Matriarch Movement

Advocating for Indigenous youth means you need to be tapped into a lot of different sources. For Kairyn Potts, that means not only being ultra internet-savvy, but also having a personal connection to the system that impacts Indigenous youth on a massive scale: the foster care system.

Kairyn is passionate about advocating for young people, and has gained an incredible following on social media for the careful and clever content...

What does it mean to be an “Indigenous Influencer”?

Marika Sila is an Inuvialuk actress, stunt performer, and activist who also shares content with over half a million followers across Instagram and Tiktok. She and her dad blew up the internet this year showcasing traditional snow blinders made from antler.

Marika joins the Matriarch Movement podcast to share an inside perspective on the nuances of being an “Indige...

Lacrosse is more than a game, it’s medicine.

Jeremy Thompson, professional lacrosse player from the Onondaga Nation, is known around the world for his incredible athleticism and activism within the sport of lacrosse.

He joins the Matriarch Movement podcast to unpack lacrosse’s historical context and roots in indigeneity, and he shares how the sport has helped him heal.

Matriarch Movement is created and hosted...

What does it mean to bring Indigeneity into colonial spaces, especially into the government?

Michelle Friesen, City Councilor for the City of Whitehorse, knows a thing or two about it. In October 2021 she was elected as the first Indigenous woman to serve on Whitehorse City Council – the first Indigenous person to sit in City Council in 30 years. Early this year, Michelle and her son, Theo, were in the media after she f...

Growing up as an Indigenous and queer person isn’t easy.

Owen Unruh, a Two-Spirit, Nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) adoptee, felt ashamed of his identity until well into adulthood which led him to a battle with addiction. He joins the podcast to discuss his experience with substance abuse and how building a community online on TikTok has helped him through his recovery.

In this episode, Owen opens up about his near-death experience...

What is the role of Matriarchy in Indigenous futurism? Stephanie Peltier can tell you from experience, it’s critical.

Stephanie Peltier is well known across Canada as “The Matriarch Who Raised One of Canada’s Leading Indigenous Water Activists”. As the single mother to Autumn Peltier, along with her two other daughters Naomi and Ceira, she’s experienced all of the ups and downs of supporting her family and fighting for ...

How do you stay connected to Indigenous values like kinship, community and sustainability while living in a colonial society?

In this episode, Jesse Wente, an award-winning, Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, and arts leader, joins the Matriarch Movement podcast to discuss what it really looks like to be a changemaker in colonial institutions as an Indigenous person.

Jesse has made a massive imprint in the Canadian arts sec...

What does “Indigeneity” look like to you?

In this episode, The Matriarch Movement podcast is joined by Shanese Indoowaaboo Steel. Shanese is an Afro-Indigenous, Fat Femme who's fought for the advancement of Indigenous and Racialized student rights within the Post-Secondary institution. Shanese also consults on curriculums and training around Black and Indigenous issues.

We discuss the histories of Black and Indigenous pe...

For a long time it’s been non-Indigenous people telling Indigenous stories, and that means that stereotypes and a lack of humanity and empathy has been perpetuated in the media for years.

Award-winning Indigenous podcaster and journalist, Connie Walker, joins the Matriarch Movement podcast to discuss her approach to trauma-informed storytelling, and what it was like to uncover the truth behind her family’s history in Canada’s...

Where do Indigenous youth find the space to be revolutionary?

Riley Yesno has explored the many facets of Indigenous resurgence throughout most of her life, and has been advocating for “reconciliation” since she was 15 years old. Her time on the Prime Minister's Youth council was troubling  – proudly hailing herself as a “shit disturber” – but that time still inspired her interest in native politics. Today she’s working on her...

What happens when Indigenous fashion is on the global stage?

In February 2023, Sage Paul took seven Indigenous designers to Milan Fashion Week as a part of a three-year partnership between Indigenous Fashion Arts and White Milano, a tradeshow for international womenswear.

Sage Paul is the Founding Executive and Artistic Director at Indigenous Fashion Arts, and in this episode I talk to her about her goal of increasing th...

Shayla Oulette Stonechild returns with the Matriarch Movement podcast on April 24th, 2023!

This podcast is an act of reclamation of who we are as Indigenous people. This is a place where

we champion multi-generational-healing and Indigenous futurisms. Which is radically imagining

a new future that is currently being built on inclusivity, representation and advocating for a better

tomorrow, not only for ourselves, but for the n...

In this first 2022 episode of Matriarch Movement, Shayla welcomes award-winning Cree/Métis director and screenwriter, Asia Youngman. Asia’s films have been screened at a variety of festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival, the St. Louis International Film Festival, and the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. Her latest film, HATHA, received support from the Harold Greenberg Fund and Creative BC through th...

This week on Matriarch Movement, host Shayla Oulette Stonechild is joined by Dr. Shannon Prince, Attorney, Legal Commentator, and Author of Cherokee descent. Her book Tactics for Racial Justice: Building an Antiracist Organization and Community is forthcoming from Routledge on November 30th as part of the Giving Voice to Values series. She represents the Cherokee Nation in its landmark lawsuit against the opioid industry for causin...

This week, host Shayla Oulette Stonechild is joined by Jessica Barudin. Jessica is Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, a member of the 'Namgis First Nation with ties to the Kwakiutl and Haxwamis on her mother’s side and Russian-Jewish on her father’s side. She is a proud mother of two daughters, wife, Sundancer, Indigenous health researcher, yoga teacher and doula. She has spent the last ten years working professionally in Indigenous peoples’ health ...

Jessica Matten is of Red River Metis-Cree descent and is directly a descendant of Cuthbert Grant, the first rebel Metis leader famously known for the Battle of the Seven Oaks in Canada. Most recently, Jessica is set to star in Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) and Graham Roland's produced "Dark Winds" television series opposite Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon for the AMC Network this Fall 2021. You can find Jessi...

Aly Bear (Tatanka Ska Win) is a proud mother and descendant of Dakota, Anishinaabe and Nehiyaw heritage. She is a member of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation where her father, Darcy Bear, currently serves as the Nation's Chief. Aly has worked tirelessly to advance her education while balancing her duties as a single parent. She obtained her juris doctor from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law, in 2020. Since, Aly worked ...

This week, host Shayla Oulette Stonechild is joined by Nicole McLaren. Nicole is a mother, wife and entrepreneur at heart. Her steady search for opportunities, combined with her enterprising, Indigenous roots led her to launch Raven Reads – a subscription box featuring literature and goods from Indigenous authors and entrepreneurs across North America. Nicole is also the Founder and Chair of the Indigenous Women’s Business Network,...

This week on the podcast, we welcome two very impressive women. Chelsea Vowel is a Métis writer and educator from manitowsâkahikan (Lac Ste. Anne) Alberta, residing in amiskwacîwâskihikan (Edmonton). She is a Cree language instructor at the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and author of Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada. She and her co-host Molly Swain produce the ...