Porcupine asks important – and sometimes prickly – questions about reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.
Canada may be one of the best places live in the world, but not for Indigenous people. As a country, we have committed to making amends for a terrible history of colonization. After 151 years, our country is just beginning this journey of healing, but where do we all fit in?
In this 12 episode podcast series, hosts Merrell-Ann and Michael try to understand reconciliation from people who are living it. They have in-depth, funny, and revealing discussions with a variety of people, from activists to comedians, who are all focusing on improving Canada through reconciliation in big, small, and surprising ways.
You’ve heard of reconciliation, but maybe you have no idea what you can do about? Or maybe you’re not sure exactly what it means or how it affects you. Is reconciliation “an indigenous issue,” or “the role of every Canadian?” Is it both? Is there room for hope and healing or will pain and anger be our only legacy of living together for centuries?
Conversations about reconciliation can feel like uncertain territory. How do you begin a conversation? Who do you ask? How do you ask? That’s where Porcupine comes in.
Merrell-Ann Phare and Michael Miltenberger have spent most of their professional lives working directly with indigenous people and they have seen shifts in legal and political thinking that have happened over the last three decades.
As a lawyer and a politician, they have deep experience sitting in rooms with both indigenous and non-indigenous people grappling with the same question: “How do we heal from the past and move forward at the same time?”
On Porcupine, they talk to fascinating indigenous and non-indigenous people who are grappling with this tough topic. We hear from seasoned politicians, academics, writers, elders, new Canadians and comedians. They speak frankly and ask the questions that are hard to ask in the hopes of finding a trusting, honest place where a better Canada resides.
What they find might surprise you: while there is still much work to be done, and to be done carefully, but there are amazing examples of people working together in the way we should have embraced 151 years ago.