciously pour your energy instead of swallowing it. Use that force to build, write, or act on something that serves your truth.Actively seek out people in your life who refuse to be "yes" people for you. Ask them for unfiltered feedback on your goals, your ideas, and your blind spots so you can stop second-guessing your own power and move forward with clarity.Relentless ResourcesFollow Tiio's journey on Instagram here: @kaniehtiioCheck out Reservations Dogs (Hulu) to watch Tiio's iconic role as Deer lady or check out her horror-comedy film Seeds (a MUST watch) Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Hockey is good medicine, and Harlan Kingfisher (aka Smudge the Blades) is proving that with every single stride on the ice. In this episode, Dr. Candace hangs out with the legend behind Smudge the Blades, Harlan Kingfisher, to dig into his journey from Sturgeon Lake to the junior and college rinks. They talk about how he turned his passion into a platform that celebrates First Nations identity and explore how his viral "Smudge Celly" became a movement, encouraging Indigenous kids to bring their culture onto the ice and feel proud of who they are while they play.Beyond the gear and the hype, Harlan is all about showing up for the community. He works to make sure kids have the equipment they need and helps cover registration fees so they can get in the game. They chat about why this matters, how he stays grounded, and why it is vital to create a space for the next generation to chase their dreams without needing to change who they are.Relentless ActionsUse your own resources to help a youth in your community with hockey equipment or registration fees. This contribution ensures a young person gains the confidence to participate in the game.Find specific ways to integrate your authentic identity into professional or social spaces. When you choose to be yourself, you dismantle barriers for others and grant them permission to do the same.Relentless ReflectionsIdentify the practice that keeps you humble and connected to your origins. Whether it is family, community service, or a personal ritual like smudging, prioritize this practice to stay grounded during busy times.Consider your capacity to influence others. Reflect on how you distribute your energy and resources to ensure you pull others up alongside you as you achieve your goals.Relentless ResourcesSmudge the Blades: Visit Harlan’s platform to see how an apparel brand serves as a vehicle for cultural pride and community support.Local Grassroots Sports Boards: Contact your local minor hockey or community sports board. Ask about specific opportunities to sponsor a child for the upcoming season to remove financial barriers for families.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Ever feel like you need the perfect plan before starting your business? In this episode of Relentless Indigenous Woman, Dr. Candace Manitopyes welcomes Michelle Cameron, CEO of Dreamcatcher Promotions, to talk about the messy, real, and rewarding path of Indigenous entrepreneurship. From their hilarious first meeting stuck in a blizzard-bound minivan in Northern Ontario to Michelle building a multi-million dollar company with nothing but a used embroidery machine and YouTube tutorials, they discuss how you don't need perfection to start, you just need the drive to change your life.The two dig deep into breaking the "poverty mindset," the importance of seeking help through Indigenous Financial Institutions (IFIs) for business planning, and why true luxury is a calm nervous system and time with family. If you’ve been letting fear or shame hold you back from your vision, this conversation is your sign to keep going. Tune in to learn why you deserve to thrive, how to stop trying to do everything yourself, and why "Growth Valley" is where your biggest breakthroughs happen.Relentless ActionsOutsource the "Scary" Parts: If "business plan," "taxes," or "finances" are stopping you from starting, stop forcing yourself to do it alone. Seek out your local Indigenous Financial Institution (IFI); they often have programs that provide funding specifically to hire consultants who can write business plans and handle financial setup for you.Audit Your "Spending vs. Investing": Take a hard look at your current money habits. If you are struggling with a "poverty mindset" where money disappears as soon as it arrives, try starting small by setting aside even a minimal amount (like $100/month or a percentage of income) into a "slush fund" or savings account to build a buffer. Practice shifting from impulsive spending to intentional investing in your own business growth.Relentless ReflectionsRedefine "Growth Valley" vs. "Death Valley": While the first five years of business are often called "Death Valley" due to high failure rates, view them instead as "Growth Valley." This phase is a crucible for your own personal development. It will force you to become more innovative, brave, and honest about what is—and isn't—working in your venture.Wealth is More Than Material: Colonization has distorted our relationship with luxury. True luxury is not just material possession; it is a calm nervous system, the ability to trust your relationships, having time for your family, and the freedom to contribute back to your community. When you ground yourself in these values, you become a more resilient and effective entrepreneur.ResourcesIndigenous Financial Institutions (IFIs): These organizations are essential for Indigenous entrepreneurs. They provide not just capital, but often access to "aftercare" programs and consultants who can teach you financial literacy and business planning. Look for your regional IFI, such as the First Peoples Economic Growth (Manitoba) or similar entities in your province.Dreamcatcher Promotions: Indigenous-owned and trusted nationwide, we create custom branded merchandise and apparel that reflects your organization’s identity and supports your goals https://www.dreamcatcherpromotions.ca/ Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

What if the very tools we use to understand history (time, progress, and even language) are the exact things preventing us from achieving true collective liberation?In this episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes welcomes author and speaker Patty Krawec to discuss the profound necessity of "unforgetting." They dismantle the myth that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are sufficient, arguing that without a fundamental shift in how we relate to the Land and each other and history, we are simply building a larger, more inclusive colonial tent. Patty shares how Anishinaabemowin and other process-oriented, Land-based ways of knowing offer a radical alternative to the Western, noun-based, and time-obsessed worldview. They explore why our stories, science, and sense of self are inextricably linked to place, and why we must move from passive consumption of information to intentional, capacity-based action. This is an invitation to stop "dunking" on each other on social media and start building webs of knowledge that actually sustain our communities.Relentless Actions The Capacity Audit: Stop "rage-posting" and start organizing. When you feel triggered by an injustice, don't let it paralyze you. Instead, adopt the framework discussed in the episode: Ask yourself four questions: What can I learn about this? Who is already doing the work? What is my actual capacity to help? And what is the most constructive thing I can do right now? Whether it is starting a small book club or supporting an existing group, move from consumption to contribution.Commit to Intellectual Decolonization: Intentionally break your dependence on the traditional canon. Commit to reading broadly—specifically prioritizing Indigenous, Black, and queer authors whose work challenges the "European binary" lens. Treat this as a discipline to rewire your own brain, forcing yourself to engage with perspectives that view history as place-based and relational rather than linear and progress-oriented.Relentless Reflection On Honesty vs. Approval: Dr. Candace asks, "Where is the approval coming from in how you function and operate in the world?" Reflect on a project, role, or political stance you have taken recently. Was it an authentic expression of your heart's alignment, or were you seeking validation from a system you claim to oppose?On Relational History: Patty notes that Western history is obsessed with when things happened, while Indigenous ways of knowing focus on where things happened. How would your understanding of your own family, community, or local history shift if you re-centered your perspective around the land you are on, rather than the dates on a calendar?Relentless ResourcesBecoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec: A foundational text for excavating history and reimagining our relationships.Thousandworlds.ca: Patty Krawec’s blog, where she continues the vital work of reflecting on literature, history, and our place in the world.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

This conversation opens with the beautiful, grounding discovery that Dr. Candace (the host) is blood kin with Jocelyn, a reminder that this work is always rooted in relationship and interconnectedness. In this episode, Dr. Candace connects with Jocelyn Formsma, CEO of Indspire, to unpack what leadership looks like when we move beyond top-down models and into the role of a "big auntie"—someone who shows up to mentor, advocate, and walk beside the next generation. They explore the transformative power of bravery, reframing "faking it till you make it" not as a deception, but as a practice to build the muscle of strength already within us. By prioritizing professional networks and mentorship, we are creating a foundation of capacity-building that ensures our youth feel safe, proud, and supported in their leadership journeys.They dig into what decolonial and solidarity work truly demands, acknowledging that it isn’t found in slogans or performative gestures, but in the messy, consistent work of showing up, immersion, and genuine care. When facing the overwhelm of these big spaces, Jocelyn reminds us to lean into curiosity (asking "why" instead of retreating into segregation) and to embrace the duality of strength, where we can be both powerful leaders and vulnerable humans, fuelled by the joy and humour that keep us going. Relentless ActionsImplement "30 Seconds of Bravery" for Networking: When you feel the hesitation of being shy or uncertain, set a physical or mental 30-second timer. Use that window to introduce yourself, walk to the front of the room, or send that outreach email you’ve been holding onto. Don't let the "water get colder" by waiting—just jump in.Build Your Professional Peer Network: Following Jocelyn’s advice, actively identify and nurture a peer group separate from your personal circle—people you trust to discuss work, strategy, and challenges. These are the people who will provide the "real responsibility" and ongoing mentorship you need to advance, just as your own mentors did for you.Relentless ReflectionsOn the Duality of Strength: Are you allowing yourself to hold conflicting truths simultaneously? Reflect on whether you are suppressing your vulnerability in an attempt to project "badass" leadership. True endurance comes from balancing the knowledge that you are powerful with the humble acknowledgment of your own humanity and mistakes.On Moving Beyond the "Settler Question": Instead of constantly asking for spoon-feeding or seeking comfort in these dialogues, reflect on whether you are doing the "messy work" of immersion. Are you showing up in ways that go beyond slogans, hashtags, or performative gestures to build actual, lived relationships with Indigenous people and communities?Relentless ResourcesThe "Oshkatsuck" Youth Council: Look into the work of the Oshkatsuck (formerly the National Decade for Youth Council), which Jocelyn highlights as a gold standard for youth engagement and capacity building. Use their model as a template for how to center youth voices in your own organizational structure.Indspire’s Educational Programs: Explore the resources and scholarships offered by Indspire. Even if you aren't directly applying, their model of "capacity-building" and educational support is a powerful roadmap for how to systemically value and invest in Indigenous futures rather than just offering charity.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this episode, host Dr. Candace Manitopyes speaks  with Nicole Robertson, a Cree media specialist from the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and one of the most respected voices in Indigenous communications.With over 30 years of experience across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., Nicole has shaped the way Indigenous stories are told through her work as a journalist, producer, and media strategist. This dialogue invites listeners to embrace the cyclical nature of life, recognizing that growth often requires moments of grief, stillness, and surrender. Relentless QuestionsWhat expectations am I carrying that were never truly mine to begin with?In what ways can I offer myself more grace as I step into a new season or identity?How can I stay grounded in my values and identity while navigating systems that may not reflect or affirm them?Relentless ActionsPause and reflect before reacting. Give yourself space to process emotions, ask deeper questions, and respond with intention rather than urgency.Stay rooted in community and culture. Whether through language, ceremony, or relationships, continue to reconnect with the spaces and practices that ground you. Growth does not always have to happen in isolation.Relentless ResourcesFollow Nicole Robertson and her work in Indigenous storytelling and media at @muskwamedia on InstagramListen to the Stolen Voices Podcast, which explores human trafficking in Indigenous communities and amplifies critical conversations around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit peoples.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

To walk through this world as an Indigenous trans or queer person is to reclaim a sacred, ancestral freedom that the colonial design never anticipated. In this episode, Dr. Amáyá Scott and Dr. Candace Manitopyes connect the threads of their experiences, exploring how joy functions as a revolutionary act of defiance. Their conversation journeys through the exhaustion of the digital age, where algorithms thrive on anger and leave our nervous systems frayed. They offer a gentle invitation to step away from the screen and return home to the messy, beautiful, and wonderfully inconvenient spaces where community actually lives—the post office lines, the grocery store aisles, and the quiet corners of our physical neighborhoods.Love and joy can be found in what may seem like the mundane.  Relentless ActionsChoose one digital interaction—a comment, a "like," or a political post—that you would typically engage in to signal your stance, and instead, redirect that energy toward an unmediated, physical interaction. Spend that time waiting in line at a local shop, offering a genuine, unhurried greeting to a neighbor, or sitting in a park without your phone. This is a practice of choosing the friction of real life over the frictionless, automated feedback loops of the algorithm.Identify one space in your life—whether it is your workplace, your home, or a public setting—where your identity or your joy is expected to be managed or diminished. Intentionally bring your full, vibrant self into that space, refusing to perform or dilute your presence. To exist in your truth, particularly when it contradicts the colonial standard, is a direct, relentless act of reclaiming ancestral territory.Relentless ReflectionsAs you move through your day, ask yourself: Who is this platform serving when I am angry? Reflect on how your digital consumption—particularly the outrage cycles—is an extension of a colonial design that thrives on your nervous system being perpetually dysregulated. Consider how your attention is an ancestral resource, and reflect on what it would mean to reclaim it as a tool for deepening your actual, tangible relationships.Reflect on the ways you have been taught to minimize, pathologize, or hide your queer or trans essence to fit into colonial lines. Instead, hold the perspective that your existence is an unbroken, sacred continuity. Consider how simply choosing to be whole—rather than "productive" or "palatable"—shatters the colonial mirror and invites a new, expansive reality for everyone around you.Relentless Resources“I Am Proud to Be My Mother’s Daughter”: The Gift and Joy of Indigenous (Trans)womanhood in the Colonizing University by Dr. Amáyá Scott https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392686833_I_Am_Proud_to_Be_My_Mother's_Daughter_The_Gift_and_Joy_of_Indigenous_Transwomanhood_in_the_Colonizing_University https://dineaesthetics.com/ Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Colonial binaries impose a rigid grid of control, yet ancient Indigenous cosmologies have always held a different truth. Renowned Cree scholar Dr. Alex Wilson dismantles these imposed limitations by braiding Indigenous knowledge with the non-binary nature of quantum physics. She reminds us that "Queering is transforming poison into medicine." This conversation invites listeners to reject the constraints on identity and step into the vast, fluid reality of being Indigenous, where existence is not a set of isolated points but an expansive, vibrant web of relationship.Dr. Wilson also shares the "coming in" concept, a journey of returning to community, culture, and self. The discussion examines the lasting impacts of colonization, residential schools, and imposed binaries while offering hopeful visions for healing, belonging, and collective resurgence.This episode provides guidance for Indigenous people, Two-Spirit individuals, queer folks, educators, and anyone committed to learning or unlearning. It presents pathways for transforming colonial harms into medicine and reclaiming the complexity of Indigenous identity.Relentless QuestionsWhat parts of myself have I learned to hide to fit colonial expectations, and what would it look like to bring those parts back into relationship with my community, my ancestors, and myself? How might the Land, waters, plants, animals, and skies around me challenge the binaries and assumptions I have inherited about identity, belonging, and what is considered "normal"? Relentless ActionsSpend time on the land without trying to categorize or control what you see. Observe a river, a patch of moss, the moon, migrating birds, or changing seasons. Notice the diversity, transformation, and fluidity that already exist in the natural world, and reflect on what these teachings reveal about human identity and relationships. Reach out to someone who helps you feel fully seen. Whether it's family, friends, Elders, chosen family, or community members, intentionally nurture relationships where authenticity is welcomed and celebrated. Practice "coming in" by building spaces where people can bring their whole selves without fear. Relentless Resources"Coming In" by Dr. Alex Wilson. Explore Dr. Wilson's research on "coming in," which reframes identity not as leaving one community behind, but as finding and creating circles of belonging where one's whole self is welcomed. This framework offers a deeply relational and Indigenous alternative to mainstream narratives of coming out. Pedagogy of Moss by Dr. Candace Manitopyes - a decolonial, symbiotic growth model designed to nurture responsive, culturally safe school environments for Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ K–12 students. Conceptualized by researcher and educator Dr. Candace Manitopyes in this dissertation, it uses moss as a metaphor for relational systemic growth, collective resilience, and community-driven collaborationSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this episode of the June IndigiQueer series, host Dr. Candace welcomes the talented and iconic Ryan Breezy, a Diné and Southern San Juan Paiute model and makeup artist. Join them as they explore the vibrant world of Indigenous fashion, the importance of representation, and the journey of self-discovery through art and culture. Listeners will be inspired by Ryan's commitment to community and the way he embraces his identity with boldness. He emphasizes the significance of uplifting Indigenous voices and creating inclusive spaces where everyone feels seen and valued.The conversation also delves into the challenges Ryan has faced, including imposter syndrome, and how he has learned to embrace his uniqueness and share his story with others.Ryan shares his experiences in the fashion industry, the significance of community, and how he unapolegetically embraces his identity with boldness and authenticity. Tune in for an inspiring conversation that celebrates Indigenous voices and creativity!-Relentless QuestionsHow has being queer and Indigenous shaped the questions you ask in academia and in life that colonial institutions are often unwilling or unable to ask?What does it mean to reclaim queerness not as a modern import or identity category, but as a sacred, pre-colonial way of being and relating that many Indigenous nations already held in deep relationship with the land?Relentless ActionsSit with grief and pause when needed. Allow grief to be a generative space rather than rushing productivity. Check in relationally with yourself (through therapy, internal dialogue, or ceremony) so that the work you bring forward comes from depth instead of performance or avoidance.Pull the next thread. When engaging with patriarchy, feminism, or any colonial structure, keep asking the deeper question: Where did this come from? Move beyond surface-level analysis into the roots in Christian colonial frameworks, and actively reconnect with your own ancestral knowledge and responsibilities — whether you are Indigenous or a settler.Relentless ResourcesFollow Ryan Breezy to see his boldness in fashion and in life grow in real-time at @ryanbreezy2 on Instagram Follow Dr. Autumn Black Deer (@DrBlackDeer on Instagram and LinkedIn) — for sharp, anti-colonial, relational scholarship at the intersections of queerness, Indigenous sovereignty, abolition, and child welfare.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Our June IndigiQueer series kicks off with Dr. Candace Manitopyes and Dr. Autumn BlackDeer as they explore Indigenous queerness, decolonization, grief, identity, academia, and liberation beyond colonial binaries.They unpack how colonial systems shaped modern understandings of gender, sexuality, and what it means to reclaim Indigenous ways of being rooted in sovereignty.Dr. Autumn shares openly about grief after losing her mother, learning to write again, navigating academia as a queer Indigenous scholar, and refusing to compartmentalize herself in professional spaces. Dr. Candace and Dr. Autumn also discuss the impact of Christian colonial frameworks, the violence of binaries, Indigenous understandings of queerness before colonization, and why liberation must always be collective.-Relentless QuestionsWhat colonial narratives about identity, gender, power, or belonging have I inherited, and what happens when I begin asking the next question?In what ways have I compartmentalized parts of myself to survive systems that were never built for relational, collective humanity?Relentless ActionsSpend time reconnecting to relationship with land, community, ancestry, language, ceremony, creativity, or the parts of yourself that colonial systems taught you to silence.Pull at one thread. Choose one belief, assumption, or “normal” social expectation and ask where it came from, who benefits from it, and who is harmed by it.Relentless ResourcesLearn more about Indigenous understandings of gender and sexuality by researching Two-Spirit histories, teachings, and community-led resources from Indigenous nations and knowledge keepers.Explore relational and decolonial healing practices such as Internal Family Systems (IFS), grief work, land-based learning, and Indigenous scholarship focused on sovereignty, abolition, and collective liberation.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Join us for a deeply meaningful conversation about the power of art and the healing it brings.Steph Littlebird shares how art became a safe space in her life; a way to process her experiences, express herself, and find her voice when words weren’t always accessible.What began as a personal outlet has grown into impactful work that resonates with others at a global scale; offering connection, validation, and a sense of not being alone. The two discuss the idea that many people carry an innate connection to the land, something often felt but not always understood.Through an unapologetic lens, this conversation highlights the importance of remembering that we are not separate from the earth, but part of it.The episode also touches on the realities of colonization, disconnection, and the challenges of navigating a fast-paced, reactive world. It offers a gentle invitation to slow down, embrace nuance, and create space for deeper reflection and emotional understanding.At its core, this conversation is healing, on both an individual and collective level. It speaks to reclaiming connection and finding our way back to something more grounded and authenticA powerful reminder that the most important work is simply remembering who we are.-Relentless Actions 1. Reconnect with the Land. Take a moment this week to step outside and be present with the land. Sit, walk, breathe… and simply listen. There is wisdom there that meets you exactly where you are.2. Begin Telling Your Story. In whatever way feels safe and right for you—write it down, speak it out loud, create something. Your story matters and reclaiming it is a powerful act.Relentless Reflection 1. What does truth feel like in my body, and when do I notice myself moving away from it? Let this guide you back to your intuition and inner knowing.2. What story within me is ready to be expressed, even in the smallest way? There is no right or wrong way to begin (the only wrong answer is a dishonest one)Relentless Resources1. You are the Land by Steph Littlebird 2. Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) A key resource dedicated to supporting Indigenous creators in film, television, and digital media. They offer funding, training, and resources for those wanting to step into storytelling and media in a meaningful way.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

What happens when the story shifts from trauma to sovereignty, from survival to power?The conversation between Dr. Savage Bear and Dr. Candace invites listeners into a deeply honest exploration of what it means to reclaim the body, rewrite inherited narratives, and return to Indigenous ways of knowing. Moving beyond the weight of deficit-based stories, it centres strength, Ancestry, and the truth that healing must hold both pain and possibility.At the heart of this dialogue is body sovereignty as a lived, felt experience. Through reflections on sexuality, ceremony, and connection, it challenges shame and calls for a return to presence, relationality, and accountability to self, to community, and to all our relations.It asks the listener to consider: what shifts when awareness turns into action? When healing moves out of the mind and into the body?Rooted in lived experience, this episode is a powerful reminder that reclamation is ongoing; of voice, of body, of identity. And that within Indigenous women lives a legacy of resilience, knowledge, and undeniable power.Relentless ActionsStart from strength, not deficit.  When reflecting on your story or your work, consciously begin from a place of strength, ancestry, and resilience, not just hardship.What wisdom, beauty, or power already exists here? Reframe your narrative in a way that honours both truth and possibility.  Turn awareness into action: Choose one small, intentional action that aligns with your values; something that moves beyond conversation. This could be setting a boundary, engaging in ceremony, supporting community, or changing a daily habit. Close the gap between what you know and how you live.Relentless ReflectionsAm I telling my story from a place of strength, or from a place of survival?Where in my life am I being called to move from awareness into action?Relentless ResourcesPower in my Blood - Dr. Savage's award-winning PhD dissertation“Pleasure Activism” – Adrienne Maree Brown Explores the connection between pleasure, healing, and liberation. Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this compelling episode, Tantoo Cardinal shares a deeply honest and reflective look into her life, her legacy, and the truth behind Indigenous storytelling. With a career spanning decades, Tantoo speaks from a place of purpose, rooted in truth, resilience, and responsibility to her people.She opens up about the realities of growing up in a world shaped by colonization, where Indigenous identity was often diminished or misunderstood, and how those early experiences sharpened her awareness and intuition. Rather than being drawn to the glamour of the film industry, Tantoo was called to it as a way to reclaim stories, restore dignity, and challenge harmful narratives that had long been imposed on Indigenous communities.Throughout the conversation, she shares the importance of staying grounded, through connection to the land, listening to one’s inner voice, and honouring the guidance of ancestors. She speaks candidly about the challenges of navigating an industry that was not built for Indigenous voices, and the strength it takes to remain authentic within it.This episode is both a reflection and a call forward, inviting listeners to reconnect with their roots, question the narratives they’ve been taught, and begin telling their own stories. It’s a powerful reminder that truth, when carried with intention, has the ability to shift not only stories, but entire generations. -Chapters(02:17) What is currently inspiring Tantoo right now(11:13) Stories were being told about what an indigenous person is(18:40) Young people now think they want to be stars or to be rich(32:07) Shame holds us back because we're scared of making a mistake(36:17) Advice for indigenous youth who are dreaming about pursuing an acting career(41:18) Stay grounded in land, respect others, and take care of yourself(46:33) The future of indigenous storytelling-Relentless Actions 1. Reconnect with the LandTake a moment this week to step outside and be present with the land. Sit, walk,breathe… and simply listen. There is wisdom there that meets you exactly where you are.2. Begin Telling Your StoryIn whatever way feels safe and right for you—write it down, speak it out loud, create something. Your story matters and reclaiming it is a powerful act.Relentless Reflections 1. What does truth feel like in my body, and when do I notice myself moving away from it? Let this guide you back to your intuition and inner knowing.2. What story within me is ready to be expressed, even in the smallest way?There is no right or wrong way to begin, just an invitation to start.Relentless Resources1. National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC)An incredible organization supporting Indigenous storytellers, artists, and filmmakers across Canada. If you feel called to storytelling, this is a space to explore opportunities, community, and support.2. Indigenous Screen Office (ISO)A key resource dedicated to supporting Indigenous creators in film, television, and digital media. They offer funding, training, and resources forSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In the final episode of the winter season, Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits with Dr. Rocio Rosales Meza, a Xicana/Mexicana seer, initiated medicine woman, and psychologist whose work bridges ancestral teachings with liberation. They name the moment we’re living in—the collapse of empire, the overwhelm of digital life, and the spiritual and emotional toll of witnessing global injustice. Dr. Rocio shares how grounding in creation, tending to the Earth, and honouring the elements are what keep her centred when the world feels chaotic.Their conversation goes straight to the heart of what many are experiencing right now: the “spirit-eating” nature of colonial systems, the dysregulation caused by social media, and the exhaustion of carrying both awareness and responsibility online. They talk openly about burnout, boundaries, and the courage it takes to hold hope when the world keeps offering reasons to despair. Dr. Rocio offers wisdom from her own collapse—losing her tenured academic career during a health crisis—and how that breaking became the doorway to her calling.Both women unravel the myths of New Age spirituality, the reality of decolonization, and the necessity of confronting our shadow without shame. This episode is a reminder that healing is spiritual work, the underworld is part of the journey, and our medicine often lives in the very places we were taught to fear. It’s an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and remember who we were before colonial conditioning told us otherwise.https://www.drrosalesmeza.com/@dr.rosesalesmeza-Relentless Action1. For one week, track when you override your limits, numb out online, or perform “awareness” instead of feeling — then name the body sensation underneath it.2. Write from the part of you that feels resentful, jealous, exhausted, or ashamed, then respond from your grounded adult self without exiling what you find.Relentless Reflection1. Where have I mistaken visibility or knowledge for actual integrity?2. What part of me did I silence to survive systems that were never built for my wholeness?Relentless Resources1. All About Love by bell hooks. A rigorous examination of how domination distorts love, spirituality, and community, and what it takes to confront those distortions inside ourselves.2. Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés A deep reclamation of the instinctual feminine and the underworld journey, unpacking how culture fractures women from their wild knowing — and how to return.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this powerful cousin episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes welcomes her cousin, Dr. Tara Hutchison, a young Cree physician from Moose Cree First Nation, for an intimate and wide-ranging conversation about medicine, culture, identity, and the realities facing Indigenous communities today.Both women discuss the emotional labour of being Indigenous professionals in colonial systems: balancing advocacy with gentleness, resisting the pressure to be palatable, and unpacking the internal battles around perfectionism and imposter syndrome. They speak openly about therapy, burnout, and the crash that often follows major achievements, reminding listeners that success doesn’t erase vulnerability.The episode ultimately offers a portrait of two Cree women who have navigated demanding systems while staying rooted in who they are and where they come from. It celebrates community, resilience, cousinhood, and the growing wave of Indigenous people transforming medicine, education, and futures in their homelands and beyond.-Relentless Actions1.  Write down what you carry in rooms that isn’t in your job description, then choose one thing to stop doing this month.2.  Identify two people who understand your context without explanation and schedule a real check-in before burnout forces one.Relentless Reflection 1. Where did I learn that excellence is the price of belonging?2. After I achieve something significant, do I let myself land or do I immediately chase the next proof of worth?Relentless Resources1. My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies2. Your Body Is Not an Apology Workbook: Tools for Living Radical Self-LoveSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this vibrant episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes speaks with acclaimed actress, musician, and director Crystle Lightning of Enoch Cree Nation, an artist whose three-decade career has broken barriers on screen, on stage, and behind the scenes. They get into the reality of working in film, television, and theatre—far beyond the glamor audiences see. Crystle opens up about the grit behind the craft, such as the long rehearsals, endless travel, last-minute script changes, and the discipline it takes to thrive in an industry that often expects Indigenous creators to prove themselves twice over. She talks about imposter syndrome, leading her cast with auntie-level care, and building space for emerging artists to stand confidently in rooms not built for them. The two discuss the creation of Bear Grease, the smash-hit Indigenous musical she co-created, and the wild, funny, nerve-wracking backstage moments that became the heartbeat of the show’s success.The episode ends on a powerful note: a call to action for Indigenous creatives to pursue their dreams with courage, curiosity, and community. Crystle reflects on the legacy she hopes to leave—opportunities, representation, and a path wider than the one she had to fight through. The conversation is full of laughter, truth-telling, motivation, and love for Indigenous art. It’s a celebration of what’s possible when Indigenous stories are centred, protected, and brought to life by Indigenous hands.-Relentless Reflection Where in my own creative or professional life am I still shrinking, even though I know I’m meant to take up more space?What barriers did my younger self face that I can now remove for someone coming up behind me?Relentless Actions Write down three tangible opportunities you can offer to another Indigenous creative this month (a connection, a recommendation, a shared resource, a skills exchange).Choose one creative risk you've been avoiding and commit to taking the first step within 72 hours—send the email, revise the script, shoot the video, publish the post.Relentless ResourcesNative Women in Film & Television (NWIFT) — advocacy, mentorship, and networking entirely focused on Indigenous women and gender-diverse creatives in film.Illuminative’s Storytelling Guides — free toolkits that help creators frame, protect, and elevate Indigenous narratives across industries.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this gripping episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits with award-winning journalist, author, and filmmaker Tanya Talaga, whose work has become a lifeline for truth in a country still wrestling with denial. From the moment they begin, the conversation feels less like an interview and more like two Indigenous women pulling back the curtain on generations of silence, survival, and spiritual return. Tanya shares her path from being the lone Indigenous journalist in mainstream newsrooms of the 1990s (where stories of Indigenous suffering were dismissed as repetitive or “not news”) to becoming one of the most vital Indigenous voices in Canada. She speaks about the spiritual rupture created by Christianity’s imposition on Treaty 9 families, the generational fear of ceremony, and what it means to finally question beliefs handed down in the name of survival. The conversation deepens as Tanya describes “the knowing”—the ancestral intuition that lives in Indigenous people, the sense that something is missing, the unspoken grief. She recounts sitting with survivors in Kamloops during the discovery of unmarked graves and how their words struck her like a freight train: “We always knew.” That knowing becomes the backbone of her work and the spiritual compass that guides her truth-telling. Candace and Tanya explore the cost of telling the truth, the courage it demands, and the liberation it creates for everyone who has been waiting to breathe. - Relentless Actions1. Revisit one belief you inherited—not from your spirit, but from survival. Choose a belief handed down through family, school, or church about identity, ceremony, or “rightness.” Write down where it came from, and whether it still belongs to you. Release what no longer aligns.2. Have one truth-centred conversation this week. This could be with a friend, a family member, or even your own journal. Name something you’ve been avoiding, such as a question, a discomfort, a story. Let truth, gentle or sharp, be medicine.Relentless Reflections1. What truths have I been carrying quietly because I was afraid of what they might disrupt, and what would it mean to finally speak them?2. Where does “the knowing” live in my body, and how often do I silence it to fit into spaces that were never built for me?Relentless Resources1. The Knowing by Tanya Talaga, book2. Debunking the “Mass Grave Hoax”: A Report on Media Coverage and Residential School Denialism in Canada, report Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Turtle Island (aka North America) meets Aotearoa (aka New Zealand), and the stories of Indigenous resistance mirror each other. Dr. Candace Manitopyes speaks with Māori artist Theia, whose music is less performance and more ceremony. Candace describes experiencing Theia’s live show as a moment of kinship across oceans, a palpable spiritual recognition that transcends borders and mirrors the shared wounds of colonization. Theia speaks about her journey from major-label constraints to full creative sovereignty, describing how leaving the industry machine allowed her to create the music she was born to make—music that confronts misogyny, racism, religious trauma, and the violent legacies of colonialism. Through her songs, she carries her grandmother’s stories, the generational scars of language loss, and the relentless fight for Māori sovereignty. The conversation moves into the political crisis unfolding in Aotearoa, where treaty rights, language, protests, and Māori cultural practices are under attack. Theia names both the devastation and the uprising—the collective defiance, the resurgence of language learners, artists, healers, and community protectors refusing to disappear. Candace and Theia speak to the alchemy of art: how music becomes medicine, how beauty can hold the darkness without collapsing, and how Indigenous women carry fire in ways the world is only beginning to understand.IG: @theiaofficialxo  -Relentless Actions1. Name one belief about your worth, your culture, your voice, or your ancestors that didn’t come from you but from colonial conditioning. Write it down. Then write the truth beneath it. Burn, shred, or bury the lie. Keep the truth visible.2. Choose an action that requires courage (emailing a representative, donating to an Indigenous-led movement, showing up physically, correcting someone’s harmful language, or publicly naming the injustice happening in Aotearoa and on Turtle Island). Let the action stretch you.Relentless Reflections1. Where am I still choosing comfort over justice, and who pays the price when I stay quiet? Sit with this without defending yourself. Let it sting. Let it teach you something about the gap between the person you are and the person you’re becoming.2. What part of me is still afraid of my own power, and who taught me to fear it in the first place? Trace that fear back (family, church, school, government, media). When you see its origin, ask yourself: What would my life look like if I stopped inheriting their limitations and started inheriting my courage instead?ResourcesResistance in Indigenous Music: A Continuum of Sound, academic article A Radical Revival: Indigenous Music Strikes Chords that Cross Borders, an article Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

This is the episode that will make listeners laugh, blush, heal, and rethink everything they were taught about love, shame, and who they’re allowed to become.In this electric and tender conversation, Dr. Candace Manitopyes connects with with Dr. Tenille K. Campbell, a Dene, Métis, poet, photographer, PhD holder, auntie, and unapologetic storyteller whose work has cracked open space for Indigenous women, femmes, and queer folks to reclaim desire without shame. Tenille shares the raw, often hilarious journey that shaped her groundbreaking book #IndianLovePoems: on heartbreak, sex, vanilla surprises, 12-hour dates, threesome confessions, and the slow, sacred unlearning of colonial purity culture. Tenille and Candace trace how healing pleasure ripples outward into parenting, intergenerational cycles, and the ways daughters, nieces, and femme relatives now move through the world with softness, boundaries, and emotional fluency their Ancestors could only dream of. They speak about queerness as ancient, relational, and culturally rooted; something that has always existed in our stories, despite colonial attempts to suppress it. And through humour, honesty, and unmistakable auntie energy, they remind listeners that choosing self-respect is lineage work, reclamation, and love.-Relentless Actions1. Take out a journal and name one belief you were taught—by family, religion, school, or society about sex, pleasure, gender, or self-worth. Then rewrite it in your own words, from your own truth. Let it become a declaration of who you are now, not who you were told to be.2. Practice one act of softness that you were once taught to fear. This could be resting without guilt, saying no without apology, taking a sensual photograph for your own eyes, or letting someone care for you without shrinking. Choose something small but real, and signals to your nervous system that safety and pleasure are allowed.Relentless Refections1. What parts of my intimacy—emotional, relational, or erotic—are still shaped by someone else’s fear, and what would it mean to return those fears to their origin? 2. Who am I becoming as I choose myself more often? When I say yes to my truth, my boundaries, my pleasure, my softness, who do I turn into? And how does that person change the lineage behind me and the future ahead of me?Relentless Resources1. #IndianLovePoems by Dr Tenillie Campbell, book 2. Stolen From Our Bodies: First Nations Two-Spirits/Queers and the Journey to a Sovereign Erotic by Qwo-Li Driskill, an academic articleSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this moving episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes has a conversation with Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, the first Indigenous person to ever serve as Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Services, and a woman whose leadership was forged in lived experience, sharpened through education, and guided by a heart rooted in community. What unfolds is an intimate, honest, and generous exchange between two Cree women reflecting on responsibility, belonging, exhaustion, joy, and the heavy yoke carried by those who are “the first.” Minister Mandy shares how becoming a mother at a young age shaped her sense of duty, how stepping into federal politics required a profound shift in lens, and how being the first comes with loneliness, scrutiny, and an unspoken pressure to set the tone for everyone who will follow. She speaks with remarkable tenderness about grounding practices: beading, time on the land, a supportive husband who calls her back to rest, and children who remind her she is still just mom when she walks through the door. Their conversation moves into the emotional terrain most people never see: queer kin who are forced from home, the harm of exclusion, the spiritual sensitivity of young people, and the courage required to transform systems from within. It is a conversation about what it means to lead without losing yourself.-Relentless Actions1. Take 10 minutes this week to unplug completely. Step outside, breathe, and let your nervous system settle without your phone nearby.2. Reach out to one Indigenous leader, creator, or community member you admire and send them a note of gratitude for the work they do.Relentless Reflections1. Where in my life am I being called to lead with more grace, even when I feel unseen or overwhelmed?2. What parts of my identity have I outgrown, and what new parts am I finally ready to claim?Relentless Resources1. First Nations Leadership Philosophies: A Systematic Review of Recent Academic Literature Book  2. Restorying Indigenous Leadership, article Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

This episode opens like someone cracked a window in a crowded room. Fresh air, honesty, and two Indigenous minds settling into a conversation that feels intimate, necessary, and decades overdue. Dr. Candace Manitopyes connects with internationally acclaimed Cree artist Kent Monkman, whose work has reshaped how the world understands history, queerness, and Indigenous presence.Kent speaks about the power and pain behind paintings like The Scream, describing how art becomes both meditation and medicine as he confronts the legacy of residential schools. He shares how his new Knowledge Keepers series honours the children who secretly whispered their languages to each other—moments of quiet rebellion that kept culture alive. Candace meets him in that depth, recalling how seeing The Scream during the uncovering of unmarked graves felt like a punch to the heart.Then Miss Chief Eagle Testickle enters: Kent’s iconic, gender-fluid alter ego. Part trickster, part theorist, part seductress, she’s his weapon for reversing the colonial gaze, stepping into Western art and rewriting the story from the inside. Kent and Candace dismantle the myth that queerness is new or un-Indigenous, naming how binaries rooted in Christian colonialism buried truths communities once held with ease.Their conversation becomes a meditation on love, liberation, kinship, and the courage it takes to be oneself in a world that benefits from your silence. By the end, listeners are reminded that art can heal, queerness is ancient, and Indigenous love will always outlast the systems built to erase it. -Relentless Actions1. Visit a local gallery, museum, or online archive featuring Indigenous artists. Spend 10 minutes observing one piece without reading the caption first, just let your body respond, then learn its context.2. Have a short conversation with someone in your life about a topic you usually avoid, such as identity, queerness, colonial history, or truth-telling. Keep it grounded, curious, and honest.Relentless Reflections1. Where in my life have I confused silence with safety? And what might become possible if I allow myself to speak or live more truthfully?2. When have I witnessed love—mine or someone else’s—expand beyond what colonial binaries said was acceptable? What did that moment teach me about freedom?Relentless Resources 1. Kent Monkman's website2. The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: Vol. 1: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island, book Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this episode, Candace sits with not one, but two Deadly Aunties—Stephanie Pangowish and Sherry McKay—two Indigenous comedians who have turned everyday Indigenous life, ceremony, mistakes, and cross-community confusion (“scone dog” vs. “bannock dog”) into a full career.They talk about the realities of comedy behind the scenes: how humour travels across nations, how it sometimes absolutely doesn’t, and what happens when you try to make zoom-comedy work while staring at 48 blank squares. Both share how they moved from regular jobs into the comedy world, a transition that can best be described as: terrifying, necessary, and apparently involving a lot of self-talk, prayer, and occasionally wanting to vomit. They also speak candidly about sobriety while working in environments where alcohol is built into the job, and how having a friend who will literally knock a drink out of your hand is underrated support.Underneath it all is the thread that Indigenous humour has always been survival, connection, and medicine. Not the romanticized kind, just the practical kind that gets people through another day.The Aunties show how laughter and honesty keep communities close, and why sticking with your purpose (even when you’re unsure) is worth it.-Relentless Actions1. Think of one conversation this week where you can use humour to build connection—not to avoid discomfort, but to ease into honesty the way Indigenous communities have done forever. Pay attention to what kind of humour feels natural and what kind strengthens relationships.2. Whether it’s writing a short story, sharing an idea publicly, posting a TikTok, or attending an open mic (even just to watch), choose one low-stakes action toward a creative dream you’ve stalled on. The point isn’t perfection, but it’s building the muscle to follow that “scared-but-curious” feeling the Aunties described.Relentless Reflections 1. What’s one moment in my life where humour carried me through something I wasn’t ready to say out loud? Consider how laughter has acted as medicine, grounding, or connection for you, and what that reveals about the role comedy plays in your relationships or healing.2. Where am I currently choosing safety over purpose? The Aunties left the security of 9–5 jobs to pursue something uncertain but aligned. Reflect on a place in your life where you’re avoiding a leap, and why. What would support or community look like for you there?Relentless Resources1. The Deadly Aunties, website 2. In a good way: Reflecting on humour in Indigenous education, academic article Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this episode, Melrene Saloy Eagle Speaker—Blackfoot designer, artist, and founder of Native Diva Creations and Authentically Indigenous—opens up about the heart, history, and hard lessons behind her work. From carrying her ancestors into global fashion stages to building one of Calgary’s most beloved Indigenous markets, Melrene shares how legacy, loss, and love continue to shape her artistry.She reflects on navigating backlash to her Medicine Collection, describing what it means to create from dreams, protocol, and deep cultural intention. The conversation moves through community accountability vs. cancel culture, the emotional toll of public criticism, and the courage required to stay rooted in one’s purpose.Melrene and Candace also dive into entrepreneurship: the realities of financial literacy, learning in public, accepting feedback, and building supportive relationships that make creative risk possible.They discuss the origins of Authentically Indigenous, the importance of accessible markets for makers, and the joy of seeing 285+ Indigenous entrepreneurs thrive in a space built by community for community.Grounded, funny, honest, and generous, Melrene’s story reminds listeners that Indigenous entrepreneurship is legacy work woven with medicine, imagination, and the refusal to leave anyone behind. -Relentless Actions1. Take one creative risk this week that you’ve been avoiding because of fear, backlash, or someone else's perception.2. Spend 20 minutes mapping out the community you already have — mentors, peers, supporters — and choose one person to intentionally reconnect with or uplift.Relentless Reflections1. Where am I holding back my gifts because I’m worried about how others will react, and what would it look like to create from intention rather than fear?2. What am I carrying that isn’t mine (someone else’s expectations, projections, or limitations) and how can I release even a small piece of it this week?Relentless Resources1. Authentically Indigenous, website 2. Indigenous Business Development Services, websiteSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Emerging from a place of prophecy, courage, and hard-earned wisdom, this episode traces the extraordinary life of Ma-Nee Chacaby—a Two-Spirit Ojibwe-Cree Elder, activist, storyteller, and acclaimed author whose teachings continue to shift the landscape of 2SLGBTQ+ visibility in Canada. Her story unfolds through memories of her Kookum’s early vision that she would one day become a healer and educator for her people, a path she ultimately walked through decades of community work, advocacy, and leadership.Listeners are brought into Ma-Nee’s reflections on living as Two-Spirit, which she describes as carrying both masculine and feminine spirits in harmony—a balance that shapes how she walks in the world. She speaks to the power and bravery of the younger generation, the shifting landscapes of identity, and the reciprocal learning that happens between youth and elders.The conversation also highlights her groundbreaking memoir A Two-Spirit Journey, the national recognition it has received, and the generations it has touched. Through humour, honesty, and story, Ma-Nee offers insight into resilience, colonial impact, community healing, and the future she sees emerging through today’s youth. Her presence throughout the episode is both grounding and transformative, reminding listeners what it means to lead with heart, and  truth.-Relentless Action1. Choose one conversation this week where you intentionally listen the way Ma-Nee models: without interrupting,  fixing, or assuming you already know. Just be present, and let the other person’s truth unfold on its own timeline.2. Ma-Nee reminds us that young people carry clarity, courage, and “future minds.” Do one small act that honours the younger you. Something they would’ve needed, loved, or felt safe with.Relentless Reflection1. Where in my life have I forgotten the wisdom and courage my younger self already carried? What did they know that I’ve unlearned over time?2. How can I embody balance between the gentle and the fierce, the stillness and the action in my daily life?Relentless Resources -A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-nee Chacaby-Academic Article: Envisioning the future of culturally safe healthcare systems for Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and gender diverse peoplesSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits down with Anishinaabe singer-songwriter Natasha Fisher, a rising independent artist known for her moody, edgy fusion of pop, alt-rock, and unapologetic storytelling. Their conversation gets deep into the heart of Natasha’s creative process, her path to sobriety, and the personal history behind her newest album, Temporary Feelings.Natasha shares how songwriting has always been the place where she can say the things she can’t always speak out loud. Her music, often mistaken for romantic heartbreak, is rooted just as much in family struggles, addiction, and the emotional complexity of healing. She talks about how sobriety brought her back to her teenage self—reviving old musical influences, emo roots, and a rawness that she finally gave herself permission to embrace.Candace and Natasha also unpack the pressure Indigenous artists face to “sound Native enough,” and Natasha speaks honestly about carving out her own lane—one that honours her identity without fitting into someone else’s expectations.Throughout the episode, she opens up about navigating the industry as a fully independent artist, from doing her own marketing to earning a billboard spot, to mentoring younger Indigenous creatives who want into the music world.This conversation is full of humour, vulnerability, cultural insight, and creative truth-telling. It’s a reminder that healing is nonlinear, identity is expansive, and art becomes its most powerful when it’s honest.@natashafisher_-Relentless Actions1. Choose an age where you felt misunderstood, silenced, or creatively limited. Do one thing this week that honours who you were then (a playlist, an outfit, a journal entry, a walk in a place you loved) anything that reconnects you to that self.2.  Pick one emotion you’ve been avoiding. Express it in a creative way (voice memo, drawing, movement, music, spoken word). No polishing. No editing. Just the raw feeling given form, and then released.Relentless Reflections 1. Where in my life am I still trying to fit into someone else’s expectations of who I should be?2. What emotion or truth do I find hardest to say out loud, and what creative medium might help it finally move? Relentless Resources1. Indigenous Artist Mentorship & Funding. Canada Council for the Arts – Creating, Knowing & Sharing Program. Supports Indigenous artists, storytellers, musicians, and cultural expression.2. Healing Through Art & Sobriety Support. Native Wellness Institute – Wellness Resources & Programs. Offers Indigenous-centered healing, wellness teachings, and community programs.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this profound conversation, Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits down with Vina Brown, also known by her ancestral name ƛ̓áqvas gḷ́w̓aqs, which translates to Copper Canoe Woman. Vina is Haíłzaqv and Nuučaan̓uł, a mother, artist, weaver, scholar, and the powerhouse behind Copper Canoe Woman Creations. Her jewelry and artistry blend ancestral strength with modern design, carrying forward teachings from generations of matriarchs before her.Vina shares how she integrates her academic and artistic worlds through a holistic understanding of Dharma (living one’s purpose) and how her ADHD diagnosis reshaped her relationship to balance and joy.The two discuss entrepreneurship as a form of self-determination, the importance of Indigenous frameworks over colonial hierarchies, and the radical act of centring children, community, and kinship in our work. In the second half, the conversation turns deeply spiritual and decolonial as Candace and Vina reflect on religion, shame, and the need to confront darkness with compassion. They discuss how Christianity’s colonial legacy sought to erase Indigenous cosmologies, yet how returning to balance, between light and dark, creation and destruction, restores our humanity.This episode is a masterclass in courage, creativity, and compassionate truth-telling, and a call to remember that our work, our art, and our healing are all forms of ceremony.IG: @coppercanoewomanWebsite: www.coppercanoewoman.com -Relentless ReflectionsWhere in my life have I unconsciously centered myself or the institution over the relationships, children, or communities who actually belong at the centre?What parts of my “basement” (fears, shame, defensiveness, colonial reflexes) need to be acknowledged, so I can return to community with more humility?Relentless ActionsWrite down one place in your daily life where you can replace hierarchy with relationality.Walk on the Land and identify one place where decay and new growth exist together. Let that be your teacher.Relentless ResourcesDecolonizing Trauma Work: Indigenous Stories and Strategies BookWhat is Land-Based Learning? A Digital Forum VideoSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Our guest this week is Chyana Marie Sage, a Cree-Métis and Salish memoirist, journalist, poet, model, and author of the national bestselling memoir Soft as Bones. Dr. Candace and Chyana unpack truth-telling, survival, and the power of naming your own story.Chyana speaks vulnerably about her journey from silence to self-expression, describing how writing her memoir became an act of reclamation, giving voice to her younger self who had once been silenced by trauma and shame. She shares how traditional Cree-Métis healing practices, women’s circles, and language revitalization became lifelines throughout her process of writing and recovery.The two reflect deeply on what it means to be a truth teller in a colonial world that rewards silence, the body’s wisdom when something feels wrong, and the ways love, in all its forms, sustains us. They unpack the intersections of colonial violence, relational trauma, and how survivors can reclaim their narrative without apology.Chyana’s honesty about navigating toxic relationships, gaslighting, and her realization that “sometimes we’re not in love with them, we’re in love with our reflection in them” opens space for listeners to reflect on their own experiences of love, loss, and awakening.This episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t get rid of the pain, but alchemizing it into power, creativity, and truth.