Decolonizing our collective history one word at a time
On May 31, 2021 CBC announced the launch of TELLING OUR TWISTED HISTORIES, an 11-episode podcast series that reclaims Indigenous history by exploring 11 words whose meanings have been twisted by centuries of colonization.
Host Kaniehti:io Horn (Letterkenny, The Man in the High Castle) guides listeners through conversations with more than 70 people from 15 Indigenous communities whose lands now make up Quebec, New Brunswick and Labrador.
“Savage. Reserve. Indian Time. Words connect us, but also have the power to wound, erase and replace us,” says Kaniehti:io Horn, host of TELLING OUR TWISTED HISTORIES. “As Indigenous people, we are used to our stories getting a little twisted. This podcast is all about exploring some of these words, with humour and truth, so that we all better understand how they impact us to this day.”
The first two episodes of TELLING OUR TWISTED HISTORIES – “Discovery” and “Reserve”- are available now on CBC Listen and everywhere podcasts are available. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays until August 2, 2021. Listen for free on CBC Listen, available as a free app for iOS and Android devices and online at cbc.ca/listen.
TELLING OUR TWISTED HISTORIES is a CBC co-production in association with Terre Innue, based on an original concept by Karine Lanoie-Brien and produced by Francine Allaire and Élodie Pollet. An award-winning French-version of this podcast, Laissez-nous raconter : L’histoire crochie, was released by Radio-Canada in June 2020.
About the Host
Kaniehti:io “Tiio” Horn is a Canadian actor from Kahnawake, the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) reserve outside of Montreal. She stars as Mari in the National Geographic series Barkskins, based on the 2016 novel by Annie Proulx, and currently appears in the critically acclaimed comedy series, Letterkenny (CraveTV). Additional television credits include the irreverent digital series Ghost BFF, Netflix’s Northern Rescue and Wayne for Youtube Red. She has also recurred on the Amazon series Man in the High Castle, Defiance and Alphas for Syfy, and was a series regular on the Netflix/Gaumont series, Hemlock Grove. In 2017, Tiio starred in the action/thriller, Mohawk and holds supporting roles in Immortals, On the Road, The Hummingbird Project and the soon-to-be released feature Possessor, directed by Brandon Cronenberg. Tiio hosts the podcast Coffee With My Ma, sharing the adventures and experiences of her activist mother, Kahentinetha Horn, and co-hosted the 2019 Indspire Awards.
About the Director
Award-winning journalist Ossie Michelin is an Inuk from North West River, Labrador where he grew up in a large family of storytellers. He specializes in print and online reporting, photography, and video and audio storytelling. Based in Montreal, Quebec and North West River, Ossie reports on Indigenous issues, Labrador, and the North with a capital N. Michelin has also written for many publications, including the Inuit Art Quarterly, CBC News and Canadian Art.
About Terre Innue
Founded by Réginald Vollant and Ian Boyd, and headquartered in Maliotenam on the North Shore of Quebec, Terre Innue’s shareholders are all Indigenous: Abenaki filmmaker Kim O’Bomsawin, GG-Award-winning Innu singer and composer Florent Vollant, and Alexandre Bacon (Innu from Mashteuiatsh). Bacon founded the Cercle Kisis dedicated to promoting Indigenous cultures and languages. He also gives cultural competency training. O’Bomsawin’s film QUIET KILLING about missing and disappeared Indigenous women and girls won the Donald Brittain Award at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards.
Terre Innue’s objectives are to promote and foster the development of an Indigenous media industry, to enhance the cultures and languages of First Peoples, as well as to promote training for the next generation of Indigenous media professionals.
About the Artwork
The visual was created by Cree graphic artist Sébastien Aubin. The rising raven against the sun symbolizes power, resilience, transformation and rebirth.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
