(Ottawa, ON) February 1, 2023 – On this week’s episode of Roots and Hoots, host Gordon Spence is pleased to be joined by Steve Martin. Steve is Mi’gmaq from Listuguj First Nation located on the Gaspé Peninsula. A devoted family man, Steve has a passion for documentary film-making and sharing important truths. In this interview, Steve speaks candidly about his work and activism.

In his early life, Steve along with his mother and siblings moved to the south shore of Montreal. Moving away from community, raised questions about his own identity, and brought about a sense of both detachment and pride about where he was from. Gordon and Steve discuss the challenges of living off-reserve and how he found ways to stay connected to community and to culture.

Steve and Gordon discussed Steve’s career while serving as the Programming & Acquisitions Manager at Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Steve always had a passion for television broadcasting, but his inspiration for documentary film-making came from being at the screening of Bowling for Columbine in Halifax some 20 years ago.  A chance encounter and speech delivered to Canadians by documentary film-maker Michael Moore had a lasting impact. Hearing Michael speak candidly about the films he would be making if he were living in Canada, gave Steve the encouragement he needed to speak his truth. As the conversation continues, Steve shares his experiences building online educational content and curriculum on the richness of Indigenous Peoples’ lives, cultures, and knowledge around the world. He shares how the lines between education and entertainment have become blurred, and with that comes the ethics of ownership of content and copyright laws, which often results in a lack of potential financial revenue to those who are holders of the knowledge.

Steve shares what led to him being the first male recipient of the Jane Gottfriedson award in 2008 and the dire need he could see for organizing protests and vigils for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S). Steve shares: “There’s something about knowing the difference between grand-standing and actual activism that has become clearer to me when doing the work that I do.” As Steve goes on to say, doing what is right, doesn’t always make you popular. On the topic of Reconciliation, Steve sees the relationship between Canadians and Indigenous Peoples is one that is hard to change. “The landscape that we are trying to change, is a landscape that involves and includes our voices and our realities.”

“It is in learning the truth about Indigenous history and injustices against our Peoples that we will see Canadians making changes to address ongoing racism as allies and will allow us the space and opportunity to heal,” said LHF Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel, Teresa Edwards.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 23 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and impacts on 7 generations of Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) children, their families and communities from attending Residential and/or Day School. By fostering empathy and understanding, LHF encourages people to address discrimination and injustice and contributes to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples.

The LHF has almost 30 educational exhibitions that promote awareness of Indigenous history that are free to borrow. LHF also has curricula for K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, Workshops and Training, and Podcasts all aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Sixties Scoop, etc. in order to offer solutions on how to be an ally. The LHF works to eliminate racism against Indigenous Peoples.