Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa: Talking to People

This episode of Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa concludes our two-part series on Operation Rainbow, the controversial MNR undercover investigation conducted on Manitoulin Island in the late 1980s. Anishinabek Nation Legal Director Fred Bellefeuille, Anishinabek Nation Commissioner on Governance Patrick Madahbee and M'Chigeeng First Nation Gimaa Glen Hare reflect on the legacy of Operation Rainbow, the ongoing exercise of Aboriginal and T...

Unpacking Operation Rainbow, Part 1: Glen Hare and Patrick Madahbee on a controversial 1980s Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources sting operation and the fight for Anishinabek harvesting rights on Manitoulin Island. In this episode of Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa, host Lisa Abel explores the lasting impact of Operation Rainbow, a controversial undercover investigation conducted by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on Manitou...

In this episode of Bemaadizijig Ganoonindwaa, host Lisa Abel speaks with Anishinabek health professionals Shelly Livingston and Donald Corbiere about diabetes in First Nations. Together, they go beyond the medical side to share personal stories and community experiences, exploring how diabetes is connected to history, culture, and daily life. They also talk about challenges like access to care and healthy food, while highlighting t...

In Part 2 of Finding Percy, Claire Onabigon continues her decades-long search for her uncle Percy Onabigon. With the support of researcher Kelsey Anger, they uncover long-hidden records that trace Percy’s movements through residential school and multiple institutions in southern Ontario. Their work reveals the conditions he lived in, how he was moved without family knowledge, and that he died of tuberculosis far from home. De...

Percy Onabigon, an Anishinabe boy from Long Lake #58 First Nation, was taken to a residential school in 1946 and, within months, was transferred without explanation to institutions in southern Ontario, where he lived and eventually passed on without ever seeing his family again. Driven by her family’s enduring love and memory of Percy, his niece Claire Onabigon located his gravesite in Woodstock in 2010. But with no supports,...

Indigenous girls, women and Two‑Spirit people are disproportionately targeted by human traffickers. Detective Sergeant Matti Primeau and Crime Analyst Jessica Restoule of the Anishinabek Police Service explain what human trafficking is, and how traffickers use in-person and online tactics to prey on a person’s vulnerabilities. We discuss the importance of sharing protective tools with young people and providing supports for s...

In November 2025, the Anishinabek Nation Chiefs in Assembly resolved to move forward with a relationship agreement between the Anishinabek Nation and the Health Sciences North Research Institute. The partners plan to develop research protocols in collaboration with our interested member First Nations.

Research protocols are tools that First Nations can use to assert their own data sovereignty and ensure that research in their commu...

Curve Lake First Nation is seeking to become the primary caretaker of Kinomaage Waapkong, also known as the Teaching Rocks, at Petroglyphs Provincial Park.

Former Curve Lake First Nation Gimaa Keith Knott discusses the history and significance of Kinomaage Waapkong, a sacred site to the local Michi Saagiig people, that has faced incursions from geologists, academics, and the province of Ontario since the 1950s.

This podcast is prod...

Pediatric Ophthalmologist Dr. Kourosh Sabri founded the Indigenous Children Eye Examination initiative (ICEE) to help fill a need for vision care in First Nations. Dr. Sabri shares how ICEE offers vision services in a more cost-effective way, and how ICEE is looking to bring other healthcare specialists into First Nations. This podcast is produced by the Communications Department at the Anishinabek Nation.

Music:  Minou...

Educator Kelly Crawford shares the process of creating treaty education materials, including “This is My Treaty,” a new children’s book co-authored with Anishinabek Nation Communications Director, Marci Becking. As Ontario observes Treaties Recognition Week in November 2025, Kelly reflects on why filling gaps in treaty awareness is important for all. This podcast is produced by the Communications Department at th...

Jenny-Lou Campbell, Executive Director of the Indigenous Centre of Excellence for Mineral Development (ICEMD), shares how this new Centre is dedicated to advancing Indigenous participation and bolstering the natural, technical, and financial capabilities of First Nations in the mineral development and mining sector.  Jenny-Lou Campbell will be sharing information about ICEMD in person at the 2025 Anishinabek Nation Economic De...

Anishinaabe mother Rebeka Tabobondung’s intimate docuseries “Spirit of Birth” explores the resurgence in Indigenous birth practices across Turtle Island. It is now streaming on APTN Lumi.  In this episode, Rebeka shares the important role that Indigenous midwives played in First Nations communities before colonization; why Indigenous-led midwifery practices and training programs are so important; and how both...

Jessica Tait, Sustainable Transportation Manager with Indigenous Clean Energy, helps First Nations and businesses plan for the upcoming transition to more electric vehicles on our roads. Canada's Electric Vehicle Availability Standard sets sales targets for new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), and by 2035, 100% of new light duty vehicles sold in Canada will be ZEVs.  In our conversation, we talked about why working towards ZEV a...

The Anishinabek Nation Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Program works to increase the general level of awareness and knowledge of community members about FASD, by offering unique culturally based programs and workshops, providing specialized training and resources to build capacity, and political advocacy to broaden the scope of FASD services for First Nations. In this episode, Lynda Banning, Northern Superior FASD Regional Worker...

Nokomis Mary Elliott talks about our journey to healing from the impacts of colonialism and intergenerational trauma as Anishinaabe kwe-wuk, families, and communities. Nokomis Mary is Anishinaabe Kwe from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek. She shares her knowledge and wisdom about Anishinaabe traditions and spirituality to organizations across Ontario, including the Anishinabek Nation’s HIV Program. Nokomis Mary believes that we can ...

The Ontario Legislature recently passed Bill 5, the “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.”  Anishinabek Nation leadership has been strongly opposed to this legislation, as the provincial government intends to move quickly on creating “special economic zones” where mining, infrastructure and energy projects can bypass provincial and municipal laws, posing serious risks to the environment, speci...

Dr. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, Anishinabek Nation E-niiganwidood E’Dbendaagzijig (Citizenship Commissioner), explains how the Anishinabek Nation is asserting the inherent right to decide who our citizens are. The Anishinabek Nation created a Draft Declaration on E'Dbendaagzijig in 2025, and endorsed our own citizenship law, the E-Dbendaagzijig Naaknigewin in 2009. "E'Dbendaagzijig" is an Anishinaabemowin word that means "Thos...

Marsha Smoke, Anishinabek Nation Southeast Regional Chief, explains how the Anishinabek Nation is asserting the inherent right to decide who our citizens are. To move this forward, the Anishinabek Nation created a Draft Declaration on E'Dbendaagzijig in 2025, and our own citizenship law, the E-Dbendaagzijig Naaknigewin in 2009. "E'Dbendaagzijig" is an Anishinaabemowin word that means "Those who belong," or "Citizenship."

Since 1876...