In this moving episode, Dr. Candace Manitopyes has a conversation with Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, the first Indigenous person to ever serve as Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Services, and a woman whose leadership was forged in lived experience, sharpened through education, and guided by a heart rooted in community.

What unfolds is an intimate, honest, and generous exchange between two Cree women reflecting on responsibility, belonging, exhaustion, joy, and the heavy yoke carried by those who are “the first.” Minister Mandy shares how becoming a mother at a young age shaped her sense of duty, how stepping into federal politics required a profound shift in lens, and how being the first comes with loneliness, scrutiny, and an unspoken pressure to set the tone for everyone who will follow.

She speaks with remarkable tenderness about grounding practices: beading, time on the land, a supportive husband who calls her back to rest, and children who remind her she is still just mom when she walks through the door.

Their conversation moves into the emotional terrain most people never see: queer kin who are forced from home, the harm of exclusion, the spiritual sensitivity of young people, and the courage required to transform systems from within. It is a conversation about what it means to lead without losing yourself.

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Relentless Actions

1. Take 10 minutes this week to unplug completely. Step outside, breathe, and let your nervous system settle without your phone nearby.
2. Reach out to one Indigenous leader, creator, or community member you admire and send them a note of gratitude for the work they do.

Relentless Reflections

1. Where in my life am I being called to lead with more grace, even when I feel unseen or overwhelmed?
2. What parts of my identity have I outgrown, and what new parts am I finally ready to claim?

Relentless Resources

1. First Nations Leadership Philosophies: A Systematic Review of Recent Academic Literature Book

2. Restorying Indigenous Leadership, article

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

This episode opens like someone cracked a window in a crowded room. Fresh air, honesty, and two Indigenous minds settling into a conversation that feels intimate, necessary, and decades overdue. Dr. Candace Manitopyes connects with internationally acclaimed Cree artist Kent Monkman, whose work has reshaped how the world understands history, queerness, and Indigenous presence.

Kent speaks about the power and pain behind paintings like The Scream, describing how art becomes both meditation and medicine as he confronts the legacy of residential schools. He shares how his new Knowledge Keepers series honours the children who secretly whispered their languages to each other—moments of quiet rebellion that kept culture alive. Candace meets him in that depth, recalling how seeing The Scream during the uncovering of unmarked graves felt like a punch to the heart.

Then Miss Chief Eagle Testickle enters: Kent’s iconic, gender-fluid alter ego. Part trickster, part theorist, part seductress, she’s his weapon for reversing the colonial gaze, stepping into Western art and rewriting the story from the inside. Kent and Candace dismantle the myth that queerness is new or un-Indigenous, naming how binaries rooted in Christian colonialism buried truths communities once held with ease.

Their conversation becomes a meditation on love, liberation, kinship, and the courage it takes to be oneself in a world that benefits from your silence. By the end, listeners are reminded that art can heal, queerness is ancient, and Indigenous love will always outlast the systems built to erase it.

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Relentless Actions

1. Visit a local gallery, museum, or online archive featuring Indigenous artists. Spend 10 minutes observing one piece without reading the caption first, just let your body respond, then learn its context.
2. Have a short conversation with someone in your life about a topic you usually avoid, such as identity, queerness, colonial history, or truth-telling. Keep it grounded, curious, and honest.

Relentless Reflections

1. Where in my life have I confused silence with safety? And what might become possible if I allow myself to speak or live more truthfully?
2. When have I witnessed love—mine or someone else’s—expand beyond what colonial binaries said was acceptable? What did that moment teach me about freedom?

Relentless Resources

1. Kent Monkman's website

2. The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: Vol. 1: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island, book

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this episode, Candace sits with not one, but two Deadly Aunties—Stephanie Pangowish and Sherry McKay—two Indigenous comedians who have turned everyday Indigenous life, ceremony, mistakes, and cross-community confusion (“scone dog” vs. “bannock dog”) into a full career.

They talk about the realities of comedy behind the scenes: how humour travels across nations, how it sometimes absolutely doesn’t, and what happens when you try to make zoom-comedy work while staring at 48 blank squares.

Both share how they moved from regular jobs into the comedy world, a transition that can best be described as: terrifying, necessary, and apparently involving a lot of self-talk, prayer, and occasionally wanting to vomit. They also speak candidly about sobriety while working in environments where alcohol is built into the job, and how having a friend who will literally knock a drink out of your hand is underrated support.

Underneath it all is the thread that Indigenous humour has always been survival, connection, and medicine. Not the romanticized kind, just the practical kind that gets people through another day.

The Aunties show how laughter and honesty keep communities close, and why sticking with your purpose (even when you’re unsure) is worth it.

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Relentless Actions

1. Think of one conversation this week where you can use humour to build connection—not to avoid discomfort, but to ease into honesty the way Indigenous communities have done forever. Pay attention to what kind of humour feels natural and what kind strengthens relationships.

2. Whether it’s writing a short story, sharing an idea publicly, posting a TikTok, or attending an open mic (even just to watch), choose one low-stakes action toward a creative dream you’ve stalled on. The point isn’t perfection, but it’s building the muscle to follow that “scared-but-curious” feeling the Aunties described.

Relentless Reflections

1. What’s one moment in my life where humour carried me through something I wasn’t ready to say out loud? Consider how laughter has acted as medicine, grounding, or connection for you, and what that reveals about the role comedy plays in your relationships or healing.

2. Where am I currently choosing safety over purpose? The Aunties left the security of 9–5 jobs to pursue something uncertain but aligned. Reflect on a place in your life where you’re avoiding a leap, and why. What would support or community look like for you there?

Relentless Resources

1. The Deadly Aunties, website

2. In a good way: Reflecting on humour in Indigenous education, academic article

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this episode, Melrene Saloy Eagle Speaker—Blackfoot designer, artist, and founder of Native Diva Creations and Authentically Indigenous—opens up about the heart, history, and hard lessons behind her work. From carrying her ancestors into global fashion stages to building one of Calgary’s most beloved Indigenous markets, Melrene shares how legacy, loss, and love continue to shape her artistry.

She reflects on navigating backlash to her Medicine Collection, describing what it means to create from dreams, protocol, and deep cultural intention. The conversation moves through community accountability vs. cancel culture, the emotional toll of public criticism, and the courage required to stay rooted in one’s purpose.

Melrene and Candace also dive into entrepreneurship: the realities of financial literacy, learning in public, accepting feedback, and building supportive relationships that make creative risk possible.

They discuss the origins of Authentically Indigenous, the importance of accessible markets for makers, and the joy of seeing 285+ Indigenous entrepreneurs thrive in a space built by community for community.

Grounded, funny, honest, and generous, Melrene’s story reminds listeners that Indigenous entrepreneurship is legacy work woven with medicine, imagination, and the refusal to leave anyone behind.

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Relentless Actions

1. Take one creative risk this week that you’ve been avoiding because of fear, backlash, or someone else's perception.

2. Spend 20 minutes mapping out the community you already have — mentors, peers, supporters — and choose one person to intentionally reconnect with or uplift.

Relentless Reflections

1. Where am I holding back my gifts because I’m worried about how others will react, and what would it look like to create from intention rather than fear?

2. What am I carrying that isn’t mine (someone else’s expectations, projections, or limitations) and how can I release even a small piece of it this week?

Relentless Resources

1. Authentically Indigenous, website

2. Indigenous Business Development Services, website

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

Emerging from a place of prophecy, courage, and hard-earned wisdom, this episode traces the extraordinary life of Ma-Nee Chacaby—a Two-Spirit Ojibwe-Cree Elder, activist, storyteller, and acclaimed author whose teachings continue to shift the landscape of 2SLGBTQ+ visibility in Canada.

