Relentless Indigenous Woman Podcast

This conversation opens with the beautiful, grounding discovery that Dr. Candace (the host) is blood kin with Jocelyn, a reminder that this work is always rooted in relationship and interconnectedness. 
In this episode, Dr. Candace connects with Jocelyn Formsma, CEO of Indspire, to unpack what leadership looks like when we move beyond top-down models and into the role of a "big auntie"—someone who shows up to mentor, advocate, and walk beside the next generation. 
They explore the transformative power of bravery, reframing "faking it till you make it" not as a deception, but as a practice to build the muscle of strength already within us. By prioritizing professional networks and mentorship, we are creating a foundation of capacity-building that ensures our youth feel safe, proud, and supported in their leadership journeys.
They dig into what decolonial and solidarity work truly demands, acknowledging that it isn’t found in slogans or performative gestures, but in the messy, consistent work of showing up, immersion, and genuine care. 
When facing the overwhelm of these big spaces, Jocelyn reminds us to lean into curiosity (asking "why" instead of retreating into segregation) and to embrace the duality of strength, where we can be both powerful leaders and vulnerable humans, fuelled by the joy and humour that keep us going. 
Relentless Actions
Implement "30 Seconds of Bravery" for Networking: When you feel the hesitation of being shy or uncertain, set a physical or mental 30-second timer. Use that window to introduce yourself, walk to the front of the room, or send that outreach email you’ve been holding onto. Don't let the "water get colder" by waiting—just jump in.
Build Your Professional Peer Network: Following Jocelyn’s advice, actively identify and nurture a peer group separate from your personal circle—people you trust to discuss work, strategy, and challenges. These are the people who will provide the "real responsibility" and ongoing mentorship you need to advance, just as your own mentors did for you.
Relentless Reflections
On the Duality of Strength: Are you allowing yourself to hold conflicting truths simultaneously? Reflect on whether you are suppressing your vulnerability in an attempt to project "badass" leadership. True endurance comes from balancing the knowledge that you are powerful with the humble acknowledgment of your own humanity and mistakes.
On Moving Beyond the "Settler Question": Instead of constantly asking for spoon-feeding or seeking comfort in these dialogues, reflect on whether you are doing the "messy work" of immersion. Are you showing up in ways that go beyond slogans, hashtags, or performative gestures to build actual, lived relationships with Indigenous people and communities?
Relentless Resources
The "Oshkatsuck" Youth Council: Look into the work of the Oshkatsuck (formerly the National Decade for Youth Council), which Jocelyn highlights as a gold standard for youth engagement and capacity building. Use their model as a template for how to center youth voices in your own organizational structure.
Indspire’s Educational Programs: Explore the resources and scholarships offered by Indspire. Even if you aren't directly applying, their model of "capacity-building" and educational support is a powerful roadmap for how to systemically value and invest in Indigenous futures rather than just offering charity.

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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this episode, host Dr. Candace Manitopyes speaks  with Nicole Robertson, a Cree media specialist from the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and one of the most respected voices in Indigenous communications.
With over 30 years of experience across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., Nicole has shaped the way Indigenous stories are told through her work as a journalist, producer, and media strategist. This dialogue invites listeners to embrace the cyclical nature of life, recognizing that growth often requires moments of grief, stillness, and surrender. 
Relentless Questions
What expectations am I carrying that were never truly mine to begin with?
In what ways can I offer myself more grace as I step into a new season or identity?
How can I stay grounded in my values and identity while navigating systems that may not reflect or affirm them?
Relentless Actions
Pause and reflect before reacting. Give yourself space to process emotions, ask deeper questions, and respond with intention rather than urgency.
Stay rooted in community and culture. Whether through language, ceremony, or relationships, continue to reconnect with the spaces and practices that ground you. Growth does not always have to happen in isolation.
Relentless Resources
Follow Nicole Robertson and her work in Indigenous storytelling and media at @muskwamedia on Instagram
Listen to the Stolen Voices Podcast, which explores human trafficking in Indigenous communities and amplifies critical conversations around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit peoples.
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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

To walk through this world as an Indigenous trans or queer person is to reclaim a sacred, ancestral freedom that the colonial design never anticipated. In this episode, Dr. Amáyá Scott and Dr. Candace Manitopyes connect the threads of their experiences, exploring how joy functions as a revolutionary act of defiance. 
Their conversation journeys through the exhaustion of the digital age, where algorithms thrive on anger and leave our nervous systems frayed. They offer a gentle invitation to step away from the screen and return home to the messy, beautiful, and wonderfully inconvenient spaces where community actually lives—the post office lines, the grocery store aisles, and the quiet corners of our physical neighborhoods.
Love and joy can be found in what may seem like the mundane.  
Relentless Actions
Choose one digital interaction—a comment, a "like," or a political post—that you would typically engage in to signal your stance, and instead, redirect that energy toward an unmediated, physical interaction. Spend that time waiting in line at a local shop, offering a genuine, unhurried greeting to a neighbor, or sitting in a park without your phone. This is a practice of choosing the friction of real life over the frictionless, automated feedback loops of the algorithm.
Identify one space in your life—whether it is your workplace, your home, or a public setting—where your identity or your joy is expected to be managed or diminished. Intentionally bring your full, vibrant self into that space, refusing to perform or dilute your presence. To exist in your truth, particularly when it contradicts the colonial standard, is a direct, relentless act of reclaiming ancestral territory.
Relentless Reflections
As you move through your day, ask yourself: Who is this platform serving when I am angry? Reflect on how your digital consumption—particularly the outrage cycles—is an extension of a colonial design that thrives on your nervous system being perpetually dysregulated. Consider how your attention is an ancestral resource, and reflect on what it would mean to reclaim it as a tool for deepening your actual, tangible relationships.
Reflect on the ways you have been taught to minimize, pathologize, or hide your queer or trans essence to fit into colonial lines. Instead, hold the perspective that your existence is an unbroken, sacred continuity. Consider how simply choosing to be whole—rather than "productive" or "palatable"—shatters the colonial mirror and invites a new, expansive reality for everyone around you.
Relentless Resources
“I Am Proud to Be My Mother’s Daughter”: The Gift and Joy of Indigenous (Trans)womanhood in the Colonizing University by Dr. Amáyá Scott https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392686833_I_Am_Proud_to_Be_My_Mother's_Daughter_The_Gift_and_Joy_of_Indigenous_Transwomanhood_in_the_Colonizing_University 
https://dineaesthetics.com/ 
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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

Colonial binaries impose a rigid grid of control, yet ancient Indigenous cosmologies have always held a different truth. Renowned Cree scholar Dr. Alex Wilson dismantles these imposed limitations by braiding Indigenous knowledge with the non-binary nature of quantum physics. 
She reminds us that "Queering is transforming poison into medicine." This conversation invites listeners to reject the constraints on identity and step into the vast, fluid reality of being Indigenous, where existence is not a set of isolated points but an expansive, vibrant web of relationship.
Dr. Wilson also shares the "coming in" concept, a journey of returning to community, culture, and self. The discussion examines the lasting impacts of colonization, residential schools, and imposed binaries while offering hopeful visions for healing, belonging, and collective resurgence.
This episode provides guidance for Indigenous people, Two-Spirit individuals, queer folks, educators, and anyone committed to learning or unlearning. It presents pathways for transforming colonial harms into medicine and reclaiming the complexity of Indigenous identity.
Relentless Questions
What parts of myself have I learned to hide to fit colonial expectations, and what would it look like to bring those parts back into relationship with my community, my ancestors, and myself? 
How might the Land, waters, plants, animals, and skies around me challenge the binaries and assumptions I have inherited about identity, belonging, and what is considered "normal"? 
Relentless Actions
Spend time on the land without trying to categorize or control what you see. Observe a river, a patch of moss, the moon, migrating birds, or changing seasons. Notice the diversity, transformation, and fluidity that already exist in the natural world, and reflect on what these teachings reveal about human identity and relationships. 
Reach out to someone who helps you feel fully seen. Whether it's family, friends, Elders, chosen family, or community members, intentionally nurture relationships where authenticity is welcomed and celebrated. Practice "coming in" by building spaces where people can bring their whole selves without fear. 
Relentless Resources
"Coming In" by Dr. Alex Wilson. Explore Dr. Wilson's research on "coming in," which reframes identity not as leaving one community behind, but as finding and creating circles of belonging where one's whole self is welcomed. This framework offers a deeply relational and Indigenous alternative to mainstream narratives of coming out. 
Pedagogy of Moss by Dr. Candace Manitopyes - a decolonial, symbiotic growth model designed to nurture responsive, culturally safe school environments for Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ K–12 students. Conceptualized by researcher and educator Dr. Candace Manitopyes in this dissertation, it uses moss as a metaphor for relational systemic growth, collective resilience, and community-driven collaboration
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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat

In this episode of the June IndigiQueer series, host Dr. Candace welcomes the talented and iconic Ryan Breezy, a Diné and Southern San Juan Paiute model and makeup artist. 
Join them as they explore the vibrant world of Indigenous fashion, the importance of representation, and the journey of self-discovery through art and culture. 
Listeners will be inspired by Ryan's commitment to community and the way he embraces his identity with boldness. He emphasizes the significance of uplifting Indigenous voices and creating inclusive spaces where everyone feels seen and valued.
The conversation also delves into the challenges Ryan has faced, including imposter syndrome, and how he has learned to embrace his uniqueness and share his story with others.
Ryan shares his experiences in the fashion industry, the significance of community, and how he unapolegetically embraces his identity with boldness and authenticity. Tune in for an inspiring conversation that celebrates Indigenous voices and creativity!
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Relentless Questions
How has being queer and Indigenous shaped the questions you ask in academia and in life that colonial institutions are often unwilling or unable to ask?
What does it mean to reclaim queerness not as a modern import or identity category, but as a sacred, pre-colonial way of being and relating that many Indigenous nations already held in deep relationship with the land?
Relentless Actions
Sit with grief and pause when needed. Allow grief to be a generative space rather than rushing productivity. Check in relationally with yourself (through therapy, internal dialogue, or ceremony) so that the work you bring forward comes from depth instead of performance or avoidance.
Pull the next thread. When engaging with patriarchy, feminism, or any colonial structure, keep asking the deeper question: Where did this come from? Move beyond surface-level analysis into the roots in Christian colonial frameworks, and actively reconnect with your own ancestral knowledge and responsibilities — whether you are Indigenous or a settler.
Relentless Resources
Follow Ryan Breezy to see his boldness in fashion and in life grow in real-time at @ryanbreezy2 on Instagram 
Follow Dr. Autumn Black Deer (@DrBlackDeer on Instagram and LinkedIn) — for sharp, anti-colonial, relational scholarship at the intersections of queerness, Indigenous sovereignty, abolition, and child welfare.
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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat