The True Canadians Podcast
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:
Latest episode
Honouring Métis Youth and Women
Youth have a long a history of making significant contributions to Métis culture, politics, and arts. Louis Riel himself was under 30 years of age during the 1869 Red River Resistance. Bailey Oster is proudly carrying on this tradition, having started her involvement in Métis government leadership at just 15 years of age, and having been elected the Vice-President of the Métis women’s organization, New Dawn, when she was only 19. In a short span, Bailey rose to the position of Director of Youth Programs and Services for the Métis Nation of Alberta (now the Otipemisiwak Métis Government), and today is the senior policy advisor of intergovernmental and international relations with the Métis National Council.
In this episode, Bailey tells host David Wylynko how she went from “broke college kid” to a delegate at the United Nations. She describes what works when it comes to bringing young people together to preserve their culture (kitchen tables) and what doesn’t work (smart phones). She also reflects on the astounding success of the book she found time to edit along with Marilyn Lizee. Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me covers a great range of subjects, including nation-building, culture, identity, and resilience, as well as the disheartening experiences of residential schools, discrimination, and racism.
Resources- Otipemisiwak Métis Government Youth Services Department
- 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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Podcast host David Wylynko and his co-author, Patricia Russell.
