Celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day with these movie, music and book recommendations

Unreserved47:30The art of the mash-up

There's never been a better time to engage with and learn about Indigenous cultures. Today, Indigenous people are making waves in music, literature and film and television. They're gaining popularity, breaking new ground and being recognized for their accomplishments. 

As the country marks National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day, Unreserved asked friends of the show — and experts in their fields — to share the Indigenous brilliance they find exciting and make some recommendations for Indigenous-made books, movies, TV shows and music to read, watch and listen to. 

'Blown away' by Bones of Crows

Sonya Ballantyne is a self-described "cultural nerd" and loves film and television. She's also a writer and filmmaker herself.  

She says the new film by Métis-Dene writer and director Marie Clemens, Bones of Crows, is not to be missed. 

Bones of Crows follows the life of Aline Spears, a residential school survivor who becomes a code talker in the Second World War. 

"As a person with a family who has gone through residential school, it's often very difficult for me to watch content based around residential school trauma and that experience just because it's so close to us," said Ballantyne, who is from Misipawistik Cree Nation in Manitoba. 

If it hadn't been for a recent film series in Winnipeg, which screened Bones of Crows, Ballantyne doesn't think she would have seen the movie. 

But she's glad she did. 

"I was just massively blown away by Marie's writing, by the choices she made in regards to the characters," Ballantyne said.

"[The film] took a lot of turns I didn't expect and I was really overwhelmed by how joyful it was because it's so rare … for us to have content about being Indigenous that is about hope, that is about the good things."

Ballantyne's other recommendations:

• Acting Good is a comedy series about a young Indigenous man who doesn't make it in the big city and returns home to his reservation.

• Builder Brothers Dream Factory is an animated kids' show based on younger versions of the Property Brothers, Jonathan and Drew Scott, who design and build projects with their friends. One of these friends is a skateboard-loving, artistic Cree girl named Mel — who Ballantyne got to write. 

'Thank goodness' for Ombiigizi

Dave McLeod has been a long time collector of Indigenous music and says he has hundreds of albums and 45s in his collection. From the Pine Creek First Nation in Manitoba, he also works on a radio program called Indigenous Music Countdown.

There's so much good music from Indigenous artists coming out right now that it can be hard to keep up, McLeod said. But one of the bands he's really excited about sounds like they could have been making music 25 to 30 years ago. 

"What really caught my attention is … they [have] this alternative rock vibe from the 90s," he said. "These guys would have been my favourite band at that time but thank goodness they're here [now]."

McLeod is talking about Ombiigizi, a band fronted by Anishinaabe musicians Adam Sturgeon and Daniel Monkman. Both artists have other projects — Sturgeon is in a band called Status/Non Status and Monkman also makes music as Zoon. 

"They've got their [other] things going on and they're both great, but together they're like this powerhouse," McLeod continued. "[With Ombiigizi], they explore their cultural history through sound and with the lyrics."

Obiigizi's first album, Sewn Back Together, caught the attention of music critics and was on the shortlist for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize. McLeod really digs the song Cherry Coke.

"[It's a] great tune to recognize the independent heart and soul in the Indigenous music community," he said. "It comes on with this vibe and it builds and builds. … You're like, 'What's going on? I want to press play again. Where's the play button?'"

McLeod's other recommendations:

• Shine by the Navajo brother-sister team Sihasin is a celebratory, uplifting song fitting for National Indigenous Peoples' Day, McLeod said. 

• Nasupeti is the newest release by Comanche musician Olivia Komahcheet. Also known as Liv the Artist, Komahcheet uses multiple instruments during her performances and plays them back through a looper. 

Healing through writing

Richard Van Camp knows a thing or two about books. He's written almost 30 himself. 

The Dene author from the Northwest Territories — and Unreserved's pop culture uncle — believes writing can be a healing act. It's a lesson he learned from a great mentor. 

"The late, great Lee Maracle … said writing will always be the best therapy. She said the beauty of fiction is you can find in your life what has been stolen. You can mend in your life what has been broken," he said.

"And you can find your wings again through your writing."

Van Camp recently finished reading a book that does just that. In Stoneface: a Defiant Dene, author Stephen Kakfwi reclaims what was stolen from him in residential school and finds his way again through family, culture and traditions, Van Camp said. 

Kakfwi is the former premier of the Northwest Territories and Van Camp admired the politician for the work he did for his people. But sitting down to read Kakfwi's memoir showed a different side to the man — a vulnerable side. 

"I was just on a panel with him … at the NorthWords writers festival and he said the reason he wrote Stoneface was because when he was 19, he realized that he didn't feel anything," Van Camp said.

"And he started to ask why. 'Why am I so numb? Why do I have all this armour around myself?' … And he started to realize as a residential school survivor, he had to shut down."

Van Camp said the memoir is a work of humour, vulnerability and courage. 

"I think [this book is] going to be very empowering and validating for other residential school survivors to come forward and share their story too."

Van Camp's other recommendations:

• Bad Cree is the chilling debut novel by writer Jessica Johns, who is a member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Alberta. The book tells the story of Mackenzie, whose dreams start to blur with reality and bring her memory back to the night of her sister's untimely death.  

• Métis author Michelle Porter's first novel, A Grandmother Begins the Story, follows five generations of Métis women — and one of them is in the spirit world — as they reclaim and navigate their identities.