Siibii —a queer, trans, non-binary Cree artist–joins Dr. Candace Linklater in this episode where shit gets real. Known for their breakout single YOY, which has surpassed three million streams and earned a SOCAN Young Canadian Songwriter Award, Siibii blends atmospheric pop with lyrical honesty rooted in family, land, and spirit. Signed to Ishkode Records, their music—including their latest single User—confronts contradictions, self-doubt, and longing, while simultaneously creating space for Indigenous, queer, and trans artists to be celebrated.

​The conversation goes into Siibii’s inspirations, from family and community to the grounding power of being back home on the land. They reflect on the push and pull of urban Indigenous life, the disconnection it can create, and the healing that comes with returning to one’s roots. Dr. Candace and Siibii explore themes of queerness and feeling like an outsider–showing how music expresses personal truth and carries ancestral memory forward. This episode offers listeners the raw honesty of Siibii’s journey and invites them to see music as a force for reclamation and healing.

Bio:

Siibii is a queer, trans, non-binary Cree artist originally from Mistissini, Quebec, now based in as Montreal. Their name—meaning “river” in Cree—is a current that runs through everything they create: ever-moving, cleansing, and alive with intention.

A self-taught singer-songwriter with roots steeped in family, memory, and land, Siibii blends atmospheric pop with emotional depth, crafting songs that speak directly to the spirit. Their breakout single “YOY” struck a deep chord with listeners, racking up over three million streams and earning them a SOCAN Young Canadian Songwriter Award. Their music has taken them to major stages like Festival d’été and TD Arena in Ottawa, and most recently, they opened for the iconic Elisapie.

Now signed to Ishkōdé Records, Siibii’s newest single, “User,” is another bold chapter in their story—one that calls out contradiction, self-doubt, and the ache of needing to be seen. Through every lyric and note, Siibii raises representation and opens doors for future generations of Indigenous, queer, and trans artists to walk through.

They are making music and making space. And today, they’re here with us to talk about identity, artistry, land, and the rivers that continue to carry them forward.

IG: @siibiimusic

https://ishkoderecords.com/siibii/

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this episode of the RIW Podcast, Dr. Candace Linklater welcomes Asha Frost, bestselling author of You Are the Medicine, healer, oracle deck creator, mentor, and mother. Asha shares her deep roots as an Anishinaabe woman from Cape Croker First Nation, belonging to the Crane Clan, and describes how her life’s work is devoted to guiding people back to the medicine that has always lived within them. The conversation explores how her oracle deck, teachings, and mentorship open pathways for people to reconnect with spirit, ancestry, and land. Candace reflects on her own transformative experience with Asha’s oracle deck, describing how a Wolf card meditation unexpectedly connected with her dog, affirming the living spirit within the cards.

Moving beyond tools and titles, Asha and Candace dive into the heart of medicine work—the shadows, spirals, and challenges that come alongside healing. Asha emphasizes that authentic medicine work is not about bypassing pain with “light and love,” but about meeting the depths of struggle and transformation with honesty and courage. They remind listeners that healing is relational, embodied, and alive: it speaks to human beings, animals, the Land, and the unseen forces around us. This conversation is an invitation to trust the spirit within and honour the medicine that moves through all of creation.

Bio

Asha Frost is the best-selling author of You Are the Medicine, an Indigenous healer, oracle deck creator, mentor, and mother. Her life’s work is dedicated to helping others connect with the medicine that has always been within them—the spark, the illumination, and the power—waiting to be seen, felt, and claimed.

She grew up on and currently resides on Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee land. Her maternal and paternal lineage and relatives originate from many First Nations across Ontario, Canada (Turtle Island). Asha is from the Crane Clan (Aji-jaak Dodem) and is a member of Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) First Nation.

IG: @asha.frost

https://ashafrost.com/

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

Dr. Candace Linklater sits down with renowned Métis artist Christi Belcourt, whose work bridges ancestral knowledge, land-based resistance, and decolonial imagination. Candace introduces Christi as one of the most iconic Indigenous artists of our time, celebrated worldwide for paintings that echo traditional beadwork and speak to Indigenous sovereignty, environmental justice, and cultural survival. They discuss how Christi’s art serves as both a love letter to Indigenous futurity and a bold challenge to colonial violence, extending her voice in solidarity with global struggles, including Palestine, while grounding her practice in community, language revitalization, and the wisdom of the natural world.

The conversation moves beyond Christi’s public legacy to reveal her personal vulnerability. She opens up about her introversion and the anxieties that come with public speaking, recounting a profound moment at the Matriarch Summit where an unexpected encounter with an Indigenous woman affirmed her calling: “You have a gift. People listen, so don’t be scared to say whatever it is you have to say.” This chance meeting reminded her of the spiritual guidance that emerges in ordinary moments and the medicine that comes from community. Listeners are invited to see art as a creative expression, and a living act of resistance, courage, and relational healing. It can be a space where even shyness and uncertainty can transform into powerful truth-telling.

Bio

Christi Belcourt is one of the most iconic Indigenous artists of our generation. A proud Métis woman, she brings land, memory, and resistance to life through her breathtaking paintings that echo the beadwork of her ancestors and the wisdom of the natural world.

Her art lives in major collections around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, and even Parliament Hill. She’s collaborated with and designed the Pan Am Games medals, and her work have travelled from New York to Milan to Indigenous communities where she shares her gifts through grassroots teachings.Christi carries deep commitments to Indigenous sovereignty, language revitalization, and environmental justice. Through the Onaman Collective and Nimkii Aazhibikong, she creates spaces where Indigenous youth connect to language, land, and art. Her voice extends globally as she speaks unapologetically in solidarity with Palestine, drawing powerful connections between Indigenous struggles worldwide.

Recently received an Honorary Doctorate from Ontario College of Art & Design University, and offered a powerful speech for the graduates this week.

Every piece Christi creates feels like a love letter to Indigenous futurity, a bold, visual act of decolonial power and beauty that keeps ancestral knowledge alive while fiercely challenging colonial violence.

IG: @christi_belcourt

http://christibelcourt.com/

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat