First Voices Radio

Tiokasin's guest is Nina Wilson, a founder of the Idle No More Movement. She is a Nakota Dakota Neheyaw woman from the Kahkewistahaw First Nation in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. Nina lives on reserve raising her youngest who is still at home for a few more years. 

She works in many capacities spiritually and professionally. Nina has a western education as well as traditional knowledge. Nina says, "Mainly, I love advocacy work - it is what drives me. I enjoy life, language, culture, singing and family. Family is very important to me. I am grateful for all who live life protecting the land waters and all living beings. We are here to make sure life is balanced and humble. Being a founder of the Idle No More movement has allowed me to meet many fantastic people who are all like minded. We are a spiritual family."

Idle No More started in November 2012, among Treaty People in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta protesting the Canadian government's dismantling of environmental protection laws, endangering First Nations peoples who live on the land. Born out of face-to-face organizing and popular education, but fluent in social media and new technologies, Idle No More has connected the most remote reserves to each other, to urbanized Indigenous people, and to the non-Indigenous population. 

Led by women, and with a call for a re-founded nation-to-nation relations based on mutual respect, Idle No More rapidly grew into an inclusive, continent-wide network of urban and rural Indigenous working hand in hand with non-Indigenous allies to build a movement for Indigenous rights and the protection of land, water and sky.

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
CD: Tahi (1993)
Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand)
(00:00:44)

2. Song Title: Easy
Artist: Hawkfather & The Swiss Enigma
CD: Kwest (2021)
Label: Hawkfather
(00:26:45)

3. Song Title: 1492
Artist: Earth Surface People
CD: 500 Years (2021)
Label: Underwater Panther Coalition
(00:53:18)