Hjalmer, Timmy, Tantoo and Rassi: Breaking barriers and healing nations through art

On this episode, we celebrate Indigenous people breaking barriers and healing nations through the power of language and art.

Brothers Hjalmer Wenstob and Timmy Masso are making Nuu-chah-nulth art in the midst of a pandemic to offer strength to their community and mark a significant moment in history. They recently shared an original song in a youtube video as a gift to all nations.

Tantoo Cardinal is one of the most recognizable Indigenous actors in Canada and recently received the Governor General’s lifetime artistic achievement award for her wide ranging work on the small and big screens. As a nod to her journey, we revisit a conversation she had with Rosanna Deerchild in 2018 in which she describes her absolute commitment to sticking with a career in the performing arts, even when she was one of the only Indigenous women in the room.

Rassi Nashalik is a brand new inductee to the CBC News Hall of Fame - the first Inuk and Indigenous person to be recognized. We celebrate her many accomplishments, including her self-taught beginnings as a journalist and her skillful ability as a news host to translate English scripts into Inuktitut — live and in real time — for her audience.