CBC MARKS NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY & NATIONAL INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH

THE 2023 INDSPIRE AWARDS celebrate this year’s recipients and 30 years of honouring First Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals who demonstrate outstanding achievement in their communities and beyond, June 18 on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio and CBC Listen

New CBC Indigenous documentary TIME TO EAT explores the connections between community, family and food, June 21 on CBC News Explore and CBC Gem

National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 recognized with special programming on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Kids, CBC Kids News and CBC Music

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 and special programming that showcases First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives and experiences. This meaningful spotlight on Indigenous storytelling comes as CBC/Radio-Canada prepares to release its anticipated National Indigenous Strategy, informed by engagement sessions with Indigenous Peoples across Canada about how CBC/Radio-Canada can better represent and reflect their diverse cultures, interests and needs. 

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. 

A selection of CBC’s broad range of programming this month is highlighted below:

*Select photos are available here.*

Saturday, June 17 

• 4.p.m. (4:30 NT), also on Tuesday, June 20 at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT), on CBC Radio and CBC Listen

UNRESERVED asks: National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day of celebration. What exactly are we celebrating? Four friends of UNRESERVED will give some great examples of Indigenous brilliance in art, books, music and film/television. And what's the best celebration? The one where everyone is invited - which is why we're also featuring three artists that mash-up traditional Indigenous music or art with artforms that originate outside the Indigenous community.

• 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem 

WILDHOOD

An award-winning feature film directed by Bretten Hannam, WILDHOOD shares the story of a young man named Link who, upon discovering his Mi'kmaw mother could still be alive, embarks on a quest to find her with his younger half-brother Travis. On the road they meet Pasmay, a powwow dancer drawn to Link. As the boys journey across Mi'kma'ki, Link finds community, identity and love in the land where he belongs. Wildhood was made with the participation of CBC Films. 

Wednesday, June 28 

• 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem 

RUMBLE: THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD 

This documentary tells the story of a profound, essential, and, until now, missing chapter in the history of American music: the Indigenous influence. Featuring music icons like Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, Jesse Ed Davis, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, Randy Castillo, award-winning RUMBLE will show how these talented Indigenous musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives.

CELEBRATING INDIGENOUS EXCELLENCE - SUNDAY, JUNE 18 

• 7 p.m. (7:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem

ʔƏM̓I CE:P XʷIWƏL COME TOWARD THE FIRE is an Indigenous-led celebration of creativity, brilliance, culture and community that showcases the voices of artists, speakers and dance groups from Musqueam and Indigenous nations across Turtle Island, captured from the main stage of the Chan Centre ahead of last year’s National Day for Truth and 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 and CBC Listen

2023 INDSPIRE AWARDS 

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the 2023 INDSPIRE AWARDS is a nationally broadcast celebration of culture showcasing outstanding achievements from Indigenous peoples across the country. 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

EAGLE & HAWK TAKE THE STAGE is a documentary that explores the world through 

the eyes of one of Canada’s longest-running Indigenous bands.

• 9:30 p.m. (10 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem

STILL STANDING “Rankin Inlet, NU” 

The economy of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut has seen its ups and downs but the struggles that come with living in this remote and unforgiving landscape remain constant.

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21

• 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET on CBC News Explore and launching that day on CBC Gem

TIME TO EAT, a new half-hour documentary from CBC Indigenous

What is the thing that connects us all, that gives us good feelings about family and can bring back memories with a simple scent? That bridges gaps, that brings us home, that ties us to our ancestors? It’s food. Recipes handed down from generation to generation are unique to individual families, communities and people. But food can also provide a connection point to others — offering the excitement of learning something new, of being introduced to and experiencing a tradition for the first time, and the act of sharing and being given a gift. TIME TO EAT takes viewers to four different communities — each one with its own delicious tale to tell.

