Long-time Radio Broadcaster Gerald Greyeyes Shares Some of His Broad Knowledge of the Northern Communities

Gerald Greyeyes discusses his role as a radio broadcaster in the north. He speaks on a range of topics such as addiction, forest fires, Indigenous land rights, language preservation, the role of music in his life and his desire to connect the people of the North.

Greyeyes begins by addressing the addiction issues that affect all communities. They have held events such as a smudge walk to pray for wellness in their community, as well as hosting an open house for the holistic wellness centre there. The community hopes that these initiatives will lead to improved wellness, and that they’ve been receiving lots of support, particularly on social media. He underlines the need for rehabilitation and support for those affected by addiction.

Communications is acknowledged as playing an important role in addressing community issues and its importance in reaching out to other communities and sharing information and resources. Greyeyes feels strongly that there should be a shift towards to celebrating achievements and highlighting the stories of those who have overcame addiction in an effort to be more hopeful and inspiring.

The topic shifts to discuss the impact of wildfires and the negative impact on the health of community members. He talks about how the indigenous used to fight fire at night when the wind was down - it was easier to stop its progress - but the government disallowed it.  He mentions the need for air scrubbers and air purifiers to be made available to people. He also says that evacuation plans should be well planned  so families are taken care of during these times. Gerald expresses his frustration that in the Saskatchewan, there there is a “let it burn” policy that leads to the loss of so much animal and plant life, including medicinal plants. He feels strongly that there should be more training so more local community members are ready to join responding fire crews.

Gerald Greyeyes discusses the importance of the land and nature to his communities livelihood and healing. He expresses his frustration with the government’s treatment of Indigenous land rights, resources and their knowledge of the land.

The discussion then focuses on the importance of preserving Indigenous languages. He shares how his parents were discouraged from speaking Cree to him as a child, leading to the loss of his fluency. He acknowledges the efforts being made to revive the language through various programs. Greyeyes stresses the importance of maintaining and revitalizing Indigenous languages for future generations. As he says, "language is culture". He says that they now have 'Cree for Tots' and he enjoys listening to them sing  in Cree when walking by their class.