(Ottawa, ON) – January 20, 2025 - On this week’s episode of Roots and Hoots, we are joined by Leena Minifie. Leena is a Gitxaala/British film and television producer based in Vancouver. In this episode, she discusses her work in media, her past projects and her latest documentary film The Good Canadian, where she made her directorial debut.

Leena is of the Killer Whale Clan and grew up on the northwest coast of British Columbia. She was the showrunner for the docuseries British Columbia: An Untold History, and she and Gordon discuss many interesting details about this unique province and the 200 First Nations who call it home. For Leena, her identity is intimately woven into her work in media and digital storytelling. She began making short films at the age of 19 and shares with Gordon the thrill of getting to learn from her heroes and trailblazers in Indigenous storytelling.

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Leena has vast experience working on film sets and she shares both the concept of ‘re-Indigenizing’ sets and the importance of implementing protocols that are appropriate when filming in First Nations communities and representing culture. Her latest project and directorial debut, The Good Canadian, is an eye-opening documentary that features brave whistleblowers, politicians and advocates, who examine how programs and policies of the Canadian Government, past and present, have contributed to the ongoing marginalization of First Nations people and communities.

On the topic of Reconciliation, Leena notes that truth must come before Reconciliation. In her honest summation of where we are on the journey, she notes how Canada is in many ways going against the grain of other countries. She shares how across the world and for the sake of advancement, there have always been people who have paid the brunt of this cost. By the same token, this is why Leena sees many opportunities to connect with newcomers and immigrants on the importance of Truth and Reconciliation, because it is not a foreign concept, but rather one which many newcomers to Canada feel they can both understand and get involved in.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 25 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate Canadians about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential and Day School Systems and subsequent Child Welfare System on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, and their communities to address discrimination against Indigenous Peoples, and to promote hope and healing in Canada. The LHF works to encourage Canadians to address discrimination and injustice to contribute to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples.

The LHF has 30 educational exhibitions that promote awareness of Indigenous history, which are free to borrow, and we are working on making exhibitions available online. LHF also has curricula for K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, Workshops, and Training, two Podcast series, all aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Child Welfare System, and other colonial acts of oppression. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding to eliminate ongoing racism against Indigenous Peoples and to foster Reconciliation in Canada.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Teresa Edwards, B.A., LL.B / J.D.
Directrice générale et conseillère juridique interne
Fondation autochtone de l’espoir
tedwards@legacyofhope.ca