• To celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day, CBC Music is presenting a full day of radio programming to highlight the work of Indigenous artists, songwriters and composers. At 4 p.m. local, CBC Music will be rebroadcasting RECLAIMED PRESENTS: ʔƏM̓I CE:P XʷIWƏL COME TOWARD THE FIRE, celebrating Indigenous talent, creativity and brilliance with live music performances taken from the main stage of the Chan Centre ahead of last year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

• 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 shorts featuring Indigenous culture and heritage, including new episodes of Come Dance With Me, CBC Kids Book Clubs, and Today’s Thing. Plus, CBC Kids unveils a new segment Campfire Stories which features special guests sharing cultural stories with the Studio K gang around a campfire.

• Northern Ontario’s UP NORTH WITH JONATHAN PINTO has a full afternoon of special programming surrounding the theme of NIPD 2023: Celebrating Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being and Doing. The show will be live from the Fort William First Nation Pow Wow on Anemki Wajiw (Mount McKay) in Thunder Bay between 4-6 p.m ET on June 21. Special on-air guests include Michele Solomon, chief, Fort William First Nation, and Sheila De Corte, spiritual advisor and elder. Available on 88.3 FM in Thunder Bay or 99.9 FM in Sudbury, or via CBC Listen. 

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) - OUR PEOPLE WILL BE HEALED

Alanis Obomsawin’s 50th film reveals how a Cree community in Manitoba has been enriched through the power of education. 

NOW AVAILABLE ON CBC LISTEN, CBC GEM AND CBC.CA

• In the new CBC British Columbia six-part podcast THE URBARIGINAL, Tsimshian author and entertainer Rudy Kelly delves into his father's legacy and finds himself on a journey of self-discovery. Kelly's father desired a different life for his youngest son: success in the white world. Torn between two worlds and turned away from his community and culture, Rudy embarks a journey to uncover who his father really was and, along the way, discover more about himself — The Urbariginal.

• Produced by CBC Manitoba, MOTHER. SISTER. DAUGHTER. explores the present-day issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. To mark the four-year anniversary of the 2019 MMIWG National Inquiry, this multi-platform project tracks progress on the 231 Calls for Justice outlined in the inquiry’s final report. Visitors to the site are able to see what has been done for each call and hear from MMIWG family members about their own personal experience seeking justice for their loved ones. Visit cbc.ca/mmiwg. 

• CBC Gem’s INDIGENOUS STORIES COLLECTION features a variety of series, documentaries and feature films, including award-winning miniseries POUR TOI FLORA (DEAR FLORA) from CBC/Radio-Canada and APTN, telling the story of young Anishinaabe (Algonquins) trying to make peace with the painful past of residential schools; RUN WOMAN RUN from Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Little Bird, Kayak to Klemtu), a feel-good anti-rom-com about a woman who has to tackle the ghosts of her past before she can run toward a new future; and EVER DEADLY (June 16). an immersive, visceral music and cinematic experience featuring Tanya Tagaq, avant-garde Inuit throat singer, and created in collaboration with award-winning filmmaker Chelsea McMullan. Also included in the collection are  three short documentaries made through the NSI IndigiDocs training program: WINNIPEG’S NORTH END: A FOOD DESERT, SPIRIT OF NATION: THE PLACES WE BELONG and KOKUM, WITH LOVE. 

• The 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. 

• CBC Kids has launched two new Indigenous video games on cbckids.ca featuring concept art and character design by Brent Beauchamp (Haudenosaunee - Six Nations) and original music by Cree hip-hop producer, Rex Smallboy: Turtle Island Skate Jam is an exciting skateboarding game, developed in collaboration with Nations Skate Youth, that takes place in a world filled with Indigenous imagery and features all-Indigenous characters, and Four Directions is an infectiously fun dance-based game featuring Indigenous design and original score.

• CBC Kids News has produced a new video for tweens, Smashing Stereotypes: What these Indigenous kids want you to know, hosted by CBC Kids News contributor Sophia Smoke. Shot on location at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, three Indigenous youth explore current stereotypes and feeling underestimated in Canada, all while sharing their joys, hopes and dreams for the future.  

• CBC Podcasts offers a wide variety of Indigenous-themed podcasts on the free CBC Listen App and everywhere podcasts are available, including two new episodes of SECRET LIFE OF CANADA: “The Potlatch Ban,” about a secret Potlatch (a ceremony celebrated by many First Nations along the Pacific Northwest) and the ripple effects of a government ban that lasted almost 70 years, and “The story Falen never thought she’d tell,” a candid look into co-host Falen Johnson’s personal experiences growing up on Six Nations. Also available now are: BUFFY, a five-part series hosted by Mohawk and Tuscarora writer Falen Johnson exploring the life and legacy of prolific singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie; KUPER ISLAND, an eight-part series hosted by Duncan McCue about Kuper Island Residential School – where unsolved deaths, abuse, and lies haunt the community and the survivors to this day; 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.

• In addition to supporting CBC Indigenous content throughout the month, the @CBC Instagram and TikTok accounts are sharing original commissioned videos from five Indigenous creators about what brings them joy, and how they express it. 

• 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. 

• UNRESERVED (Saturdays at 4.p.m. (4:30 NT) and Tuesdays at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT) on CBC Radio 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.

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Airing June 26 - 29, CBC IDEAS: Another Country - Change and Resilience in Nunavik is a special four-part series inspired by the first novel ever written in Inuktitut - Sanaaq. The novel captures the period of first contact with missionaries and southern business interests in the 1950s, and the series launches from the lessons and resonance of the novel today. Ideas host Nahlah Ayed travels to Puvirnituq to hear from those who lived through the changes, and who have ideas on how Inuit identity can remain steadfast into the future. CBC IDEAS is available weekdays on CBC Radio at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) or anytime on CBC Listen.

The North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) take place this summer from July 15 - 23, bringing together 756 Indigenous Nations to celebrate, share and reconnect through sport and culture in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Dartmouth and Millbrook First Nation. CBC will be on the ground providing extensive coverage of the athletes and their personal journeys on multiple platforms, including CBC News, CBC Kids, CBC Kids News, and CBC Sports, and will share the sights and sounds of the excitement across CBC social feeds. 

CBC original limited series BONES OF CROWS (5x60; Marie Clements Media, Screen Siren Pictures and Grana Productions), an expanded story from the feature film version, debuts Wednesday, September 20 on CBC TV and CBC Gem. Removed from their family home and forced into Canada’s residential school system, Cree musical prodigy Aline Spears (played throughout her life by Summer Testawich; Grace Dove, Monkey Beach; and Carla Rae, Rutherford Falls) and her siblings are plunged into a struggle for survival. Written, directed and produced by Marie Clements (Red Snow), BONES OF CROWS is Aline's journey from child to matriarch, a moving multi-generational epic of resilience, survival and the pursuit of justice.

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 includes the award-winning East Cree-language radio shows Winschgaoug and Eyou Dipajimoon, which broadcast daily Monday to Friday on CBC Radio and CBC Listen. CBC North further broadens Canadians’ understanding of Indigenous experiences across the country with content available in six Indigenous languages.

CBC’s Indigenous 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. Indigenous Pathways provides journalism training, career development support, and work experience, and one successful candidate will be based in each of this year's host locations: Calgary, Yellowknife, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, June 21 — more information can be found here.

The CBC-APTN Early Stage Scripted Development Program for Indigenous Creators in association with the ISO is returning for a second year to support 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 open on Monday, June 19 and the deadline to apply is Friday, July 28. 

Since 2014, CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships are offered annually to two Indigenous journalists with one to ten years of experience to explore an issue of interest, while being hosted for one month at the CBC News Indigenous Unit in Winnipeg. The award aims to foster better comprehension of Indigenous issues in Canada’s major media and community outlets. The next call for applications opens early next year.

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About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Tanya Koivusalo, CBC PR 

tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca