This episode features Dr. Marlene Pierre and Jeordi Pierre of S.O.I.L. - The School for Indigenous Learning in Neebing, Ontario.

Dr. Marlene Pierre is a respected Elder and community leader from Thunder Bay, deeply rooted in her Anishinaabe heritage. With decades of experience in education, healthcare, and cultural preservation, Dr. Pierre has dedicated her life to revitalizing Indigenous knowledge and traditions.

Jeordi Pierre, son of Dr. Marlene Pierre, is a dedicated advocate for Indigenous education and cultural preservation. Raised in Thunder Bay, Jeordi has been immersed in the teachings of his Anishinaabe heritage from a young age. He co-founded the School of Indigenous Learning alongside his mother to ensure that future generations have access to the wisdom of their ancestors.

The School of Indigenous Learning offers a cultural environment rooted in Anishinaabeg traditional knowledge and land-based survival skills, embracing the "old way" of life. It is a place where individuals can grow and learn from within, fostering empowerment, self-reliance, and self-confidence. By reconnecting with Mother Earth, who provides everything we need to survive, we can walk the path of a good life in harmony with nature.

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This episode features Ernie and Charlotte Kwandibens. They are esteemed Indigenous elders and community leaders, renowned for their unwavering dedication to cultural preservation, education, and environmental stewardship. Born and raised within their traditional lands, Ernie a member of Whitesand First Nation, and Charlotte a member of the Waswanabe First Nation, have committed their lives to advocating for the rights and well-being of Indigenous peoples.

With a wealth of knowledge passed down through generations, Ernie and Charlotte serve as vital bridges between the past and the present. Together, they share stories of resilience, survival, and the profound wisdom of their ancestors, offering guidance and hope to younger generations. Their work in healing the traumas of residential schools has been particularly impactful, as they lead initiatives to foster understanding and reconciliation.

Both Ernie and Charlotte are passionate advocates for environmental conservation, emphasizing the sacred relationship between Indigenous peoples and the earth. They collaborate with various organizations to promote sustainable practices and protect natural resources for future generations.

Through their storytelling, mentorship, and activism, Ernie and Charlotte Kwandibens continue to inspire and empower their community, ensuring that the voices of Indigenous peoples are heard and respected.

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This episode features Esstin McLeod. Esstin (Niganobe), an Anishinaabe Kwe from the Mississaugi First Nations in Mid-Northern Ontario, is a Healer and Medicine Practitioner. She offers spiritual consultations and remedies to Native healthcare centers in Northern Ontario.

In her role as a Medicine Practitioner, Esstin provides plant-based remedies and instructional guidance. As a Healer, she works with spiritual energies, drawing on ceremonial practices and the teachings of Anishinaabe Elders.

With 30 years of study and experience, Esstin has developed a workshop series called "Anishinaabe Wisdom Healing." She also leads Anishinaabe women’s retreats and healing workshops, utilizing the Medicine Wheel for a holistic approach to health and healing.

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This episode features Dr. Karen Hill. Karenna’onwe (Gaw-law-naw-oo-way) – Dr. Karen Hill is Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is the mother of two sons and step-mother to five daughters. She currently has 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandsons. She completed medical school in 2003 and Family Medicine Residency in 2005 - both from McMaster University. Prior to her medical career Karen worked to write curriculum and develop post-secondary programming at Six Nations Polytechnic, an Indigenous led post-secondary institution in her home community.

Karen’s passion is to see Traditional Indigenous Knowledge return to the centre of life for Indigenous people across Canada for the purpose of invoking healing. The fulfillment of this vision is foundational to her ongoing work in medicine, curriculum writing, teaching, co-creating spaces where Indigenous knowledge is brought into parallel with mainstream knowledge in education and health.

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This episode features Renee Linklater, a PhD who is a member of Rainy River First Nations in Northwestern Ontario. She has over 25 years of experience working with Indigenous healing agencies and First Nation communities. Renee has worked across the health and education sectors as a frontline worker, program evaluator, curriculum developer, educator/trainer, and researcher. She is an international speaker on trauma and healing and is the author of Decolonizing trauma work: Indigenous stories and strategies and editor of Connected in Creation: A Collection of Lived Experience through Cultural Expression. Renee is the Senior Director of Shkaabe Makwa - Centre for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Wellness at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and is actively involved in several system level initiatives across the province.

Renee’s Book:

Decolonizing Trauma Work: Indigenous Stories and Strategies

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This episode features Isaac Murdoch, also known by his Ojibwe name Manzinapkinegego’anaabe / Bombgiizhik, who hails from the Fish Clan and belongs to the Serpent River First Nation. Raised in the traditional lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and trapping, he dedicated many years to learning from Elders in the northern regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Isaac is highly regarded as a storyteller and custodian of traditional knowledge.

Over the years, he has taken a leading role in organizing workshops and cultural camps, with a particular focus on passing down wisdom to the younger generation. His expertise extends to various areas, including traditional Ojibwe paint, imagery and symbolism, harvesting, medicine walks, ceremonial knowledge, cultural camps, Anishinaabeg oral history, birch bark canoe making, birch bark scrolls, and facilitating Youth & Elders workshops. Isaac has devoted his life to preserving Anishinaabe cultural practices, investing significant time in direct learning from Elders.

https://isaacmurdoch.com/

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This episode features Dr. Wendy Makoons Geniusz, who hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has ancestral roots in the Cree community of Manitoba. Currently serving as a professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Geniusz has been actively involved in projects aimed at revitalizing Ojibwe language and culture in Indigenous communities across the Great Lakes Region.

All of Dr. Geniusz's publications and research are dedicated to developing tools for the decolonization of Indigenous language and culture, with a particular emphasis on the revitalization efforts. She is the author of "Our Knowledge is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings," the editor of "Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do is Ask" (by Mary Siisip Geniusz), and the author of the Ojibwe plant name glossary featured in the latter publication. Additionally, she serves as the co-editor, alongside Brendan Fairbanks, of "Chi-mewinzha: Ojibwe Stories from Leech Lake" (by Dorothy Dora Whipple).

Books:

Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings

Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings by Mary Siisip Geniusz

Chi-mewinzha: Ojibwe Stories from Leech Lake

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This episode features Dr. Carol Hopkins from the Lenape Nation at Moraviantown, Ontario.  Dr. Hopkins is the CEO of the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation.  She is host of the podcast, Mino Bimaadiziwin.

Carol was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018.  In 2019, she was recognized with an honorary Doctor of Laws from Western University. Carol has spent more than 20 years in the field of First Nations addictions and mental health.  She holds both a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Toronto and a degree in Sacred Indigenous Knowledge, equivalent to a PhD in western based education systems.    

Dr. Hopkins discusses her upbringing, and the learning of her identity. She shares stories of her community coming together, and of using sacred Indigenous knowledge in conjunction with western medicine to save lives. 

Dr. Carol Hopkins

Website: https://thunderbirdpf.org/

Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/496nbv37

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Indigenous Medicine Stories

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