Kwitsel Tatel will never give up. Born Sto:lo Coast Salish to a lineage of land defenders and water protectors, Kwitsel has spent her entire life fighting for Indigenous sovereignty and rights. She is a survivor of residential school, where she suffered incomprehensible abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church and the Canadian government, and has spent decades in court working tirelessly to hold Canada accountable for its genocidal behavior against First Nations.
A blunt and outspoken advocate, Kwitsel was exiled from her own community in 2000 after demanding the elected Chief and Council be transparent and accountable to the money they receive from the Canadian government - she has been homeless or precariously housed ever since. For the past year, Kwitsel has been living in a camper van; but since it broke down in the late summer, she has moved into a small car and currently lives in this car around so-called Vancouver. For more information, google "Kwitsel Tatel."
Production Credits:
Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), Host and Executive Producer
Liz Hill (Red Lake Ojibwe), Producer
Malcolm Burn, Studio Engineer, Radio Kingston, WKNY 1490 AM and 107.9 FM, Kingston, NY
Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Audio Editor
Music Selections:
1. Song Title: Tahi Roots Mix (First Voices Radio Theme Song)
Artist: Moana and the Moa Hunters
Album: Tahi (1993)
Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand)
(00:00:44)
2. Song Title: Universal Soldier
Artist: Buffy Sainte-Marie
Album: It's My Way (1964)
Label: Vanguard Records
(00:30:40)
3. Song Title: Sarereen Hoveen Mernem (means "I die of / for the winds of the mountains, meaning I love the wind of the mountains." The "mountains" refer to the great Armenian Mount Ararat and Masis.)
Instrumental: Armenian duduk wind instrument
Album: N/A
(00:48:50)
AKANTU INSTITUTE
Visit Akantu Institute, an institute that Tiokasin founded with a mission of contextualizing original wisdom for troubled times. Go to https://akantuinstitute.org/ to find out more and consider joining his Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/Ghosthorse.