Culture is Healing

Connecting Outwards, Looking Inwards with Ariana Fotinakis and Vanessa Lesperance

This conversation goes beyond the idea that culture heals — it asks how we live that truth in our everyday lives.
Vanessa Lesperance is a Métis woman originally from Treaty 1 territory, and Ariana Fotinakis is Anishinaabe. Both speak candidly about what it means to reclaim culture when you weren’t raised in it, and the messy, sacred work of navigating identity as women of mixed Indigenous heritage.
They reflect on how language, humour, grief, and even rage can be part of the healing — and why reclaiming culture isn’t about perfection, but participation.
Alongside their own stories, Vanessa and Ariana also invite settlers to consider their own cultural roots — to explore where they come from, and how reconnection to their ancestry can create stronger, more respectful relationships with Indigenous communities.

#16 - How Elders and Children Keep Language Alive with Victoria Fraser

Carrying the names and languages of our ancestors — especially when we didn’t grow up with them — is a powerful kind of healing.
 
In this episode, Victoria Fraser (Siqaltunaat) shares what it means to walk with language — as a learner, teacher, and descendant. She reflects on the grief and beauty of reconnecting with culture, and how both children and elders play a vital role in keeping language and teachings alive.
 
Our words, stories, and teachings carry power — and that healing begins with remembering who we are.
 
To learn more about our work at CheckingIn, visit https://checkingin.co/

#15 - Language Is More Than Just Words with Kalila George-Wilson

What does it mean to carry your culture forward while still learning it yourself?
Kalila George-Wilson of Tsleil-waututh Nation joins George to talk about the teachings that live in everyday moments.
From the kitchen table to the classroom, Kalila shares how ceremony, nature, and ancestral guidance have shaped her path.
This episode is a reminder that healing and learning often go hand in hand—and that culture lives in how we speak, listen, and show up for one another.

#14 - Learning to Take Up Space with Care with Carrie Lamb

What does it mean to reclaim identity after generations of disruption?
In this episode, George is joined by detani hoshis tsekwi ( Carrie Lamb), an Indigenous HR leader and co-founder of Sacred Workplaces, for a personal conversation about the long road back to cultural connection.
Carrie opens up about her childhood trauma, spiritual awakenings, and the teachings that have shaped her work in transforming colonial systems from within. 
They share teachings about how ancestral wisdom lives in our DNA, how cultural practices can guide us through grief, and why leadership rooted in Indigenous values is key to creating safer spaces.
This episode is a powerful reminder that healing doesn’t just happen in private—it can transform our workplaces, our communities, and the way we show up for one another.

#13 - Cold Water as Ceremony with Thomas George Jr.

George sits down with Smulthun (Thomas George Jr.), a cultural practitioner from Halalt First Nation with deep roots across the Coast Salish world. Known for his work in men’s wellness, sweat lodge ceremonies, and youth support, Smulthun reflects on how cold water baths, traditional medicine, and ancestral teachings have guided his healing. 
He shares teachings from his grandmother, takeaways from years of spiritual practice, and what it means to carry cultural knowledge with care and accountability. 
This episode reminds us that healing isn’t always loud or visible — sometimes, it looks like water, medicine, ceremony, and showing up for the people around you.

#12 - The Sacred Power Of What We Eat with Jared Qwustenuxun Williams

In this episode of Culture is Healing, we sit down with Indigenous food sovereignty advocate, chef and storyteller Qwustenuxun.
 
Rooted in Salish culture and drawing from over a decade of experience cooking for Elders in his home community of Quw’utsun, Qwustenuxun shares powerful reflections on the spiritual, cultural, and communal role of food.
 
From inherited teachings to the sacred responsibility of preparing food with care, this conversation explores how nourishment goes far beyond the physical—and how ancestral knowledge continues to guide us in kitchens, in ceremony, and in life.
 
To learn more about Qwustenuxun's work visit his socials: 
https://www.instagram.com/qwustenuxun/
https://www.tiktok.com/@qwustenuxun
 

#11 - You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Belong with Len Pierre

For our first episode of season 2, George is joined by Len Pierre - Puleeqweluck, a Coast Salish educator, consultant, and knowledge sharer from Katzie First Nation.
Len is an award-winning entrepreneur, professor, TEDx Speaker, and social change-maker whose work focuses on decolonization, reconciliation, and transforming education systems.
We speak about the path of cultural reconnection — the fears that come with it, the healing found in ceremony, and the deep importance of identity, belonging, and access.
Len shares what it means to approach culture as a way of being, not a standard to meet. This conversation is a reminder that healing work doesn’t require perfection — just presence, patience, and a willingness to begin.

#10 - Everyday Practices to Stay Rooted in Culture with Montana Fox

As the final episode of Season 1, this conversation brings us back to the heart of what Culture Is Healing is all about.
Montana Fox, an Anishinaabe writer, bead weaver, and Community Engagement Manager at CheckingIn, joins us for a conversation on identity, belonging, and culture.
Together with George Harris Jr., she reflects on the quiet, everyday practices that help her stay rooted in who she is and where she comes from.
From ceremony to small acts of care, this episode is a reminder that culture lives in how we choose to show up each day.

#9 - What Community Taught Me That School Never Did with Cameron Park

This week on Culture is Healing, George Harris Jr. sits down with Cameron Park, an educator who is a settler who spent over 20 years learning from the Stz’uminus First Nation community.
 
From language and ceremony to grief and generosity, Cameron reflects on the teachings that shaped him—lessons you won’t find in any textbook.
 
It’s a conversation about showing up with heart, earning trust, and learning in ways that leave a mark for life.

#8 - Raising the Next Generation with Teachings with Atawni Hall

George is joined by Atawni Hall of Sq’ewlets First Nation—a mother of five and Program Coordinator for q’eyéx.
Atawni speaks openly about her path to sobriety, and how movement, ceremony, and language have supported her healing. She reflects on breaking harmful cycles, raising her children with teachings, and staying grounded in who she is becoming.
She also shares how life in Sq’ewlets looks a little different—how the Nation is made up of people from many territories, and how, without their own traditional songs and dances, they create space for traditions by sharing in those of other Nations.
It’s a conversation shaped by lived experience, care for future generations, and the strength that comes from returning to what’s always been theirs.
To learn more about Culture Is Healing visit https://go.checkingin.co/cultureishealing/