This conversation with the late Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, Canada's 18th Prime Minister, was originally posted in August 2020."Some people said, 'well there is racism in Canada but there is no systemic racism.' And to those people I said, 'You've clearly never read the Indian Act, because it reeks of systemic racism.'"The Right Honorable Brian Mulroney, Canada's 18th Prime Minister, is National Chief Perry Bellegarde's guest on this latest episode of the Akhameyimok Podcast. They discuss...

Bryan Trottier needs little introduction. The Hockey Hall of Fame player was a key member and leading scorer for the New York Islanders Stanley Cup dynasty of the 1980's, and then with Pittsburgh Penguins of the early 90's. He is also incredibly proud of his Cree-Metis-Chippewa heritage, and his hometown of Val Marie in southern Saskatchewan. In this fun and fascinating conversation, he talks with Perry Bellegarde about learning to play hockey on the beaver pond on his family ranch, playing...

"We uncovered evidence of a police investigation in the 1930's at Kuper Island School where they interviewed dozens and dozens of children who had been sexually abused. That ended up going nowhere. The Catholic Church knew about it. The Department of Indian Affairs knew about it. The Attorney General in British Columbia knew about it. And yet no-one ended up being charged and the abuse continued. It's disturbing and shocking to find out these things could have been prevented."Duncan McCue is...

Chief Perry is thrilled to be joined Douglas Sanderson and Andrew Stobo Sniderman for a fascinating and thoughtful conversation about their new book, "The Valley of the Birdtail."It is a heart-rending, true story about racism and reconciliation.Divided by a beautiful valley and 150 years of racism, the town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo Indian reserve have been neighbours nearly as long as Canada has been a country. Their story reflects much of what has gone wrong in relations between...

"The survivors felt if this had been white children, the community wouldn't be the ones having to investigate their own genocide." - Kimberly MurrayThe Ahkameyimok Podcast is back!And for this return episode Chief Perry Bellegarde is thrilled to have Kimberly Murray as his guest. She is the new Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. That appointment by the federal department of Justice came about...

****As we move into 2022, we're reposting Perry's episode on Hope, one of the most popular of the past year. We hope it brings you joy and inspiration as we enter the New Year.*******Encore Episode***In his seven years as National Chief, Perry Bellegarde focused on the importance hope: "Always leave more hope in a room than was there when you arrived."Over the run of the Ahkameyimok Podcast, no matter how difficult the conversation or the issue, he always ends by asking his guests this...

ENCORE PRESENTATION***This interview with the Green Party Leader Annamie Paul was first posted on October 15, 2020, shortly after she won the Green Party leadership and before in-fighting broke out within the Green Party caucus and organization******With the Akhameyimok Podcast on hiatus and a federal election underway, we are re-running National Chief Bellegarde's best interviews from the past year with leaders and senior members of the main federal political parties to help provide a sense...

ENCORE PRESENTATION ***With the Akhameyimok Podcast on summer hiatus and a federal election now underway, we are re-running National Chief Bellegarde's  best interviews from the past year with leaders and senior members of the main federal political parties to help provide a sense of where they stand on issues important to First Nations and Indigenous people. **** ***This interview with Erin O'Toole was first posted on August 19/2020, just before he won the leadership of federal Conservative...

"I just wanted to buy a painting, really." Kevin Hearn of the Barenaked Ladies is our guest on this episode of #Ahkameyimok. He and Perry talk about his new documentary, "There Are No Fakes," which exposes a massive art forgery ring surrounding the work of legendary Ojibwe painter, Norval Morrisseau. When the Barenaked Ladies started producing chart topping, international hit songs in the late '90's, Kevin Hearn decided he could now afford to buy a painting by his favourite artist, Norval...

As National Chief, Perry Bellegarde has always focused on the importance hope: "Always leave more hope in a room than was there when you arrived."Over the 57 episodes of the Ahkameyimok Podcast, no matter how difficult the conversation or the issue, he always ends by asking his guests this question:What brings you hope?As his time as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations comes to an end, after choosing not to seek re-election, we are looking back at some of his favorite answers to...

On this Canada Day, a special episode on the devastating and ongoing impact of the Residential School system. The shocking find of 751 unmarked graves at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan is another heartbreaking validation of survivor accounts of the horrifying abuse and neglect Indigenous children endured at these government funded, church run institutions, whose main aim was wiping out Indigenous culture and identity. Nowhere has the heartbreak been...

"For those of us who are survivors of the oppression of our languages and the part of the cultural and physical genocide brought on us by the Church and State that ran Residential Schools... the day the that Bill C-91, the Indigenous Languages Act, received Royal Assent was a memorable occasion that was long overdue."This week, Ron Ignace was appointed as Canada's first ever Indigenous Languages Commissioner. He joins the Ahkameyimok Podcast to talk about his new job, what he hopes to...

"The Feds founded the first three federal residential schools in 1883 in Alberta and Saskatchewan. First Nations people formed the majority of the population and were power brokers in that area and one of the ways to deal with them was treaties, the other way to deal with them was to take their children hostages."John Milloy's award winning book, "A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System," used ground breaking research into government archives to expose the...

***The subject matter and content of this episode may not be suitable for all listeners***"We did hear of children's bones being found in the foundations of buildings when (Residential) schools were dismantled. We heard of children being thrown into furnaces. These were children. The little ones who have woken up in Kamloops this week, these are children calling out to all of us now."Marie Wilson, former Commissioner on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated crimes and...

**** Encore Presentation **** Bill C-15 - the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Act - is now moving to the Canadian Senate, after passing successfully through the House of Commons, a last crucial step before becoming law. In honour of this important step, we are re-running one of our most popular interviews in the past year, with Chief Willie Littlechild, the man who wrote the very first draft of the UN Declaration, over forty years ago. We hope you enjoy it. ...

Conner Roulette won Gold this month, playing for Team Canada at the Under 18 World Hockey Championships in Texas, helping defeat Russia in the championship game. A forward with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds and a proud member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation in Treaty 5 territory in Manitoba, Roulette had a strong tournament, with five points in seven games, include goals in the both the quarter and semi-finals. Many are now predicting that he could be a first round pick in this years NHL...

"The Mi'kmaq are not leaving. We've told the associations, we told the DFO, we told anyone who would listen. The Government has to do something, and that is to help make space in the waters for us, because we are going there, because we have a right to be in those waters."Chief Terry Paul, of the Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton joins the Akhameyimok Podcast to discuss the systemic racism behind the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and government attempts to control First Nations...

"We've been working really hard with the government of Canada on meeting their 5% target of procurement from Indigenous business. We did some work with them to look at where they spent their money and compared that to Indigenous businesses in Canada and found that Indigenous businesses could actually serve 24% of the government spend. So 5% is a minimum target. It is definitely achievable."Tabatha Bull is the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. She joins...

"The rule of thumb, "Nothing about us, without us," also applies to the United Nations and we (First Nations people) should always be in the room, participating in conversations, when there are global decisions being made that will come back and impact us." Sheryl Lightfoot is the first First Nations woman from Canada to be appointed as the North America Representative to the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She joins National Chief Bellegarde to discuss...