Related Guides
Xwi7xwa Library Guide
Indigenous Podcasting: Resisting the Colonial Paradigm
"Driven by the desire of Indigenous peoples to share their stories on a global scale—and assume agency over their representation—Indigenous podcasts have emerged as a tool to 'decolonize the airwaves.' At the intersection of digital media, podcasting, and Indigenous storytelling, lies the rising trend of Indigenous podcasting—whether that be Indigenous media platforms like Indian & Cowboy, Rosanna Deerchild's segment on CBC Radio [Unreserved], or indie podasts."
From Indigenous Podcasting: resisting the colonial paradigm (Taylor Mitchell, 2017).
Featured Podcasts and Platforms
For a comprehensive list of Indigenous podcasts, see the Index of Indigenous Podcasts maintained by Media Indigena. The list is updated regularly, and includes both independent podcasts and podcasts by broadcasters.
- 2 Crees in a Pod
2 Crees in a Pod, unapologetically creates space for Indigenous resurgence. Our intention is to disrupt western colonial systems and honor Indigenous helping practices. - All My Relations
All My Relations, a podcast where we explore what it means to be a Native person in 2019. To be an Indigenous person is to be engaged in relationships—relationships to land and place, to a people, to non-human relatives, and to one another. All My Relations is a place to explore those relationships, and to think through Indigeneity in all its complexities. - Book Women Podcast
This podcast is by and for Indigenous peoples who have an interest in editing, publishing, and writing Indigenous stories. The hope is to inspire Indigenous peoples to share their stories in whatever medium that they enjoy. One of the hosts is our Acting Head Kayla Lar-son! - Coffee & Quaq
The mission of Coffee & Quaq is to celebrate, share, and explore the collective experience of contemporary Native life in urban Alaska. Coffee & Quaq aims to incite discussion on topics of interest for young Alaska Native people and bring awareness to the various facets of modern Indigenous life. Check out their episode called "Eskimo vs. Inuit" - Indian & Cowboy
The only Indigenous podcast network in the world to date. Hosts ten podcasts, including Métis in Space, Stories from the Land, Red Man Laughing, The Henceforth, and others. - Kiwew
Kīwew is a five-part podcast in which Governor General award-winning author David A. Robertson dives into his family's history and mysteries as he discovers and connects with his Cree identity. - Media Indigena
Weekly Indigenous current affairs roundtable hosted by Rick Harp. Discusses current affairs from an Indigenous perspective and examines the ways in which Indigenous cultures, issues, and news are portrayed in mainstream media. - Métis In Space – Otipêyimisiw-Iskwêwak Kihci-Kîsikohk
"Hilariously deconstructs the science fiction genre through a decolonial lense. Join hosts Molly Swain & Chelsea Vowel as they drink a bottle of (red) wine, and from a tipsy, decolonial perspective, review a sci-fi movie or television episode featuring Indigenous Peoples, tropes & themes." - Recoding Relations
Recoding Relations is produced out of the Symposium for Indigenous New Media (#SINM2018). This was a two-day event held on the traditional territory of the WSÁNEĆ (Saanich), Lkwungen (Songhees), Wyomilth (Esquimalt) peoples of the Coast Salish Nation as part of the 2018 Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI). - Revolutions Per Minute
"Indigenous music and culture meet in sound. Each episode we give voice to the music, stories, and experiences of Indigenous artists from around the world by exploring a place, idea, or tradition that inspires our songs and our people" - Sacred Earth
Isaac Murdoch and Christi Belcourt host this bi-weekly LIVE call in radio program. - Story-Telling/Story-listening: Decolonizing Research
Story-telling / Story-listening: Decolonizing Research Through Podcast as Storytelling explores multiple Indigenous and cultural worldviews, sciences, pedagogies and cosmology. The series features interviews with Tłı̨chǫ knowledge-holders John B. Zoe and Janet Rabesca, Elder Albert Marshall from Mi’kma’ki, and my teachers Melanie Zurba, and Sherry Pictou from L'sɨtkuk (Bear River Fist Nation). By listening to their teachings, we are sharing a space with their voices and honouring pre-colonial oral traditions. - This Land
A nine part series. Hosted by Rebecca Nagle, an Oklahoma journalist and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this podcast will provide an in depth look at how a cut and dry murder case opened an investigation into half the land in Oklahoma and the treaty rights of five tribes. Follow along to find out what’s at stake, the Trump administration’s involvement, the larger right wing attack on tribal sovereignty and how one unique case could result in the largest restoration of tribal land in US history. - A Tribe Called Geek
Describing themselves as "Indigenerdity for the geeks at the Powwow," A Tribe Called Geek talks everything from Star Wars to the survival of the First Voices festival. They cover video games, Indig-geek art, and Indigenous superheroes. - Voicing the Circle
This is a podcast geared toward themes in the performing arts. It is an Indigenous-led podcast that will have guests from different backgrounds in performing arts. - Love, Land & Spirit from IRSHDC
Love, Land & Spirit is a podcast series about connection, community, culture, and Indigeneity. Written and hosted by a team of four Indigenous youth, Love, Land & Spirit aims to create discussion between youth and knowledge holders about interconnected topics in their lives – in conversation and celebration of Indigenous joy and excellence. - Stolen: Surviving St. Michaels
Connie Walker (Okanese First Nation) unearths how her family was impacted by the residential school system. Walker received a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award for her work on Stolen. - Kuper Island - CBC PodcastAn 8-part series that tells the stories of four students: three who survived and one who didn’t. They attended one of Canada’s most notorious residential schools – where unsolved deaths, abuse, and lies haunt the community and the survivors to this day. Hosted by Duncan McCue.
- Land BackLand Back uncovers land theft in Canada and looks at how Indigenous people are reclaiming their territories, identities and lives.
- Missing & Murdered: Finding CleoTaken by child welfare workers in the 1970’s and adopted in the U.S., the young Cree girl’s family believes she was murdered while hitchhiking back home to Saskatchewan. CBC news investigative reporter Connie Walker (Okanese First Nation) joins the search to find out what really happened to Cleo.
Selected Resources
Podcasting for Beginners
- Red Man Laughing: How to PodcastThis episode of the Red Man Laughing Podcast covers the basics of "how to podcast," focusing on five essential elements: the five Ws (who, what, where, when, and why); equipment and gear; website and publishing; RSS feeds and subscribers; and creating the show (formats, lengths and more).
- Métis In Space: Do You Want to Podcast?"Basically we’re hoping that a whole whack of Indigenous people go out and start podcasting things. It’s so ridiculously simple that even we figure out how to do it without too many mishaps. It’s not super slick, but we’re not going for slick, we’re going for fun, interesting and sustainable."
- Vancouver Public Library's Digital Creation LabVPL offers support & help with beginning to podcast, including access to microphones and recording equipment.
- UBC Resources for PodcastingPodcasting set up & help from UBC's DIY Media Department