b'PODCASTSKim Wheeler, co-host of the Auntie Up! podcast.STORY SOVEREIGNTYBy Bryan HansenI Sharing knowledge through podcastsndigenous media in Canada as we knowpodcast work, first through CBCs MissingFellow podcaster Kim Wheeler agrees. A it today remains grounded in oral history,& Murdered and more recently with Gimletjournalist and producer with over 30 years a tradition that still informs methods ofMedias Stolen, has opened new pathways forof experience, and an Anishinaabe survivor knowledge-sharing, community-buildingIndigenous memory, justice and healing. of the Sixties Scoop, Wheeler produced and the passing-on of teachings. Indigenousthe 2025 JUNO Awards while continuing storytelling continues to adapt and resonate,In 2023, Walker earned both a Pulitzer Prizeto champion Indigenous storytelling. She is and podcasting in particular has opened upand a Peabody Award for Stolen: Survivingalso the co-host and co-producer of Auntie a new era of truth-telling: one led largely bySt. Michaels, which documents her fathersUp!, a podcast produced by Makwa Creative Indigenous women. experiences at a residential school indedicated to celebrating Indigenous Saskatchewan. The podcast merges personalwomen talking about the important stuff. When Connie Walker begins a story, shefamily history with rigorous investigativeWheeler describes podcasting as claiming doesnt just speak; she listens deeply andjournalism, offering listeners an intimate yet with purpose. For more than two decades,expansive lens into Canadas colonial past the Cree journalist has used her voiceConnie Walker, to help speak the truths of Indigenousand its lasting trauma. host of the award-winning Stolen: communities across Canada. But it wasntBut for Walker, the goal was never theSurviving St. until she turned to podcasting that her story- Michaels podcast. accolades. When people share their truths,Credit: Jordana telling found the space it needed to breathe. especially around something like MMIWG2SBermdez.There was just so much context we couldntor residential school abuse, thats sacred, fit into a television piece, says Walker,she says. Theres a responsibility that comes recalling her 2014 investigation into thewith that. And I feel it, every time.unsolved murder of Leah Anderson, aThat responsibility shows up not just in 15-year-old Cree girl from Gods LakeWalkers reporting, but in how she builds Narrows, Man. Even with a 15-minuteher production teams. What does care look documentary on [CBCs] The National, Ilike in an Indigenous-led production? Thats remember thinking that we still havent toldbeen an education, she states, noting the the full story. importance of creating processes that are That moment became a turning point.trauma-informed and community-grounded. Instead of trimming powerful narratives toWere always learning how to do better. fit conventional formats, Walker worked toEvery story is different; every family carries reshape the format itself. Her investigativetheir own weight.22 Spring/Summer 2025'