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

Dr. Candace Linklater speaks with Vanessa Brousseau, also known as Resilient Inuk, an Inuk multidisciplinary artist and advocate whose art and activism are deeply rooted in personal and intergenerational loss. Vanessa shares the painful yet powerful story of her grandfather’s forced displacement and medical experimentation by the Canadian government, her sister’s disappearance in 2003, and her mother’s death due to medical racism. These experiences fuel her advocacy for MMIWG2S+ and her passion for creating art that serves as both a form of healing and a means of resistance. Throughout the conversation, she reflects on her phases of growth—from personal grief to community empowerment—and how TikTok became a surprising vehicle for her voice during the pandemic.

Vanessa and Dr. Candace explore what it means to be vulnerable online while protecting one’s sacredness, especially as Indigenous women navigating both the beauty and brutality of digital spaces. They speak candidly about burnout, boundaries, social media limits, lateral violence within Indigenous communities, and the importance of staying grounded in purpose. The conversation is rich with laughter, shared grief, spiritual flow (often sparked in the shower or at the gym), and mutual encouragement to keep showing up authentically, even if imperfectly. It ends with a powerful message for settlers: understand how intergenerational trauma lives on in Indigenous families today, and be brave enough to interrupt colonization where you are.

Bio

Vanessa Brousseau is a multidisciplinary Inuk artist and powerful MMIWG2S advocate originally from Sanikiluaq, NU, now based in Ontario. She began creating art during the pandemic, inspired by her late mother’s beadwork and her own desire to share her sister Pamela’s story, who went missing in 2003.

Vanessa’s work—ranging from seal skin jewellery and drum cases to bold video storytelling on TikTok (@resilientinuk)—honours stolen sisters through powerful symbolism, such as the red dress. Her advocacy is deeply personal and unwavering, rooted in both grief and resistance. She’s known for blending traditional materials with modern platforms to educate and spark change. A graduate of the NSI Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, she launched her first exhibit in 2022 and is now expanding into apparel and merchandise. Vanessa’s art is a blend of medicine, movement, and memory.

IG & TikTok: @resilientinuk

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

This conversation with Drezus (Jeremiah Manitopyes) gets real. He takes us through his journey—from rising in the Indigenous hip hop scene to reclaiming his power through sobriety, fatherhood, and ceremony. Raised in the city but spiritually rooted in his culture, Drezus shares how reconnecting with the Land and working with youth has become his deepest source of inspiration. Whether he’s jumping into rivers with his kids or sitting by the fire in remote Cree communities, he paints a picture of healing that comes from stillness, presence, and remembering who you are. He reflects on how disconnection from Land contributed to depression, addiction, and anxiety—and how going back to the Land sparked a primal shift in him that influenced both his art and his parenting.

But he doesn't stop at speaking on personal healing—he discusses accountability and dismantling toxic masculinity. Drezus unpacks how colonialism shaped distorted ideas of manhood, and how too many Native men are taught to extract instead of nurture. He owns his past, talks openly about the shame, the jail time, the addiction, and what it took to unlearn those harmful patterns. Through sweat lodges, community, and building emotional capacity, he’s redefining what it means to be a strong Indigenous man. He offers space for his brothers to do the same—by calling them in, not out. Drezus reminds us that healing is possible, masculinity can be redefined, and Land holds the key to both.

Bio

Drezus is a force in Indigenous hip-hop. An Anishinaabe/Nehiyaw artist based in Mohkinstis, he blends raw lyricism with cultural resilience, crafting music that moves, empowers, and inspires.

His journey started with Team Rezofficial, earning a JUNO nomination and multiple Indigenous music awards. As a solo artist, his 2013 album Redwinter became a rallying cry for the Idle No More movement, followed by Indian Summer, cementing his influence in the scene.

Drezus has won major accolades, including the 2022 SOCAN Vince Fontaine Indigenous Song Award, a 2017 MTV VMA with Taboo (Black Eyed Peas), and four Indigenous Music Awards in 2015. He’s shared stages with hip-hop giants like Drake, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, and The Black Eyed Peas, bridging Indigenous and mainstream music worlds. Beyond music, Drezus is making waves in film and TV, with appearances in Yellowstone and contributions to powerful soundtracks.

His latest release, Ballad of Bobby Jones featuring Sebastian Gaskin, keeps his signature storytelling alive—unapologetic, thought-provoking, and deeply rooted in his culture.

IG: @drezus

Website: www.drezus.com

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

Dr. Candace Linklater and guest Nikki Apostolou (aka Recycled Stardust) delve into the meaning of living with integrity, community engagement, and staying rooted in love amidst heartbreak, colonization, and online violence. Nikki opens up about how painful it’s been to have her character misrepresented, especially in online spaces where false narratives spread quickly and people rush to judgment. She shares the grief of being pushed into silence to protect others, the toll of being dehumanized, and the internal struggle of trying to keep her heart soft when it would be easier to turn cold.

