As part of the public broadcaster’s ongoing commitment to reflect Indigenous communities across Canada, CBC is recognizing National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day with a broadcast, streaming and audio lineup of original series and special programming that showcases First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives and experiences.
National Indigenous History Month honours the history, heritage and diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada. It is also an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the strength of present-day Indigenous communities by sharing stories from an Indigenous point of view, told by Indigenous-led creative teams. CBC aims to foreground diverse Indigenous voices year-round, offering national audiences authentic and engaging storytelling that can’t be found anywhere else, and nurturing new Indigenous creators and aspiring journalists through development programs that offer participants valuable hands-on experience and coaching support.
For National Indigenous History Month, CBC worked with Design de Plume, a Sudbury, Ontario-based, women-led and Indigenous- and queer-owned design team, on a new original logo. Inspired by the design of a drum, used across Turtle Island and Inuit Nunangat for oral storytelling, CBC’s National Indigenous History Month graphic is composed of a combination of Inuit, Métis and First Nation cultures co-existing and interwoven on the face of a drum. In addition to the CBC National Indigenous History Month graphic, three separate drum faces have been created to represent First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures.
A selection of CBC’s broad range of programming this month is highlighted below:
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CELEBRATING INDIGENOUS EXCELLENCE – SUNDAY, JUNE 19
Tune in for a special prime-time lineup featuring the annual INDSPIRE AWARDS, representing the highest honour the Indspire national charity bestows upon Indigenous community, flanked by national premieres for CBC Docs from Indigenous creators and Indigenous led-productions.
- 7 p.m. (7:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem
THE ROAD TO HERE: THE ERROL RANVILLE STORY
Indigenous music legend Errol “C-Weed” Ranville reconstructs his life and career after a tragic car crash, finding fresh meaning in his music and his drive for cultural reconciliation.
- 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem and 8 p.m. (9 AT, 9:30 NT) on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen
The2022 INDSPIRE AWARDS is a nationally broadcast celebration of culture showcasing outstanding achievements from Indigenous peoples in Canada. Twelve award recipients from a diverse list of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities will be honoured.
- 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem
Cree twins Tapwewin and Pawaken are turning twelve. As a rite of passage into the next phase of their lives, they travel with their family to Attawapiskat to take part in a sacred first haircut ceremony.
- 9:30 p.m. (10 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem
STILL STANDING “Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, ON”
Like all of Canada’s First Nations territories, the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte are focused on building a better tomorrow while keeping the traditions of their past.
NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY – TUESDAY, JUNE 21
- To celebrate National Indigenous People’s Day, CBC Music is presenting a full day of radio programming to highlight the work of Indigenous artists and composers. On June 21, every show will feature an all-Indigenous playlist – MORNINGS with Damhnait Doyle, TEMPO with Julie Nesrallah, ABOUT TIME with Tom Allen, DRIVE with Rich Terfry, FREQUENCIES with Errol Nazareth, THE BLOCK with Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe, and AFTERDARK with Odario Williams.
- A special episode of RECLAIMED with Jarrett Martineau will air as the third hour of MORNINGS at 8 a.m. (8:30 NT), and the third hour of DRIVE at 5 p.m. (5:30 NT) on CBC Music. RECLAIMED honours National Indigenous People’s Day by sharing Indigenous voices from across the country. Listeners will hear an uplifting collection of Indigenous songs chosen by leading Indigenous musicians, artists, writers, and community members—and the stories of why they matter and why they resonate for all Canadians and Indigenous Peoples on this special day. RECLAIMED shares the mic for a people-powered soundtrack to the celebration.
- There’s a certain kind of magic that happens when we all gather together. This week on UNRESERVED (Saturday, June 18 at 4.p.m. (4:30 NT) and Tuesday, June 21 at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT) on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen), host Rosanna Deerchild hits the pow wow trail to celebrate culture and community. It’s a party! And you’re invited. We check in with some of our favourite cousins across Turtle Island to find out how they’re marking National Indigenous Peoples Day.
- Buffy Sainte-Marie is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the past century and her music has quietly reverberated throughout pop culture and provided a soundtrack for Indigenous resistance for the last 60 years. In CBC Podcasts’ new five-part series BUFFY, Mohawk and Tuscarora writer Falen Johnson (co-host of Secret Life of Canada) explores how Buffy’s life and legacy is essential to understanding Indigenous resilience. On Monday, June 20, THE NATIONAL’s Adrienne Arseneault will sit down for an interview with Sainte-Marie, and on Thursday, June 30, Sainte-Marie will join CBC Radio One Q’s Tom Power for an extended, in-depth conversation.
- CBC News Network will have coverage of events across the country throughout the day.
- The CBC Kids morning lineup on CBC TV will offer special programming for National Indigenous Peoples Day, including episodes of MOLLY OF DENALI and interstitials featuring Indigenous culture and heritage.
CBC TV and CBC Gem will be broadcasting and streaming a selection of Indigenous-led documentaries, films and series throughout the day and late night on June 21, including the following titles:
- 7 p.m. (7:30 NT) – MASHKAWI-MANIDOO BIMAADIZIWIN SPIRIT TO SOAR
In the wake of an inquest into the mysterious deaths of seven First Nations high school students in Thunder Bay, Ont., Anishinaabe journalist Tanya Talaga examines what – if anything – has changed since they died.
- 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – SGAAWAAY K’UUNA (EDGE OF THE KNIFE)
Haida Gwaii, 1800s. At a seasonal fishing camp, two families endure conflict between the nobleman Adiits’ii and his best friend Kwa. After Adiits’ii causes the accidental death of Kwa’s son, he flees into the rainforest, descending into madness and transforming into Gaagiixid – “the Wildman.” When the families return in the spring, they discover Adiits’ii has survived the winter. Can he be rescued and returned to his humanity? Meanwhile, Kwa wrestles with his deepest desire – revenge. SGAAWAAY K’UUNA is the first feature-length film made entirely in the Haida language.
- 10 p.m. (10:30 NT) THE NATIONAL (also 9 p.m. ET on CBC News Network and CBC Gem)
Viewers will learn about the budding Indigenous tourism trade, and the success story of Shoal Lake in northwestern Ontario. After living under a boil-water advisory for 24 years, the First Nation community built an award-winning water treatment plant.
NOW AVAILABLE ON CBC LISTEN, CBC GEM AND CBC.CA
- Long after the Kuper Island Residential School was torn down, the survivors remain haunted by what happened there. In CBC Podcasts’ KUPER ISLAND, investigative journalist Duncan McCue exposes undisclosed police investigations, confronts perpetrators of abuse, and witnesses a community trying to rebuild on top of the old school’s ruins and the unmarked graves of Indigenous children.
- The free CBC Listen App offers a wide variety of Indigenous-themed podcasts, including: THIS PLACE, CBC Books’ podcast adaptation of the bestselling graphic novel anthology telling 150 years of Canadian history through Indigenous stories; and TELLING OUR TWISTED HISTORIES, an 11-episode award-winning podcast series that reclaims Indigenous history by exploring 11 words whose meanings have been twisted by centuries of colonization.
- UNRESERVED (Saturdays at 4.p.m. (4:30 NT) and Tuesdays at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT) on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen) is the radio space for Indigenous voices — our cousins, our aunties, our elders, our heroes. Host 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.
- CBC Gem’s INDIGENOUS STORIES COLLECTION features a variety of series, full-length documentaries from the National Film Board, and short documentaries from the National Screen Institute, including: doc series GESPE’GEWA’GI: THE LAST LAND about the Indigenous fishers of Listuguj, Quebec; Season 2 of SKINDIGENOUS, profiling some of the most talented Indigenous tattoo artists in the world; the Canadian Premiere of Australian comedy series PREPPERS; documentary MARY TWO-AXE EARLEY: I AM INDIAN AGAIN about a key figure in the women’s rights movement; Alanis Obomsawin’s HONOUR TO SENATOR MURRAY SINCLAIR; and the Canadian Premiere of WARRIOR SPIRIT, about the UFC’s first Native American champion, Nicco Montaño.
- Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and available to stream on CBC Gem, MAAMUITAAU is a weekly Cree language current affairs program, with English subtitles, bringing the stories of the James Bay Crees to life. In English, MAAMUITAAU means “let’s get together,” which reflects the spirit of the show. The ongoing series from CBC North Quebec Cree Media Unit covers a broad range of topics including social and political issues, environmental conflict, and traditional subjects such as hunting and crafts. Observational, engaging, and at times poetic, the show transports you to Quebec’s North and to the heart of Cree culture. The program recently won a Gabriel Award, presented by the Catholic Media Association, for its Systemic Racism piece in the category of Single Story – Local Release: English Language Television. The coveted awards recognize the best in film, broadcasting and cross-platform media, honouring works that support themes of dignity, compassion, community and justice.
- The CBC Gem collection CBC KIDS CELEBRATES CANADA’S INDIGENOUS HERITAGE showcases award-winning programs on CBC Gem, such as ANAANA’S TENT in both English and Inuktitut, TEEPEE TIME in English and Mi’kmaq, and MOLLY OF DENALI, as well as STUDIO K’s celebration of Indigenous people and culture across Canada. CBCKids.ca includes a new game, Woodland Pawball, featuring artwork by Oneida and Anishnaabe artist Tsista Kennedy, as well as articles for older kids by Indigenous contributors about Indigenous culture and history, while CBC Kids News offers more context for tweens on National Indigenous History Month through KN EXPLAINS, and CBC Parents provides caregivers with plenty of videos, podcasts and stories to help parents and kids celebrate National Indigenous History month.
- By talking to Indigenous Elders and community members, CBC Edmonton created THE HISTORY OF TREATY 6 TERRITORY IN ALBERTA, a series of interactive maps of the Treaty 6 territory to celebrate and learn more about Indigenous culture and history. Each point on the map is of historic significance and contains a description of the place, with additional resources for further learning. The maps include Treaty 6 in relation to Alberta and Saskatchewan, Treaty 6 in Alberta, Edmonton, Edmonton core, the Wabamun/Lac Ste. Anne area and Maskwacîs.
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CBC Indigenous elevates First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives and experiences through informed and innovative storytelling, with journalism rooted in the heart of communities, shedding light on the realities, complexities and diversity of Indigenous life in Canada. CBC North Quebec Cree Media Unit celebrates 50 years of radio broadcasting this year, and recently won a prestigious Gracie Award, presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, in the local radio category for the all-women team behind Winschgaoug and Eyou Dipajimoon, East Cree language radio shows broadcast daily Monday to Friday. CBC North further broadens Canadians’ understanding of Indigenous experiences across the country with content available in six Indigenous languages.
CBC’s newIndigenous Pathways to Journalism Development Program is a full-time, nine-month paid learning and development opportunity for six First Nations, Inuit and Métis candidates who want to develop practical skills as a storyteller in a CBC newsroom. In addition to hands-on experience and coaching, participants will go through a “journalism bootcamp” with top instructors from across Canada. Applications can be found here, and the deadline to apply is Friday, July 15, 2022.
The recently announced CBC-APTN Early Stage Scripted Development Program for Indigenous Creators in association with the ISO is open now to emerging Indigenous television creators with scripted projects in English or an Indigenous language. Selected participants will have access to CBC and APTN executives, and receive custom-tailored support for their projects with the aim of progressing them to the next stage of development, and ultimately into production. Applications can be found here, and the deadline to apply is Friday, July 22, 2022 at 6 p.m. ET.