For over two centuries, the Métis have fought for recognition as an Indigenous people and as a Nation. It’s a story worth telling, but until recently, it hasn’t been heard enough.

The True Canadians podcast is based the book of the same name, and refers to the fact that the Métis truly are people born of this land — well before Canada became a country of its own.

Host David Wylynko is a media consultant, writer, and former journalist. He grew up in the Winnipeg suburb of Fort Garry, not far from the actual Fort Garry, where the Métis first set up a provisional government in 1869, and he’s had a lifelong fascination with the Métis. 

While he and his co-author, Patricia Russell, a Métis writer and former CBC journalist, were touring the country to promote the book, they discovered that readers wanted to know more about the people, places, events, and milestones featured in the pages of The True Canadians. A podcast seemed to be the best way to share what they learned. So they invited some of the personalities they wrote about, and some new voices, to tell more of their stories.

Each episode digs deeper into the important roles the Métis have played — and are continuing to play — in the evolution of Canada. Listeners will get to know the leaders, the artists, and the executives who are defining what it means to be Métis in the twenty-first century, and hear about the ongoing campaigns to win recognition, forge a stronger sense of community, and advance genuine reconciliation with other Canadians.

Original music for the podcast was composed and performed by Metis fiddler Alex Kusturok. Each episode begins with the words of the late Métis leader Jim Sinclair, delivered at the closing of the 1987 Meech Lake negotiations in Ottawa.

The podcast is available on most podcasting platforms, including:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon

Latest episode

Taking Métis Heritage to the World

It isn’t every day your image graces a billboard in New York City’s Times Square, one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. But for proud Métis citizen Lorelei Higgins Parker, it’s one honour among many. A veteran of pageantry, Lorelei just won the title of Mrs. Unity World Elite while at the world competition in New Delhi, India. When she found the symbols of her Métis heritage lacking on the international pageant stage — the sash, the language, the unique dance — she set out to bring her culture to the world, with astounding success. At the time of this interview, Lorelei was the reigning Mrs. Unity World Canada. She also served as Mrs. Canada Globe from 2020 to 2023.

In view of the global whirlwind that such recognition often engenders, what keeps Lorelei grounded? As she explains to host David Wylynko, Lorelei always has one foot firmly in the realm of advocacy, acting as a Canadian Indigenous anti-racism consultant and cultural mediator and a positive peace activator. She is also the Team Lead for Indigenous Relations for the City of Calgary. Through all these roles, Lorelei nurtures projects that foster relations with Indigenous communities and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. She credits much of her accomplished career to a turning point in her youth, when the Rotary Exchange program first took her from her Alberta home and out into the world, an experience that later brought her full circle to a recognition of a long-lost and nearly forgotten Métis heritage. 

Resources:

• ⁠Lorelei Higgins Parker at the Speakers Bureau of Canada⁠
• ⁠⁠The True Canadians⁠⁠ book
• Intro and outro music by Métis musician ⁠⁠Alex Kusturok⁠⁠
• Opening quote from ⁠⁠an address by Métis leader Jim Sinclair⁠⁠ during the 1987 Canadian constitutional talks

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