The two women unpack the complex dynamics of lateral violence in Indigenous communities and how colonization has trained people to harm one another, even when they’re fighting for the same liberation. They talk about the weaponization of vulnerability, especially online, and the difference between true accountability and performative call-outs. Nikki reflects on how she’s had to grieve not only what was lost in a relationship but also the loss of trust in a community she once felt safe in. Candace names the bravery in choosing to love anyway, to keep speaking truth even when it costs something, and to reclaim joy as a radical act of resistance.

Bio

Nikki Apostolou (aka Recycled Stardust) is a proud Mohawk content creator and plus-size model, widely known for her viral presence in beauty, fashion, and New York City lifestyle storytelling. With over a decade of experience sharing her passion for makeup, style, and city life, she’s built a loyal following of over 400,000 across Instagram and TikTok. Nikki’s content is a celebration of body positivity, Indigenous pride, and unapologetic self-expression.

She has walked the runways of New York Fashion Week, representing Indigenous designers and bringing Native excellence to high fashion. Her bold storytelling and signature confidence have earned her features in major media outlets, including CNN, PopSugar, Insider, and Yahoo. Whether she’s breaking beauty standards or elevating Indigenous visibility, Nikki continues to inspire and influence with authenticity and heart.

IG and TikTok: @recycledstardust

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this warm, wise, and wildly relatable episode, Dr. Candace Linklater and Dr. Tasha Spillett dive deep into what it means to mother, mourn, and move through the world as Indigenous women. It’s part heart talk, part medicine, as they unpack everything from generational grief to gentle parenting, from cultural reconnection to the quiet rebellions of everyday love. Dr. Tasha opens up about how motherhood pulled her closer to her Cree roots, while Dr. Candace reflects on queer Indigenous identity, loss, and the pressure to hold it all together. The conversation flows like ceremony—full of laughter, raw truth, and ancestral wisdom. This one’s for the aunties, the cycle breakers, the soft landings, and the fierce protectors. It’s a reminder that showing up with love—even when it’s messy—is one of the most radical things we can do.

Throughout their conversation, Dr. Candace and Dr. Tasha speak to the power of presence—how simply showing up with integrity, softness, and cultural grounding can be an act of defiance in a world that asks Indigenous women to be everything and nothing at once. They reflect on the legacy of residential schools, the slow reclamation of language and ceremony, and the ways motherhood can become both a return and a reimagining. Whether discussing the exhaustion of advocacy or the joy found in small, sacred moments, their dialogue is a call to honour the full range of Indigenous womanhood—grief and grace, rage and rest, all held in one breath.

Bio

Dr. Tasha Spillett is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, and scholar of Cree and Trinidadian descent. Her work lives at the intersection of education, storytelling, and community healing. Through her teaching and public speaking, she uplifts Indigenous students and students of color by creating culturally responsive spaces grounded in relationality, equity, and joy. Tasha brings her deep cultural knowledge into every classroom and conversation, honoring her responsibility as an Afro-Indigenous woman to foster belonging and liberation.

Tasha is the author of the multi-award-winning graphic novel series Surviving the City and the bestselling picture books I Sang You Down from the Stars and Beautiful You, Beautiful Me. Her work reflects a lifelong commitment to Indigenous resistance, the well-being of children, and justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people. Whether on the page or in community, she moves with love, purpose, and a vision for a world that’s truly worthy of our children.

IG: @tasha.spillett

Website: tashaspillett.com

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this heart-expanding chat, Dr. Candace Linklater sits down in person with Waneek Horn-Miller—Mohawk Olympian, activist, and one of the most influential Indigenous women in sport—for a conversation that is as vulnerable as it is visionary. They explore the complicated beauty of Indigenous rage, healing, and authenticity in a world that constantly tries to box Indigenous women in. Waneek reflects on surviving a near-fatal stabbing during the Oka Crisis at age 14 and how that trauma shaped her sense of power, purpose, and protection.

She shares how sport became the container for her rage, and how ceremony, self-reflection, and motherhood helped her alchemize that fire into compassion. The two discuss how kindness has nothing to do with being polite and everything to do with being loyal to what is just—even if it makes others uncomfortable. They unpack how rage, when left unexpressed, can mutate into internalized harm, and how ceremony must hold space for all emotions—not just grief and peace, but fury too.

Waneek speaks candidly about navigating traditional and Christian expectations, including the pressure to wear ribbon skirts, and how she has always stood a little outside of dominant narratives—even within her own community. Both women share how their relationships to dress, identity, and spirituality have been shaped by purity culture, lateral violence, and a deep hunger for autonomy. They discuss love as a verb rooted in action, accountability, and deep presence. For Waneek, true love doesn’t hurt—it sees, uplifts, and creates peace. Through their shared reflections on creation, ceremony, and connection, this conversation becomes a living testament to Indigenous self-determination, feminine power, and the right to take up space with both tenderness and rage.

@waneek

www.waneekhornmiller.com

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Music Produced by Award Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat