TORONTO – The Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC), with support and funding from SiriusXM Canada, announced Tuesday morning the launch of Words and Culture, a radio project designed to help revitalize and preserve Indigenous languages across Canada.
“Scheduled to debut in early 2024, this groundbreaking project will amplify the voices of Indigenous language speakers, artists, and culture keepers through the power of radio,” a press release says.
Led by Kim Wheeler, an Anishinaabe and Mohawk award-winning producer and SiriusXM host, the Words and Culture project “will include the production of five series of six episodes each and will weave together conversations with Indigenous language keepers, community stories, and feature music by Indigenous artists,” the release says.
The team creating original content for the program will be made up exclusively of Indigenous producers, hosts and knowledge keepers, according to the release.
Each of the five series will explore distinct Indigenous language families – Iroquoian, Athabaskan, Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway), Inuktitut and Cree. “Hosted by learners and speakers of the language, the series will bring together conversations and culture aimed at setting new standards in radio broadcasting,” the release says.
“The hosts I have chosen almost all come from a broadcasting background and from the nation of the language they will be presenting,” Wheeler said in the release. “I’m thrilled to be working with powerful women like January Rogers (Six Nations of the Grand River), and Christine Genier (Táän Kwách’än Council).”
The Words and Culture program will be offered for broadcast at no cost to all Indigenous, community and campus-licensed radio stations in Canada. The program will also air on SiriusXM’s The Indigiverse channel (ch. 165 and on the SiriusXM app), and will be made available to schools, Indigenous language immersions programs and other education services across Canada. The content will also be adapted for distribution as a podcast, the release says.
“Globalization certainly has had an impact on Indigenous cultures around the world and there is a wide-ranging desire for access to Indigenous languages, with the biggest challenge being access to those who hold the knowledge,” CRFC’s executive director, Alex Freedman, said in the release. “Through our partnership with SiriusXM Canada, this programming will be available to anyone who wants to listen to and learn about Indigenous languages in Canada.”
“We are proud to partner with the CRFC to bring this incredibly important initiative to life and shine a spotlight on preserving and celebrating Indigenous languages,” said Michelle Mearns, vice-president of programming and operations at SiriusXM Canada. “It is essential to us to provide a platform and support for Indigenous content through our many partnerships, sponsorships and North American-wide channel The Indigiverse.”
