Standing up and speaking out: Meet Indigenous people motivated to take action

Think about the last time you saw something happening that you thought was wrong. What did you do? For most people, the easiest thing to do is ... nothing. Which got us wondering, what motivates the people who do take action? 

This week on Unreserved, you'll meet people who are standing up and speaking out. 

It was the F-bomb heard across the country. In late September, Cree NDP MP Romeo Saganash, shocked fellow members when he stood in the House of Commons and used unparliamentary language. 

Every year offensive Indigenous Halloween costumes are sold at shops across the country, but there's a growing grassroots movement trying to get those costumes pulled from shelves. Lori Brave Rock started a petition demanding Spirit Halloween to remove these costumes from their stories. 

Waneek Horn-Miller is a proud Mohawk who grew up in Kahnawake, Que., represented Canada at the Olympics and joined the Oka occupation when she was 14-years-old. She never thought she'd have to stand up against her community's controversial "marry out, get out" rule. But she took that challenge all the way to Quebec Superior Court. And won. 

A billboard in Paw Paw, Michigan is sparking a debate about racist mascot names. Julie Dye worked on the project, and is a member of the Michigan Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media. They're working to change the names and mascots of 53 school and recreational teams in their state — against a fair amount of resistance. 

16-year old Ojibway, two-spirit student Indygo Arscott was frustrated with the changes to the Ontario sex education and history curriculums. They launched #WeTheStudentsDoNotConsent, which inspired high school and middle school students to walk out of class.

This Week's Playlist: 

Wolf Saga - Conqueror

William Prince - Breathless