This episode of Unreserved shines a light on Indigenous people who are culturally-adapting and reclaiming wellness practices.

Michael Yellow Bird, is a citizen of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota and he is the dean of the faculty of social work at the University of Manitoba. He’s been practicing mindfulness for decades and he researches the effects of Indigenous ceremony and mindfulness on the brain. He says mindfulness can decolonize the brain.

Smudging - burning herbs like sage - is becoming increasingly popular in some wellness circles. But is it cultural appropriation? Tareyn Johnson is Anishinaabe and a member of Georgina Island First Nation. She's been practicing yoga for many years and has seen sacred medicines like sage being misused or improperly handled in a growing number of yoga studios. 

Jessica Barudin is Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw and a member of the Namgis First Nation on Vancouver Island and founder of the First Nations Women’s Yoga Initiative. As a yoga teacher, Jessica works with Elders and knowledge keepers to bring culturally adapted yoga to communities and help heal intergenerational trauma.

How Indigenous yogis and meditators are adapting and reclaiming 'wellness'

Unreserved is the radio space for Indigenous voices – our cousins, our aunties, our elders, our heroes. Rosanna Deerchild guides us on the path to better understand our shared story. Together, we learn and unlearn, laugh and become gentler in all our relations.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

No more pencils, no more books - we’re taking a break from the classroom to learn about the land, each other and our cultures. This week Rosanna speaks with Indigenous educators about decolonizing the classroom. From curriculum bundles that help Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers incorporate traditional knowledge in their classrooms to communities looking to re-write curriculum completely, Indigenous approaches are changing the way we teach and learn.

Decolonizing the classroom

Canada’s beloved game has a well-known dark side: a racist, sexist, toxic culture. But Indigenous lovers of the game are using the power of hockey for positive change, making the ice a space for healing, inclusion, and a ton of fun. This episode shares their stories, from elite players to amateur hockey organizers to fans, and explores how and why they use hockey to change lives. And along the way, celebrate that Indigenous people rock at hockey!

Hockey – as healing, history and hope

Join us in studio where Inuit throat singers share songs and the stories behind their rhythmic patterns and sounds. This week Rosanna speaks with four Inuit throat singers who are reclaiming this almost lost tradition. For nearly a century, Christian missionaries in the north banned the practice as part of government and church efforts to assimilate Inuit. This is a show about survival and reclamation.

Reclaiming Inuit Throat Singing

This week we’re taking you to Niagara Falls for the second installment of our occasional series Unmapped. Rosanna is unmapping Niagara Falls, aka Onguiaahra – from the Haudenosaunee contributions to the War of 1812 to the Tuscarora women keeping their culture and traditions alive through beading, there is much more to know beyond the iconic waterfall. 

Unmapped: Niagara Falls

Data tells a story, and that’s why survivors of the notorious Mohawk Institute – Canada’s longest running residential school – are reclaiming data and sharing their truths. This week Rosanna speaks with Indigenous people who are reclaiming data to better understand the past and build towards the future. From traditional knowledge passed down through oral storytelling to the records kept by governments and institutions, data is power. Keeping that power in Indigenous hands is data sovereignty.

How Indigenous yogis and meditators are adapting and reclaiming 'wellness'

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