@softasbones- Relentless Reflection Where in my life am I still staying silent to “keep the peace,” and what would it look like to honour my truth instead of protecting someone else’s comfort?How do I relate to my own healing—do I see it as an isolated journey, or as something held within community, land, and lineage?Relentless Actions Choose a body of water, a patch of forest, or even a quiet spot outside your home. Sit, breathe, listen. Notice what shifts in your body when you allow the land to be a relational teacher rather than a backdrop. Buy a book, attend a talk, share their work, subscribe to a newsletter, or donate to a project. Decolonial practice includes shifting resources and attention toward Indigenous-led narratives and knowledge.Relentless ResourcesYellowhead Institute Land Back online course. This free, self-paced seven-module course explores the scale of land dispossession in Canada and Indigenous strategies for reclamation and consent-based relationships with land and governance.Matriarch Movement Podcast - A powerful platform amplifying Indigenous women, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse voices. A grounding resource for relational accountability, cultural healing, and Indigenous storytelling.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits down with the beloved scientist, writer, and matriarch Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss. They weave a dialogue on remembrance, resistance, and relationality, where Indigenous knowledge and scientific thought meet in the shared soil of hope.Dr. Kimmerer reflects on her newest movement, Plant Baby Plant, which calls people to resist extraction by restoring reciprocity through regeneration. She and Candace speak candidly about despair, joy as an act of resistance, and the necessity of holding “two buckets”(one for grief, one for goodness) at once.Their exchange moves through moss, language, and the sacred act of remembering. They explore how moss teaches us gender fluidity, adaptability, and queerness, and how Indigenous languages reveal a world where everything (water, trees, even a bay) is alive and in motion. They consider what it means to unlearn colonial rigidity, to delight in being wrong, and to find flexibility through humility and curiosity.This episode feels like an offering of hope in a time of dismemberment. It reminds us that the revolution begins with the choice to create, nurture, and remember our membership in the living world.-Relentless ReflectionsWhat parts of yourself, your culture, or your relationship with the land have been “dismembered”? Reflect on what remembering might look like for you, not just recalling, but rejoining the living web that has always held you.When was the last time you allowed yourself to be wrong, and what did it reveal? Consider what humility makes possible. How could embracing the delight of being wrong expand your capacity for relationship, creativity, or solidarity?Relentless ActionsBegin your own “Plant Baby Plant” practice. Whether it’s tending herbs on a windowsill, planting seeds with children, or volunteering in a community garden, ground your resistance in regeneration.Practice language as ceremony. Choose one phrase or word from your language (or the local Indigenous language where you live) that reminds you the world is alive. Speak it aloud. Let it rewire how you see everything around you.Relentless ResourcesPlantBabyPlant.com – A growing movement co-founded by Dr. Kimmerer that transforms resistance into regeneration through the act of planting and caring for the Earth.The Pedagogy of Moss - The award-nominated PhD dissertation of Dr. Candace Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this deeply personal episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes returns to the Relentless Indigenous Woman Podcast with honesty, gratitude, and renewal. She shares the story of her wedding to her sweetheart, Alex Manitopyes, a ceremony rooted in intimacy, cedar medicine, and Cree traditions. She reflects on how love, rest, and joy have reshaped her relationship with activism, creativity, and resistance.After stepping away from social media during their honeymoon, Candace speaks candidly about what it means to reclaim energy in an age of constant reaction. She unpacks how consumption often replaces creation, and how sustainable resistance begins with choosing to build, not just respond. Through reflections on fascism, education as rebellion, and the importance of channeling rage into regeneration, she invites listeners to pause, reflect, and discover their own gifts to offer the world.Candace also shares exciting news about the new season of the podcast, featuring conversations with brilliant Indigenous voices—including Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Kent Monkman, Tanya Talaga, Ma-Nee Chacaby, and many more. She introduces her re-imagined Relentless Indigenous Woman Patreon community as a space for collective learning, reciprocity, and transformation.This episode feels like a breath of fresh air. A reminder that rest us part of resistance, and that the revolution begins in how we care for ourselves and each other.-Relentless ReflectionsWhere is your energy going, toward reaction or regeneration?What gift has Creator placed in you that the world needs right now?Relentless ActionsSet digital boundaries to reclaim your creative energy. Try a 1-hour timer on social media this week. Notice how it feels to consume less and create more, whether that’s journaling, finding a new hobby, making art, teaching, or resting intentionally.Take one feeling (anger, grief, or hope) and channel it into something tangible. Write a poem, support a mutual aid fund, plant seeds, teach a friend about decolonial solidarity, etc. Transmute what overwhelms you into what sustains you. Relentless ResourcesBook: Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer Essay: Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly (or the audiobook) Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Dr. Candace Linklater welcomes Dr. Zoey Roy, a celebrated spoken word poet, creative producer, and arts-based educator from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and a proud member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. With a career spanning international stages—including performances with the National Youth Orchestra of Dr. Canada and at the World Expo in Dubai—Dr. Zoey has trailblazed the blending of hip-hop and orchestral music, creating globally touring shows like "Enough" and "Ever Beautiful." Holding a PhD in Education, Dr. Zoey has received numerous awards, including the Queen Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Indspire Award, and Ontario’s Arts Educator of the Year, solidifying her reputation as both an artist and a leader in education.Dr. Candace and Dr. Zoey’s conversation goes beyond her incredible accolades, focusing on the spirit and intention behind Dr. Zoey’s artistry. Dr. Candace reflects on witnessing her perform live, describing it as spirit-led and electrifying, while Dr. Zoey shares how fashion, stage presence, and reciprocity with the audience are all part of her craft. They discuss the inspirations fueling her work today—especially the grounding influence of motherhood—and how creativity, identity, and relationality shape her performances. This dialogue reveals Dr. Zoey’s brilliance as a poet and performer, along with her dedication to carrying culture, story, and truth forward through every medium she touches.Bio: Dr. Zoey Roy (Nihithaw-Denesuline Halfbreed-Métis) is a celebrated spoken word poet, creative producer and arts-based educator from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She is a proud member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, a signatory of Treaty Six. In 2017, she toured Canada with the National Youth Orchestra, a 104-piece ensemble, while performing spoken word. In 2021, she showcased her talent at the World Expo held in Dubai. Discovering a passion for blending hip hop with orchestral music, she collaborated with her partner, Omar Ballantyne, to create two orchestral spoken word shows: "Enough is Enough" with Juliet Palmer and "Ever, Beautiful" with Cris Derksen, both of which she plans on touring globally.Dr. Zoey holds a Bachelor of Education from SUNTEP at the University of Saskatchewan, a Master's in Public Policy from the Johnston Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, and a PhD in Education from York University. Dr. Zoey received the Queen Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Women of Distinction Award (2013), the Indspire Award (2015), the Saskatchewan Arts Board Award for Education (2022); the University of Saskatchewan's One to Watch (2023); and Ontario's Arts Educator of the Year (2024)[email protected] https://zoeyroy.com/ -Relentless Reflection QuestionsWhen have I experienced performance or art that felt spirit-led, and how did it move me?What intentional choices, whether in dress, words, or presence, do I make that reflect my full essence when I step into public spaces?Relentless ActionsThe next time you’re in an audience, whether a classroom, performance, or community space, offer your full attention and presence as part of the exchange. For one day, choose what you wear not for utility or trend, but as an expression of your spirit and story, just as Zoey curates her stage presence.Relentless ResourcesDr. Zoey Roy’s official Site & WorkShow: Ever Beautiful – her orchestral spoken word collaborations with Juliet Palmer and Cris Derksen, pushing the boundaries of genre and cultural storytelling.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Siibii —a queer, trans, non-binary Cree artist–joins Dr. Candace Linklater in this episode where shit gets real. Known for their breakout single YOY, which has surpassed three million streams and earned a SOCAN Young Canadian Songwriter Award, Siibii blends atmospheric pop with lyrical honesty rooted in family, land, and spirit. Signed to Ishkode Records, their music—including their latest single User—confronts contradictions, self-doubt, and longing, while simultaneously creating space for Indigenous, queer, and trans artists to be celebrated.​The conversation goes into Siibii’s inspirations, from family and community to the grounding power of being back home on the land. They reflect on the push and pull of urban Indigenous life, the disconnection it can create, and the healing that comes with returning to one’s roots. Dr. Candace and Siibii explore themes of queerness and feeling like an outsider–showing how music expresses personal truth and carries ancestral memory forward. This episode offers listeners the raw honesty of Siibii’s journey and invites them to see music as a force for reclamation and healing.Bio: Siibii is a queer, trans, non-binary Cree artist originally from Mistissini, Quebec, now based in as Montreal. Their name—meaning “river” in Cree—is a current that runs through everything they create: ever-moving, cleansing, and alive with intention.A self-taught singer-songwriter with roots steeped in family, memory, and land, Siibii blends atmospheric pop with emotional depth, crafting songs that speak directly to the spirit. Their breakout single “YOY” struck a deep chord with listeners, racking up over three million streams and earning them a SOCAN Young Canadian Songwriter Award. Their music has taken them to major stages like Festival d’été and TD Arena in Ottawa, and most recently, they opened for the iconic Elisapie.Now signed to Ishkōdé Records, Siibii’s newest single, “User,” is another bold chapter in their story—one that calls out contradiction, self-doubt, and the ache of needing to be seen. Through every lyric and note, Siibii raises representation and opens doors for future generations of Indigenous, queer, and trans artists to walk through.They are making music and making space. And today, they’re here with us to talk about identity, artistry, land, and the rivers that continue to carry them forward.IG: @siibiimusic  https://ishkoderecords.com/siibii/ -Relentless Reflection Where do I feel most disconnected from myself, and what is the “home” I need to return to?In what ways can my art, work, or voice open doors for those coming after me, not just myself?Relentless ActionsSpend one hour this week in a place that holds memory for you (forest, river, family home). Listen, without distraction, to what it asks of you.Share a song, poem, or artwork from an Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ creator in your circle, and give them full credit. Visibility is medicine.Relentless ResourcesSiibii's Website Ishkode Records: An Indigenous-owned label amplifying Indigenous voices in music—proof that decolonizing the music industry is possible and urgent.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this episode of the RIW Podcast, Dr. Candace Linklater welcomes Asha Frost, bestselling author of You Are the Medicine, healer, oracle deck creator, mentor, and mother. Asha shares her deep roots as an Anishinaabe woman from Cape Croker First Nation, belonging to the Crane Clan, and describes how her life’s work is devoted to guiding people back to the medicine that has always lived within them. The conversation explores how her oracle deck, teachings, and mentorship open pathways for people to reconnect with spirit, ancestry, and land. Candace reflects on her own transformative experience with Asha’s oracle deck, describing how a Wolf card meditation unexpectedly connected with her dog, affirming the living spirit within the cards.Moving beyond tools and titles, Asha and Candace dive into the heart of medicine work—the shadows, spirals, and challenges that come alongside healing. Asha emphasizes that authentic medicine work is not about bypassing pain with “light and love,” but about meeting the depths of struggle and transformation with honesty and courage. They remind listeners that healing is relational, embodied, and alive: it speaks to human beings, animals, the Land, and the unseen forces around us. This conversation is an invitation to trust the spirit within and honour the medicine that moves through all of creation.BioAsha Frost is the best-selling author of You Are the Medicine, an Indigenous healer, oracle deck creator, mentor, and mother. Her life’s work is dedicated to helping others connect with the medicine that has always been within them—the spark, the illumination, and the power—waiting to be seen, felt, and claimed.She grew up on and currently resides on Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee land. Her maternal and paternal lineage and relatives originate from many First Nations across Ontario, Canada (Turtle Island). Asha is from the Crane Clan (Aji-jaak Dodem) and is a member of Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) First Nation.IG: @asha.frost https://ashafrost.com/-Relentless Reflection Where in my life am I avoiding the shadows and pretending healing is only about “light and love”?Who am I centring in my healing, my ego or my community?Relentless ActionsName your shadow: Write down one pattern you’re ashamed of but keep repeating. Share it with a trusted person or mentor. No hiding.Cut the bypassing: Stop saying “love and light” when someone shares their pain. Instead, sit in the discomfort and ask, “How can I witness you fully right now?”Relentless ResourcesAsha Frost's Website & BooksThe Sacred Medicine Oracle Deck Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Dr. Candace Linklater sits down with renowned Métis artist Christi Belcourt, whose work bridges ancestral knowledge, land-based resistance, and decolonial imagination. Candace introduces Christi as one of the most iconic Indigenous artists of our time, celebrated worldwide for paintings that echo traditional beadwork and speak to Indigenous sovereignty, environmental justice, and cultural survival. They discuss how Christi’s art serves as both a love letter to Indigenous futurity and a bold challenge to colonial violence, extending her voice in solidarity with global struggles, including Palestine, while grounding her practice in community, language revitalization, and the wisdom of the natural world.The conversation moves beyond Christi’s public legacy to reveal her personal vulnerability. She opens up about her introversion and the anxieties that come with public speaking, recounting a profound moment at the Matriarch Summit where an unexpected encounter with an Indigenous woman affirmed her calling: “You have a gift. People listen, so don’t be scared to say whatever it is you have to say.” This chance meeting reminded her of the spiritual guidance that emerges in ordinary moments and the medicine that comes from community. Listeners are invited to see art as a creative expression, and a living act of resistance, courage, and relational healing. It can be a space where even shyness and uncertainty can transform into powerful truth-telling.BioChristi Belcourt is one of the most iconic Indigenous artists of our generation. A proud Métis woman, she brings land, memory, and resistance to life through her breathtaking paintings that echo the beadwork of her ancestors and the wisdom of the natural world.Her art lives in major collections around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, and even Parliament Hill. She’s collaborated with and designed the Pan Am Games medals, and her work have travelled from New York to Milan to Indigenous communities where she shares her gifts through grassroots teachings.Christi carries deep commitments to Indigenous sovereignty, language revitalization, and environmental justice. Through the Onaman Collective and Nimkii Aazhibikong, she creates spaces where Indigenous youth connect to language, land, and art. Her voice extends globally as she speaks unapologetically in solidarity with Palestine, drawing powerful connections between Indigenous struggles worldwide.Recently received an Honorary Doctorate from Ontario College of Art & Design University, and offered a powerful speech for the graduates this week. Every piece Christi creates feels like a love letter to Indigenous futurity, a bold, visual act of decolonial power and beauty that keeps ancestral knowledge alive while fiercely challenging colonial violence.IG: @christi_belcourthttp://christibelcourt.com/ -Relentless Reflection When have I silenced myself out of fear or shyness, and what “chance encounters” or affirmations might I carry forward to speak anyway?In what ways am I connected or disconnected from the land I live on, and how might I rebuild that relationship as part of decolonial practice?Relentless ActionsVisit a local Indigenous art exhibit, gallery, or online collection, and reflect on how the work speaks to land, memory, and community.Write a short piece (poem, journal entry, or artwork) as a “love letter” to a future generation, community, or cause you care about.Relentless ResourcesChristi Belcourt’s Website & Artwork“Walking With Our Sisters”: A community-driven art memorial project led by Christi Belcourt to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous WomenSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Dr. Candace Linklater speaks with Vanessa Brousseau, also known as Resilient Inuk, an Inuk multidisciplinary artist and advocate whose art and activism are deeply rooted in personal and intergenerational loss. Vanessa shares the painful yet powerful story of her grandfather’s forced displacement and medical experimentation by the Canadian government, her sister’s disappearance in 2003, and her mother’s death due to medical racism. These experiences fuel her advocacy for MMIWG2S+ and her passion for creating art that serves as both a form of healing and a means of resistance. Throughout the conversation, she reflects on her phases of growth—from personal grief to community empowerment—and how TikTok became a surprising vehicle for her voice during the pandemic.Vanessa and Dr. Candace explore what it means to be vulnerable online while protecting one’s sacredness, especially as Indigenous women navigating both the beauty and brutality of digital spaces. They speak candidly about burnout, boundaries, social media limits, lateral violence within Indigenous communities, and the importance of staying grounded in purpose. The conversation is rich with laughter, shared grief, spiritual flow (often sparked in the shower or at the gym), and mutual encouragement to keep showing up authentically, even if imperfectly. It ends with a powerful message for settlers: understand how intergenerational trauma lives on in Indigenous families today, and be brave enough to interrupt colonization where you are.BioVanessa Brousseau is a multidisciplinary Inuk artist and powerful MMIWG2S advocate originally from Sanikiluaq, NU, now based in Ontario. She began creating art during the pandemic, inspired by her late mother’s beadwork and her own desire to share her sister Pamela’s story, who went missing in 2003. Vanessa’s work—ranging from seal skin jewellery and drum cases to bold video storytelling on TikTok (@resilientinuk)—honours stolen sisters through powerful symbolism, such as the red dress. Her advocacy is deeply personal and unwavering, rooted in both grief and resistance. She’s known for blending traditional materials with modern platforms to educate and spark change. A graduate of the NSI Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, she launched her first exhibit in 2022 and is now expanding into apparel and merchandise. Vanessa’s art is a blend of medicine, movement, and memory.IG & TikTok: @resilientinuk-Relentless ReflectionHow might I be contributing to silence or erasure, directly or indirectly, when it comes to Indigenous women and gender-diverse people? What stops me from speaking up or acting?How can I balance bearing witness to grief while supporting Indigenous joy, creativity, and futurism? Am I centring trauma, or am I also amplifying resilience?Relentless ActionBuy from, donate to, and follow Indigenous-run initiatives focused on MMIWG2S. Financial support and visibility matter. Art is activism.Pressure Local Governments and Institutions. Demand implementation of the 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into MMIWG. Email your local representatives and ask what concrete actions they are taking.Relentless Resources Final Report of the National Inquiry into MMIWGNative Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC)Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

This conversation with Drezus (Jeremiah Manitopyes) gets real. He takes us through his journey—from rising in the Indigenous hip hop scene to reclaiming his power through sobriety, fatherhood, and ceremony. Raised in the city but spiritually rooted in his culture, Drezus shares how reconnecting with the Land and working with youth has become his deepest source of inspiration. Whether he’s jumping into rivers with his kids or sitting by the fire in remote Cree communities, he paints a picture of healing that comes from stillness, presence, and remembering who you are. He reflects on how disconnection from Land contributed to depression, addiction, and anxiety—and how going back to the Land sparked a primal shift in him that influenced both his art and his parenting.But he doesn't stop at speaking on personal healing—he discusses accountability and dismantling toxic masculinity. Drezus unpacks how colonialism shaped distorted ideas of manhood, and how too many Native men are taught to extract instead of nurture. He owns his past, talks openly about the shame, the jail time, the addiction, and what it took to unlearn those harmful patterns. Through sweat lodges, community, and building emotional capacity, he’s redefining what it means to be a strong Indigenous man. He offers space for his brothers to do the same—by calling them in, not out. Drezus reminds us that healing is possible, masculinity can be redefined, and Land holds the key to both.BioDrezus is a force in Indigenous hip-hop. An Anishinaabe/Nehiyaw artist based in Mohkinstis, he blends raw lyricism with cultural resilience, crafting music that moves, empowers, and inspires. His journey started with Team Rezofficial, earning a JUNO nomination and multiple Indigenous music awards. As a solo artist, his 2013 album Redwinter became a rallying cry for the Idle No More movement, followed by Indian Summer, cementing his influence in the scene. Drezus has won major accolades, including the 2022 SOCAN Vince Fontaine Indigenous Song Award, a 2017 MTV VMA with Taboo (Black Eyed Peas), and four Indigenous Music Awards in 2015. He’s shared stages with hip-hop giants like Drake, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, and The Black Eyed Peas, bridging Indigenous and mainstream music worlds. Beyond music, Drezus is making waves in film and TV, with appearances in Yellowstone and contributions to powerful soundtracks. His latest release, Ballad of Bobby Jones featuring Sebastian Gaskin, keeps his signature storytelling alive—unapologetic, thought-provoking, and deeply rooted in his culture. IG: @drezusWebsite: www.drezus.com-Relentless Reflection:What survival strategies have I inherited that now block my capacity to feel, connect, or love deeply?Who in my life might need to be invited into a healing space to be a witness?Relentless Action:Create a space this week where you can safely feel your emotions without distraction—no phone, no alcohol, no numbing. Sit with discomfort, not as weakness, but as a doorway to healing.Reach out to a friend, especially if you’re a cis man, and have a real conversation. Share something uncomfortable, and ask them how they're really doing. Normalize that kind of intimacy.Relentless Resources:From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Dr. Candace Linklater and guest Nikki Apostolou (aka Recycled Stardust) delve into the meaning of living with integrity, community engagement, and staying rooted in love amidst heartbreak, colonization, and online violence. Nikki opens up about how painful it’s been to have her character misrepresented, especially in online spaces where false narratives spread quickly and people rush to judgment. She shares the grief of being pushed into silence to protect others, the toll of being dehumanized, and the internal struggle of trying to keep her heart soft when it would be easier to turn cold.The two women unpack the complex dynamics of lateral violence in Indigenous communities and how colonization has trained people to harm one another, even when they’re fighting for the same liberation. They talk about the weaponization of vulnerability, especially online, and the difference between true accountability and performative call-outs. Nikki reflects on how she’s had to grieve not only what was lost in a relationship but also the loss of trust in a community she once felt safe in. Candace names the bravery in choosing to love anyway, to keep speaking truth even when it costs something, and to reclaim joy as a radical act of resistance.BioNikki Apostolou (aka Recycled Stardust) is a proud Mohawk content creator and plus-size model, widely known for her viral presence in beauty, fashion, and New York City lifestyle storytelling. With over a decade of experience sharing her passion for makeup, style, and city life, she’s built a loyal following of over 400,000 across Instagram and TikTok. Nikki’s content is a celebration of body positivity, Indigenous pride, and unapologetic self-expression.She has walked the runways of New York Fashion Week, representing Indigenous designers and bringing Native excellence to high fashion. Her bold storytelling and signature confidence have earned her features in major media outlets, including CNN, PopSugar, Insider, and Yahoo. Whether she’s breaking beauty standards or elevating Indigenous visibility, Nikki continues to inspire and influence with authenticity and heart.IG and TikTok: @recycledstardust-Relentless Reflection What version of me am I protecting by staying silent? What am I afraid would happen if I showed up more vulnerably, or spoke truth when it’s uncomfortable?How do I discern between harm and discomfort? Am I open to growth that feels hard but is rooted in care, or am I avoiding it by labelling it as an attack?Relentless Action Before reposting, commenting, or aligning with a narrative, ask yourself: Do I know the whole story? Am I perpetuating harm by reacting without understanding?Take stock of your values and your actions. Where do they align, and where don’t they? Commit to one tangible shift that brings your actions closer to your values, especially in how you show up for others in community.Relentless ResourcesSpill by Alexis Pauline GumbsDecolonizing Trauma Work by Renee LinklaterSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this warm, wise, and wildly relatable episode, Dr. Candace Linklater and Dr. Tasha Spillett dive deep into what it means to mother, mourn, and move through the world as Indigenous women. It’s part heart talk, part medicine, as they unpack everything from generational grief to gentle parenting, from cultural reconnection to the quiet rebellions of everyday love. Dr. Tasha opens up about how motherhood pulled her closer to her Cree roots, while Dr. Candace reflects on queer Indigenous identity, loss, and the pressure to hold it all together. The conversation flows like ceremony—full of laughter, raw truth, and ancestral wisdom. This one’s for the aunties, the cycle breakers, the soft landings, and the fierce protectors. It’s a reminder that showing up with love—even when it’s messy—is one of the most radical things we can do.Throughout their conversation, Dr. Candace and Dr. Tasha speak to the power of presence—how simply showing up with integrity, softness, and cultural grounding can be an act of defiance in a world that asks Indigenous women to be everything and nothing at once. They reflect on the legacy of residential schools, the slow reclamation of language and ceremony, and the ways motherhood can become both a return and a reimagining. Whether discussing the exhaustion of advocacy or the joy found in small, sacred moments, their dialogue is a call to honour the full range of Indigenous womanhood—grief and grace, rage and rest, all held in one breath.BioDr. Tasha Spillett is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, and scholar of Cree and Trinidadian descent. Her work lives at the intersection of education, storytelling, and community healing. Through her teaching and public speaking, she uplifts Indigenous students and students of color by creating culturally responsive spaces grounded in relationality, equity, and joy. Tasha brings her deep cultural knowledge into every classroom and conversation, honoring her responsibility as an Afro-Indigenous woman to foster belonging and liberation.Tasha is the author of the multi-award-winning graphic novel series Surviving the City and the bestselling picture books I Sang You Down from the Stars and Beautiful You, Beautiful Me. Her work reflects a lifelong commitment to Indigenous resistance, the well-being of children, and justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people. Whether on the page or in community, she moves with love, purpose, and a vision for a world that’s truly worthy of our children.IG: @tasha.spillettWebsite: tashaspillett.com-Relentless Reflection What lessons have I inherited from the matriarchs in my life, and which ones am I ready to rewrite?How do I show up for myself with the same tenderness I give to others?Relentless ActionsChoose one intergenerational pattern, like silence around grief, perfectionism, or harsh self-talk, and disrupt it with compassion, curiosity, and kindness.Reach out to a fellow caregiver, auntie, or friend and have an honest conversation about what support actually looks like. Start weaving a support system rooted in reciprocity rather than performance.Relentless ResourcesI Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-SumnerBeautiful You, Beautiful Me by Tasha Spillett-SumnerSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this heart-expanding chat, Dr. Candace Linklater sits down in person with Waneek Horn-Miller—Mohawk Olympian, activist, and one of the most influential Indigenous women in sport—for a conversation that is as vulnerable as it is visionary. They explore the complicated beauty of Indigenous rage, healing, and authenticity in a world that constantly tries to box Indigenous women in. Waneek reflects on surviving a near-fatal stabbing during the Oka Crisis at age 14 and how that trauma shaped her sense of power, purpose, and protection. She shares how sport became the container for her rage, and how ceremony, self-reflection, and motherhood helped her alchemize that fire into compassion. The two discuss how kindness has nothing to do with being polite and everything to do with being loyal to what is just—even if it makes others uncomfortable. They unpack how rage, when left unexpressed, can mutate into internalized harm, and how ceremony must hold space for all emotions—not just grief and peace, but fury too.Waneek speaks candidly about navigating traditional and Christian expectations, including the pressure to wear ribbon skirts, and how she has always stood a little outside of dominant narratives—even within her own community. Both women share how their relationships to dress, identity, and spirituality have been shaped by purity culture, lateral violence, and a deep hunger for autonomy. They discuss love as a verb rooted in action, accountability, and deep presence. For Waneek, true love doesn’t hurt—it sees, uplifts, and creates peace. Through their shared reflections on creation, ceremony, and connection, this conversation becomes a living testament to Indigenous self-determination, feminine power, and the right to take up space with both tenderness and rage. @waneek www.waneekhornmiller.com-Relentless Reflection Where in your life have you been taught to silence your rage, and what would it look like to honour it instead?What does kindness mean to you when it’s rooted in justice, not politeness, and how do you extend that same kindness inward?Relentless ActionsName and honour one moment of anger or grief in your life that was misunderstood, dismissed, or internalized. Write it down. Speak it aloud. Witness it.Choose a daily ritual like running, art, prayer, journaling that connects you to your spirit and reframes it as ceremony. Let it be yours, without needing permission.Relentless ResourcesDocumentary – Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993) by Alanis ObomsawinFilm – Beans (2020), directed by Tracey Deer Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Dr. Candace has some deep convos with Chance Paupanakis, a proud Swampy Cree and Two-Spirit advocate from Kinosew Sipi Cree Nation. Raised in both Indigenous and colonial worlds, Chance shares what it means to come into identity while carrying the weight of silence, shame, and survival—and how they’ve chosen to root instead in language, ceremony, and community.Their conversation moves through themes that cut deep: the erasure of Two-Spirit roles, the harm of conditional allyship, and the ongoing impact of colonialism on cultural and spiritual life. But it’s also full of hope. Chance speaks to the sacredness of Two-Spirit existence and the strength that comes from reconnecting to land, kin, and self. For any Two-Spirit youth searching for belonging, or anyone wanting to listen more deeply, this conversation is a reminder: you are sacred, you are loved, and you are never alone.BioChance comes from the Kinosew Sipi Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory and currently resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is a proud Swampy Cree and 2Spirit person who embraces his Cree language and queer identity. Chance has western education in Political Studies and Indigenous Studies from the University of Manitoba. Chance focuses his advocacy around Indigenous language revitalization, youth empowerment, land & water protection, Indigenous student rights and 2SLGBTQQIA+ resurgence. He began his healing journey five years ago and has been learning from many knowledgeable mentors from his home community and beyond. Chance currently works as a Consultant and Independent Contractor for numerous organizations throughout Manitoba. IG: @copperandfloral-Relentless ReflectionWhere in my life do I prioritize comfort over truth?Whose humanity do I still require to prove themself before I stand with them?Relentless ActionsGender binaries are colonial fictions. If you’re defending them in your policy, parenting, or pedagogy, you’re defending a system built to disappear us. Dismantle it.Unlearn the language of domination. Your allyship means nothing if your language still centres whiteness, cisness, and straightness. Do the work. Learn the words. And say them when it’s uncomfortable, not just when it’s trendy.Relentless ResourcesA Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America by Gregory D. Smithers Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this episode, Dr. Candace Linklater sits with Lindsay King, an Indigenous fashion designer from the Salto Ojibwe and Mohawk Nations, whose journey from social work to fashion is rooted in healing, advocacy, and community care. After working as a social worker and foster parent for 20 years, Lindsay began designing in 2014—without any sewing experience—and went on to study fashion in Toronto and Florence before launching her brand in 2022.Their conversation explores how Lindsay’s work is inspired by her grandchildren, the strength of Indigenous entrepreneurship, and her commitment to sustainable, ethical fashion. Lindsay shares how creativity became part of her healing journey, leading to powerful work like her Red Collection showcased at Toronto Fashion Week, which raises awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and relatives. She opens up about her philosophy of visualization, her dedication to protecting children, and the importance of creating space for Indigenous representation in the fashion world.From designing a Cher-inspired leather pant and vest for Tia Wood at the Junos to being named an Indigenous designer to watch by OWL Magazine, Lindsay’s story is one of courage, transformation, and staying rooted in love and purpose.BioMeet Lindsay King is a Saulteaux, Ojibway, and Mohawk fashion designer and registered member of Little Grand Rapids First Nation in Treaty 5 territory. Born in Winnipeg and raised between her parents’ communities in Manitoba and Ontario—with time spent in Texas and Nevada—Lindsay is a proud Mother, Grandmother, Social Worker, and creative force in Indigenous fashion. For over 20 years, she dedicated her life to serving Indigenous children and families as a Social Worker and foster parent, all while quietly holding on to a childhood dream: to one day own a store and design clothes.In 2014, she took a courageous leap, enrolling in fashion programs in Toronto and Florence with no prior sewing experience. Since launching her brand in 2022, Lindsay has grown a line of timeless, luxury garments and curated accessories that reflect care, community, and cultural pride. Her recent Red Collection, shown at Toronto Fashion Week, honours and brings awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people—centering the power of visibility and truth on the runway. Working with artisans and suppliers across North America, her designs are stories of resilience, representation, and reclaiming space in an industry that once felt out of reach.IG: @lindsayking.coWebsite: lindsayking.co-Relentless Reflection Where have I benefited from fashion systems that exclude or appropriate Indigenous cultures—and what can I do to change that?How can I shift my relationship with clothing from consumption to intentional care and cultural respect?Relentless ActionsBuy from Indigenous designers like Lindsay King whose work centres healing, visibility, and resistance. Don’t just admire—invest in the movement.Share, fund, and uplift campaigns, art, and clothing collections that address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people. Use your platform, no matter how big or small, to break the silence.Relentless ResourcesLinsday King’s site Rematriation Magazine  Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

This episode goes deep. Dr. Candace sits down with Andre Bear, a Two-Spirit Nehiyaw Plains Cree educator and legal scholar who’s been using social media to make conversations about Indigenous rights and sovereignty feel both accessible and deeply personal. They explore Andre’s powerful journey—from growing up in foster care to reconnecting with ceremony—and how those experiences continue to shape his fierce advocacy for Indigenous children and youth.Andre shares the story behind carrying a Cubone Pokémon toy into important meetings as a way to honour his inner child, a small yet profound act of remembrance and strength. The conversation also goes into the complexities of navigating Two-Spirit identity in Indigenous spaces, the ongoing process of spiritual growth, and the kind of healing that can only come through unconditional love.Dr. Candace creates space for a conversation that’s raw, moving, and full of heart. Andre’s voice is a testament to what it means to break cycles, reclaim story, and lead with love. His work reminds us that advocacy is care, courage, and connection in action.Bio André Bear is a Nêhîyaw (Plains Cree) educator, advocate, and legal scholar committed to advancing Inherent and Treaty rights. He holds a Juris Doctor and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan and was awarded a full-ride scholarship in 2023 to pursue his Master of Laws. At just 21, André was appointed as a special advisor to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations for the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 66. He has served on the board of the Indigenous Bar Association and currently sits on the board of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society.In 2021, André founded Indigenous Nation Rebuilding, a consulting firm focused on revitalizing Indigenous law-making and supporting Nation-led governance. Beyond boardrooms and classrooms, André uses TikTok as a powerful educational tool, breaking down complex legal and political issues in accessible, engaging ways for a new generation of learners. His work bridges tradition and innovation, law and community, all in service of Indigenous sovereignty and truth.IG and TikTok: @abearlaw Webiste: www.ination.ca- Relentless ReflectionWhat parts of myself have I avoided loving because they remind me of someone who hurt me or remind me of my own capacity to hurt?What am I carrying forward that was never mine to hold,  and what am I here to heal that my ancestors couldn’t?Relentless Action Keep a symbol of your younger self at work, in meetings, or during community organizing. Let it hold you accountable to the child who once needed safety, truth, and protection, especially when you're the only one in the room thinking about children’s well-being.If you're in spiritual or ceremonial spaces, ask yourself: Are these teachings transforming the way I treat people behind closed doors? If not, you’re performing. Make sure your spiritual practice demands integrity in your relationships.Relentless ResourcesFirst Nations Child and Family Caring Society Indigenous Nation Rebuilding – André Bear’s Consulting FirmSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

This podcast episode is a deeply candid conversation between two Indigenous women who hold space for each other in a way that’s both tender and powerful. Anna Lambe—Inuk actress from Iqaluit and the breakout star of North of North—joins Dr. Candace Linklater for an intimate dialogue that weaves together personal stories, professional reflections, and shared truths from the front lines of Indigenous visibility.Anna opens up about the realities of navigating the entertainment industry as a young Inuk woman, speaking honestly about everything from the highs of success to the quiet, unseen struggles—like dealing with adult acne in the public eye, reclaiming self-love, and managing the pressures of fame. Together, they explore the nuanced dynamics of relationships, the unspoken griefs carried in Indigenous womanhood, and the electric, transformative force of feminine rage.What unfolds is a soul-level conversation between two women who understand what it means to carry their communities, face the weight of representation, and still show up with humour, softness, and strength. From laughter to raw vulnerability, this episode feels like sitting in on a sacred kitchen table talk—one that reminds us of the power of Indigenous connection, storytelling, and truth.BioAnna Lambe is the lead in CBC’s hit series North of North, which premiered with a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and named Rolling Stone’s Top 10 Shows of 2025. An Inuk actress from Iqaluit, Nunavut, Anna first broke out in the 2018 film The Grizzlies, earning a Canadian Screen Award nomination at just 18. Since then, she’s starred in Trickster, appeared in HBO’s True Detective, and become a rising force in Indigenous storytelling.Off screen, Anna is a fierce advocate for her people. In 2020, she made headlines with an open letter challenging anti-Two-Spirit rhetoric in Nunavut’s legislature—showing the country that young Inuit voices are powerful and uncompromising.Whether on screen or in real life, Anna Lambe is reclaiming narrative, defending truth, and shifting the landscape of representation.IG: @anna.r.b.lambe_Relentless Reflection What version of myself am I clinging to just to be accepted or "liked"?Where in my life am I abandoning myself to maintain peace that isn’t real?Relentless Action If you invite Indigenous voices into a space, actually let them speak. Don’t interrupt, reframe, or over-validate. Let Indigenous people share their story without trying to prove you’ve done the reading.Choose Yourself Unapologetically. Whether you're walking away from a relationship, an identity that was never yours, or a path you outgrew—make a bold, memorable choice. Just like Siaya: you deserve better, and it’s okay to rage your way into it.Relentless Resources“North of North” (CBC/Netflix) – A must-watch series that brings Indigenous feminine rage, healing, and choice to the forefront through the unforgettable character Siaya.The Two-Spirit Archives at UBC & Native Youth Sexual Health Network – Deepen your understanding of gender diversity and Two-Spirit resurgence across Indigenous Nations.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In an unfiltered conversation, Jayli Wolf and I demolish the toxic religious trauma from our Jehovah's Witness and evangelical backgrounds. We expose how these belief systems systematically stripped us of autonomy, sexuality, and indigenous spiritual connections, leaving behind a toxic landscape of shame, fear, and suppressed rage. From forced door-to-door preaching to suffocating purity culture, we unpack how these institutions control and silence young women, especially those who are queer and indigenous.Our dialogue transforms into a fierce declaration of reclamation. Through art, music, feminine rage, and radical self-love, we're actively dismantling these oppressive internalized narratives. Jayli's music becomes a powerful outlet for healing, transforming pain into sound that challenges colonial and religious systems. We celebrate questioning everything, trusting our intuition, and creating space for our full, messy, beautiful selves - a defiant love letter to our younger, silenced versions.Jayli’s BioJayli Wolf is a Saulteau First Nation musician, sound weaver, poet, actress, and filmmaker whose art is a portal to healing, reclamation, and truth. Her solo breakout single Child of the Government—a visceral anthem about the Sixties Scoop—garnered national acclaim, including a spot on CBC Music’s Top 10 Canadian Songs of 2021 and a Best Music Video award at the Venice Short Film Awards.Raised in a trailer park and told she was half-Mexican, Jayli didn’t learn about her First Nations roots until age eight, when her father—an unwitting survivor of the Sixties Scoop—reached out. Her journey of reconnection with her culture, identity, and Spirit now pulses through everything she creates.A former Jehovah’s Witness, Jayli left what she calls a Doomsday cult to pursue music and self-liberation. Today, her critically acclaimed EP Wild Whisper and her roles in films like Run Woman Run continue to showcase her depth and unapologetic voice. Nominated for multiple JUNO and film awards, Jayli alchemizes revelation into sound, crafting work that elevates the soul and invites collective healing.www.jayliwolf.comIG & TikTok: @jayliwolf-Relentless Reflection:How have colonial systems and religious institutions shaped your understanding of self, spirituality, and cultural identity?In what ways can you transform your personal healing journey into collective liberation for your community?Relentless Action: Actively challenge colonial narratives in educational, professional, and personal spaces by centring indigenous perspectives and dismantling white supremacist frameworks.Support indigenous-led initiatives, businesses, and art forms through financial contributions, amplification, and meaningful solidarity.Relentless Resources Two Spirit and IndigiQueer Resource Toolkits Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this raw and real podcast episode, Jeremy Dutcher drops truth bombs about Indigenous language revitalization, Two-Spirit identity, and cultural resilience. He shares his journey of recovering Ancestral recordings, transforming colonial archives into powerful musical narratives, and creating space for indigenous joy. Dutcher embodies resistance through his music, academic work, and fierce commitment to honouring his community's linguistic and cultural roots.The conversation cuts deep into the complexities of settler colonialism, queer Indigenous experiences, and the revolutionary act of simply existing and thriving. Dutcher dismantles oppressive narratives with humor, vulnerability, and a relentless belief in Indigenous power. From discussing his mother's groundbreaking language immersion school to challenging binary thinking about gender and time, he presents a vision of indigenous futures that are simultaneously healing, provocative, and absolutely unstoppable. To put it simply, this episode is a manifesto of Indigenous badassery and our ability to alchemize pain into beauty–like music. Jeremy’s BioJeremy Dutcher is a Two-Spirit Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) tenor, composer, musicologist, and activist from Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick. Classically trained in Western opera, Jeremy merges that discipline with the traditional songs and language of his ancestors—breathing life into archival recordings and bringing them into the present.His debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa won both the Polaris Music Prize and a JUNO Award, and his follow-up project Motewolonuwok made history when he became the first artist to win the Polaris Prize twice. A fierce advocate for Indigenous language revitalization, cultural resurgence, and queer Indigenous joy, Jeremy’s work is medicine, reclamation, and revolution.Jeremy was recently honoured with the 2025 National Arts Centre Award from the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, joining his growing list of accolades, including a JUNO and two Polaris Prize wins.IG: @jdutchermusic www.jeremydutcher.com-Relentless Reflection:Where are you still performing colonial compliance in your life, and what radical act of refusal can you implement today?How does your understanding of time, identity, and connection differ from Western linear narratives, and how can you weaponize that difference?Relentless Action:Actively create or join a community that celebrates your full, intersectional indigenous identity - no apologies, no compromises.Research and expose how museums, archives, and academic institutions have historically stolen and silenced Indigenous narratives, then develop a personal strategy for reclamation.Relentless Resources Two Spirit and IndigiQueer Resource Toolkits Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

This podcast episode is basically a love letter to indigenous resilience, told through the epic mother-child duo of Virginia and Scott Wabano. Scott's a queer, Two-Spirit fashion icon who went from being a tiny hoop dancer to slaying runways and challenging industry norms. His mom, Virginia, is the ultimate badass matriarch who's been his ride-or-die since day one.They dive deep into Scott's journey of self-discovery, coming out on a random highway (because why not?), and how his family's love eclipsed potential rejection. Virginia's been dropping truth bombs since the 80s, from residential school testimonies to supporting her son's fabulous life.The conversation is a middle finger to colonial expectations. Scott's using fashion as activism, Virginia's preserving cultural traditions, and together they're showing the world that indigenous folks are complex, powerful, and absolutely not going anywhere.Their BiosScott Wabano is an award-winning Fashion Stylist and designer, Creative Director and Content Creator, and co-host of the iconic Real Rank Podcast with his bestie, Kairyn Potts.  A 2Spirit Cree from the Mushkegowuk & Eeyou Istchee territories on the James Bay coast, Scott grew up with a strong admiration for traditional and mainstream fashion and a passion for bringing authentic Indigenous representation to the industry. Scott often incorporates traditional storytelling with modern and digital concepts within fashion to advocate for the lives of Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ peoples. With features in Vogue, Forbes 30 Under 30 for Toronto,, ELLE, FASHION, The National Post & more, Scott has become an advocate for sustainable and Indigenous fashion while also advocating for the rights of Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth on Turtle Island.Virginia Wabano is from the Moose Cree First Nation, and a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights within government, bringing both fierce determination and an open heart to every space she enters. She holds diplomas in Business Administration and Child and Families, along with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education degree. Known for speaking her truth with clarity and compassion and mixing in some Native humor, Virginia combines deep wisdom with an unshakable commitment to her People in various capacities from government to school.. She recently appeared on Family Feud Canada alongside her children—including Scott—where her hilarious sense of humor and radiant warmth shone through, capturing the hearts of viewers across the country.IG & TikTok: @scottwabano -Relentless Reflection:How have colonial systems of gender and sexuality silenced your own authentic self, and what ancestral wisdom can you reclaim to heal those wounds?Where in your life are you choosing comfort over transformation, and what radical vulnerability would it take to dismantle those oppressive structures?Relentless Action:Actively deplatform and withdraw support from institutions, media, and individuals who continue to marginalize indigenous voices, replacing them with indigenous-led narratives and spaces.Commit to a year of deep, personal unlearning. This means engaging in Indigenous-authored media, paying for Indigenous knowledge without extractive expectations, and consistently challenging your internalized colonial conditioning in tangible, uncomfortable ways.Relentless Resources:Two Spirit & IndigiQueer Resource Toolkits Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this heart-to-heart episode, Owen Unruh opens up about his journey as a Two Spirit, Indigenous person navigating addiction, shame, and the long road to self-love. From surviving in silence to thriving in his truth, Owen shares how embracing vulnerability—and using social media as a lifeline—helped him reclaim his power.He gets real about growing up queer in a religious, conservative space, and the healing that came with unlearning internalized beliefs. We talk about the joy of finally loving every version of yourself, even the messy ones.This episode dives into the beauty of Indigenous resistance, the sacredness of storytelling, and what it means to live authentically. Owen offers words of love to other Two Spirit and queer Indigenous youth, reminding them that they are already enough. We also unpack what real allyship looks like—and how just existing, joyfully and unapologetically, is an act of rebellion.-Owen’s BioOwen Unruh (he/they) is a Two-Spirit Nêhiyaw (Cree) individual with familial ties to Driftpile First Nation. Adopted and raised in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Owen faced challenges reconciling his queer and Indigenous identities within a community that often lacked acceptance. This internal conflict led to a decade-long struggle with addiction. ​In his pursuit of healing, Owen turned to social media, particularly TikTok, to share his journey toward sobriety and self-acceptance. His candid storytelling and advocacy have resonated with a broad audience, amassing over 300,000 followers. Through his content, Owen addresses themes of addiction recovery, Indigenous identity, and Two-Spirit representation, aiming to inspire and support others facing similar challenges. ​Beyond digital platforms, Owen is a model, dancer, speaker, and performer. He utilizes dance to express joy and embody his divine sexual energy, viewing the reclamation of sexuality and identity as sacred and traditional acts for Indigiqueer individuals. ​Owen's dedication to authenticity and vulnerability has positioned him as a significant voice within both Indigenous and beyond, advocating for self-love, cultural pride, and holistic well-being.Owen’s IG & TikTok: @owen.unruh-Relentless Reflection:How have colonial systems and religious institutions shaped your understanding of identity, spirituality, and self-worth?In what ways do you silence or suppress your authentic self to conform to external expectations?Relentless Action:Create a personal Land acknowledgment that goes beyond performative statements and includes a commitment to Indigenous sovereignty and accountability. Have a budget for it, too. Financially support Indigenous-led organizations, artists, and creators doing healing and advocacy work.Relentless Resources:Two Spirit & indigiQueer Resource Toolkits Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

Emma Morrison is a powerhouse Indigenous woman who's breaking barriers as the first Indigenous Miss World Canada representative, preparing to compete in the Miss World finals in India on May 31st. Her Beauty with a Purpose project, "Ribbons," focuses on empowering Indigenous youth, particularly young girls, through education, cultural pride, and mentorship. She'll be representing not just Canada, but First Nations women on a global stage, carrying the hopes and spirits of her Ancestors.Throughout our conversation, we explored the depth of Indigenous resilience, the importance of celebrating personal achievements, and the need for settlers to engage with Indigenous culture authentically. Emma's journey from a shy girl in a small town to an international pageant representative demonstrates that Indigenous women can excel in spaces not traditionally designed for them, all while maintaining their cultural integrity and commitment to community upliftment.-Emma’s Bio: Emma Morrison, a proud Indigenous woman from Chapleau, Ontario, is the first Indigenous woman to win Miss World Canada. She is passionate about Indigenous empowerment, mentorship, and cultural reconnection.Her Beauty with a Purpose project, Ribbons, uplifts Indigenous youth, particularly young girls, through education and cultural pride. In June of 2024, she created the “Ribbons Bursary,” which supports Indigenous girls at Chapleau Elementary Public School in their academic and personal journeys. Emma has worked with Indigenous communities across Canada, and spoken to over 10,000 students about self-empowerment. Now representing Canada on the Miss World stage in India this May, she continues to use her platform to inspire and uplift Indigenous voices.Emma’s IG: @emmamorrisonEmma’s TikTok: @emma.morrrison-Relentless Reflection:Where in my life am I silencing my truth to make others comfortable?How am I actively dismantling the colonial narratives that limit my potential?Relentless Action:Donate directly to an Indigenous youth education fund or bursary program in your region.Audit your personal and professional spaces: Where can you amplify Indigenous voices and create tangible opportunities?Relentless Resources:"Indigenous Writes" by Chelsea Vowel - a critical, accessible guide to understanding Indigenous-settler relationsIndspire.org - national Indigenous charity investing in the education of Indigenous People, offering scholarships and resourcesSend Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat 

In this powerful relaunch of the Relentless Indigenous Woman Podcast, Dr. Candace Linklater shares her transformative journey of completing her PhD, navigating grief, and finding profound love and resilience. Her award-nominated dissertation, inspired by the quiet strength of moss, explores creating safe spaces for Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQ+ youth, reflecting her commitment to education as an act of rebellion and compassion. With an announcement of the stellar lineup of Indigenous guests, including artists, activists, and leaders, the podcast challenges intolerance, expands empathy, and celebrates the sacred diversity of human experience. Dr. Candace's raw, emotional storytelling invites listeners to grow, question rigid beliefs, and embrace love in all its expansive forms. This podcast is a courageous invitation to learn, unlearn, and honour the full spectrum of human dignity.www.relentlessindigenouswoman.ca-Relentless Reflection:Where are you choosing performative allyship over genuine radical transformation and accountability?What comfortable lies are you protecting that actively harm marginalized communities?Relentless Action:Read one book by an Indigenous Two-Spirit author this month, focusing on listening and learning without centring your own perspective.Publicly challenge one family member or institutional leader who perpetuates homophobic or transphobic rhetoric, with zero compromise.Relentless Resources: Pedagogy of Moss Model in School Leadership Approaches for Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ K–12 Students by Dr. Candace Linklater https://www.proquest.com/docview/3156239758"Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature" edited by Qwo-Li Driskill - A groundbreaking anthology centring Indigenous queer and Two-Spirit voices, narratives, and experiences.Send Us a Text with Your Thoughts or Questions!Join the RIW Patreon Community RIW WebsiteMusic Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat