National public broadcaster CBC announced Monday it is marking National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day with original and special programming that showcases the perspectives and experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
In honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day, CBC TV and CBC Gem will broadcast and stream a selection of Indigenous-led documentaries, films and series throughout the day and late night on Saturday, June 21.
Included in the lineup is Resonate: Songs of Resilience, which begins streaming June 21 on CBC Gem and CBC Indigenous’ YouTube channel. This one-hour special from CBC Indigenous celebrates Indigenous communities and family traditions through music, while sharing personal stories and experiences. The program will also be available on CBC News streaming channels June 21 and 22.
At 7 p.m. (8 AT, 8:30 NT) on June 21, CBC TV and CBC Gem will present the 2025 Indspire Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements from Indigenous peoples across the country in a variety of fields, including the arts, business and commerce, culture, heritage and spirituality, education, health, law and justice, public service, sports, and lifetime achievement. Three Youth Award winners are also honoured for their accomplishments.
At 8 p.m. (9 AT, 9:30 NT) on CBC TV, Searching for Winnetou looks at the fine line between appreciation and appropriation of Indigenous traditions. Directed by Ojibway author and humourist Drew Hayden Taylor and written by Paul Kemp, this documentary follows Taylor as he travels to Germany to investigate the phenomenon of cultural appropriation and its lasting impact. Searching for Winnetou is streaming now on CBC Gem.
Then, airing at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT) on CBC TV (and streaming now on CBC Gem), director and writer Tracey Deer’s debut feature Beans is a coming-of-age story about a young Mohawk girl’s experiences during the 1990 Mohawk Resistance at Kanehsatà:ke (also known as the Oka Crisis), a 78-day standoff between Indigenous land defenders, Quebec police, the RCMP, and the Canadian military, over the proposed expansion of a golf course on to a Mohawk burial ground. Drawn from Deer’s own experiences as a child, this CBC Films-supported film won Best Motion Picture and the John Dunning Best First Feature Film at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards.
Other CBC programming highlighting Indigenous perspectives and experiences in the month of June includes Unreserved, Canada’s only national radio program dedicated to Indigenous voices. In a special episode dropping June 20, host Rosanna Deerchild speaks with the drum dance group Kilautiup Songuninga based in St. John’s. New episodes of Unreserved are available every Friday wherever podcasts are available, and also air Sundays at 2 p.m. (2:30 NT) and Tuesdays at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT) on CBC Radio and CBC Listen.
CBC Documentary Channel original So Surreal: Behind the Masks is now streaming on CBC Gem and the CBC Docs YouTube channel. This 88-minute documentary directed by Neil Diamond explores the profound impact of Indigenous masks on the European Surrealism art movement and the dramatic quest to bring some of them back home to Turtle Island.
CBC Gem’s Indigenous Stories Collection features a variety of series, documentaries and feature films including: Graduation Day, a short documentary celebrating a special graduation season for a James Smith First Nation family; an Ininimowin-language version of Tanya Talaga’s docuseries The Knowing; documentaries Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun and Bring Them Home/Aiskótáhkapiyaaya; Season 2 of entrepreneur competition series Bears’ Lair; Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary Award winner Delta Dawn, about Indigenous wrestling sensation Dawn Murphy; Season 2 of crime drama Tribal; and feature film Rosie, a cross-cultural family drama.
Also streaming on CBC Gem, Indigenous-themed documentaries from the Absolutely Canadian documentary series include Tea Creek, The Death Tour, Northlore, Giiwe: Returning Home and The Forgotten Warriors.
CBC Kids’ National Indigenous History Month programming on CBC Gem includes Anaana’s Tent in both English and Inuktitut, Teepee Time in English and Mi’kmaq, and Molly of Denali. CBC Kids has also added an educational Indigenous Language playlist to its YouTube channel. In addition, CBC Kids News visits Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., for a multipart series with digital stories and videos showcasing the community and their traditional practices (also available on the CBC Kids News YouTube channel).
On CBC Radio, CBC Books will feature Indigenous writers across all programs including Bookends with Mattea Roach in conversation with David A. Robertson about his book 52 Ways to Reconcile (streaming now on CBC Listen) and a panel about memoirs featuring Tanya Talaga, author of The Knowing (June 22). In addition, The Next Chapter discusses Christian Allaire’s memoir From the Rez to the Runway (now streaming) and shares a Prout Questionnaire from Michelle Good (June 21).
CBC Music’s Indigenous Playlists featuring everything from traditional beats to hip hop and electric powpow are available to stream on CBC Listen.
Airing June 18 on CBC Music and June 22 on CBC Radio, Reclaimed with host Jarrett Martineau features Part 3 of the program’s National Indigenous History Month series, showcasing a special celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day and a Summer Solstice dance party. CBC Music will also feature an “Essentials” segment on Mornings and a “Deep Dive” segment on Drive covering the Halluci Nation (June 20), and CBC Music hosts will present special playlists and interviews with Indigenous artists all week and into June 21 across all shows.
Concert series CBC Music Live is featuring live recordings of Indigenous artists every week in June. Recorded at the Tkaronto Music Festival, Blue Moon Marquee, Sebastian Gaskin and Kaeley Jade are now available to stream on CBC Gem. Aysanabee’s CBC Music Live feature will debut on CBC Gem on June 24.
On June 19, the group chat on Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud will feature Indigenous panellists talking about the future of AI in Indigenous music, culture and storytelling. On June 20, the Indigenous panellists will cover Aysanabee’s new album and other big pop culture stories of the week.
On June 20, Q with Tom Power will air a career-spanning conversation with actress Tantoo Cardinal, who recently received the Equity in Entertainment Award at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Canada event.
Finally, Maamuitaau is a weekly Cree language current affairs program with English subtitles on CBC Gem, CBC North and CBC Montreal, bringing the stories of the James Bay Cree community to life. This long-running series from CBC North’s Cree unit covers a broad range of topics including social and political issues, environmental changes, and traditional subjects such as hunting and crafts.
Image courtesy of CBC