Her story unfolds through memories of her Kookum’s early vision that she would one day become a healer and educator for her people, a path she ultimately walked through decades of community work, advocacy, and leadership.

Listeners are brought into Ma-Nee’s reflections on living as Two-Spirit, which she describes as carrying both masculine and feminine spirits in harmony—a balance that shapes how she walks in the world. She speaks to the power and bravery of the younger generation, the shifting landscapes of identity, and the reciprocal learning that happens between youth and elders.

The conversation also highlights her groundbreaking memoir A Two-Spirit Journey, the national recognition it has received, and the generations it has touched. Through humour, honesty, and story,

Ma-Nee offers insight into resilience, colonial impact, community healing, and the future she sees emerging through today’s youth. Her presence throughout the episode is both grounding and transformative, reminding listeners what it means to lead with heart, and truth.

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Relentless Action

1. Choose one conversation this week where you intentionally listen the way Ma-Nee models: without interrupting, fixing, or assuming you already know. Just be present, and let the other person’s truth unfold on its own timeline.
2. Ma-Nee reminds us that young people carry clarity, courage, and “future minds.”
Do one small act that honours the younger you. Something they would’ve needed, loved, or felt safe with.

Relentless Reflection

1. Where in my life have I forgotten the wisdom and courage my younger self already carried? What did they know that I’ve unlearned over time?
2. How can I embody balance between the gentle and the fierce, the stillness and the action in my daily life?

Relentless Resources

-A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by
Ma-nee Chacaby

-Academic Article: Envisioning the future of culturally safe healthcare systems for Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and gender diverse peoples

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits down with Anishinaabe singer-songwriter Natasha Fisher, a rising independent artist known for her moody, edgy fusion of pop, alt-rock, and unapologetic storytelling. Their conversation gets deep into the heart of Natasha’s creative process, her path to sobriety, and the personal history behind her newest album, Temporary Feelings.

Natasha shares how songwriting has always been the place where she can say the things she can’t always speak out loud. Her music, often mistaken for romantic heartbreak, is rooted just as much in family struggles, addiction, and the emotional complexity of healing. She talks about how sobriety brought her back to her teenage self—reviving old musical influences, emo roots, and a rawness that she finally gave herself permission to embrace.

Candace and Natasha also unpack the pressure Indigenous artists face to “sound Native enough,” and Natasha speaks honestly about carving out her own lane—one that honours her identity without fitting into someone else’s expectations.

Throughout the episode, she opens up about navigating the industry as a fully independent artist, from doing her own marketing to earning a billboard spot, to mentoring younger Indigenous creatives who want into the music world.

This conversation is full of humour, vulnerability, cultural insight, and creative truth-telling. It’s a reminder that healing is nonlinear, identity is expansive, and art becomes its most powerful when it’s honest.

@natashafisher_

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Relentless Actions

1. Choose an age where you felt misunderstood, silenced, or creatively limited. Do one thing this week that honours who you were then (a playlist, an outfit, a journal entry, a walk in a place you loved) anything that reconnects you to that self.

2. Pick one emotion you’ve been avoiding. Express it in a creative way (voice memo, drawing, movement, music, spoken word). No polishing. No editing. Just the raw feeling given form, and then released.

Relentless Reflections

1. Where in my life am I still trying to fit into someone else’s expectations of who I should be?

2. What emotion or truth do I find hardest to say out loud, and what creative medium might help it finally move?

Relentless Resources

1. Indigenous Artist Mentorship & Funding. Canada Council for the Arts – Creating, Knowing & Sharing Program. Supports Indigenous artists, storytellers, musicians, and cultural expression.

2. Healing Through Art & Sobriety Support. Native Wellness Institute – Wellness Resources & Programs. Offers Indigenous-centered healing, wellness teachings, and community programs.

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this profound conversation, Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits down with Vina Brown, also known by her ancestral name ƛ̓áqvas gḷ́w̓aqs, which translates to Copper Canoe Woman. Vina is Haíłzaqv and Nuučaan̓uł, a mother, artist, weaver, scholar, and the powerhouse behind Copper Canoe Woman Creations. Her jewelry and artistry blend ancestral strength with modern design, carrying forward teachings from generations of matriarchs before her.

Vina shares how she integrates her academic and artistic worlds through a holistic understanding of Dharma (living one’s purpose) and how her ADHD diagnosis reshaped her relationship to balance and joy.

The two discuss entrepreneurship as a form of self-determination, the importance of Indigenous frameworks over colonial hierarchies, and the radical act of centring children, community, and kinship in our work.

In the second half, the conversation turns deeply spiritual and decolonial as Candace and Vina reflect on religion, shame, and the need to confront darkness with compassion. They discuss how Christianity’s colonial legacy sought to erase Indigenous cosmologies, yet how returning to balance, between light and dark, creation and destruction, restores our humanity.

This episode is a masterclass in courage, creativity, and compassionate truth-telling, and a call to remember that our work, our art, and our healing are all forms of ceremony.

IG: @coppercanoewoman

Website: www.coppercanoewoman.com

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Relentless Reflections

• Where in my life have I unconsciously centered myself or the institution over the relationships, children, or communities who actually belong at the centre?
• What parts of my “basement” (fears, shame, defensiveness, colonial reflexes) need to be acknowledged, so I can return to community with more humility?

Relentless Actions

• Write down one place in your daily life where you can replace hierarchy with relationality.
• Walk on the Land and identify one place where decay and new growth exist together. Let that be your teacher.

Relentless Resources

• Decolonizing Trauma Work: Indigenous Stories and Strategies Book
• What is Land-Based Learning? A Digital Forum Video

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

Our guest this week is Chyana Marie Sage, a Cree-Métis and Salish memoirist, journalist, poet, model, and author of the national bestselling memoir Soft as Bones. Dr. Candace and Chyana unpack truth-telling, survival, and the power of naming your own story.

Chyana speaks vulnerably about her journey from silence to self-expression, describing how writing her memoir became an act of reclamation, giving voice to her younger self who had once been silenced by trauma and shame. She shares how traditional Cree-Métis healing practices, women’s circles, and language revitalization became lifelines throughout her process of writing and recovery.

The two reflect deeply on what it means to be a truth teller in a colonial world that rewards silence, the body’s wisdom when something feels wrong, and the ways love, in all its forms, sustains us. They unpack the intersections of colonial violence, relational trauma, and how survivors can reclaim their narrative without apology.

Chyana’s honesty about navigating toxic relationships, gaslighting, and her realization that “sometimes we’re not in love with them, we’re in love with our reflection in them” opens space for listeners to reflect on their own experiences of love, loss, and awakening.

This episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t get rid of the pain, but alchemizing it into power, creativity, and truth.

@softasbones

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Relentless Reflection

1. Where in my life am I still staying silent to “keep the peace,” and what would it look like to honour my truth instead of protecting someone else’s comfort?
2. How do I relate to my own healing—do I see it as an isolated journey, or as something held within community, land, and lineage?

Relentless Actions

1. Choose a body of water, a patch of forest, or even a quiet spot outside your home. Sit, breathe, listen. Notice what shifts in your body when you allow the land to be a relational teacher rather than a backdrop.
2. Buy a book, attend a talk, share their work, subscribe to a newsletter, or donate to a project. Decolonial practice includes shifting resources and attention toward Indigenous-led narratives and knowledge.

Relentless Resources

1. Yellowhead Institute Land Back online course. This free, self-paced seven-module course explores the scale of land dispossession in Canada and Indigenous strategies for reclamation and consent-based relationships with land and governance.
2. Matriarch Movement Podcast - A powerful platform amplifying Indigenous women, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse voices. A grounding resource for relational accountability, cultural healing, and Indigenous storytelling.

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat