Resume and Recharge Podcast

Derek


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"When I cross the bridge onto Walpole Island, it's like the weight of the world lifts off my shoulders. My ancestors are welcoming me home." - Derek Sands on The Résumé and Recharge Podcast


In this episode of the show, Derek, an Indigenous filmmaker and PhD student, shares his powerful journey of resilience, identity, and the pursuit of belonging. Through storytelling and lived experience, Derek invites us to understand the complexities of intergenerational trauma, the healing power of cultural connection, and the importance of creating inclusive workplaces where everyone feels truly at home.


This episode is part of a two-part series produced ahead of the 2024 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.


About Derek


Derek Sands (Ojibway, Potawatomi, and Miami) is a Walpole Island First Nation member and an Indigenous filmmaker. His film journey started when he realized the teachings, language, and elders were disappearing and found purpose in documenting what remained. His first documentary film, Ziidbaatogeng (2020), featured an Aamjiwnaang First Nation family teaching and sharing the Sugarbush traditions. The film also featured narration from the remaining fluent Ojibway speakers from Bkejwanong.


His current project, All Sacred Things (2023), focuses on a group of indigenous college students and their journey of reconnecting to their culture, which inevitably leads them to experience the once almost extinct Ojibway Spirit Horses. The short documentary has been selected in several international film festivals including Red Nation Film Festival and World Culture Film Festival in Los Angeles, the film has won awards also, Best Long Form Short Documentary in the Toronto Documentary Film Festival.


Derek is now starting his second year in the Media and Design Innovation Ph.D. program at Toronto Metropolitan University, where his research is focused on the repatriation of artifacts and blood memory. He has been in a mentorship program with legendary documentary

filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin. Derek has worked as director observer/BTS and guest director for the Crave original comedy series The Trades.


Derek is currently working on several film projects focused on his indigenous community and people. You can find Derek on Instagram @indigital_films.




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Resume and Recharge PodcastBy Resume Recharge