Relentless Indigenous Woman Podcast
Welcome to the Relentless Indigenous Woman podcast—a space for uncensored and unapologetic conversations on the lived realities of Indigenous Peoples.
Hosted by Dr. Candace Manitopyes, a proud Moose Cree First Nation educator, advocate, and scholar, this podcast invites you to listen, grow, and take meaningful action.
With a community of over 750,000 followers across social media, Dr. Manitopyes has become a powerful voice in bold Indigenous education, truth-telling, and solidarity.
Here, education becomes rebellion. Resistance. Revolution.
Whether you are an Indigenous listener or an ally committed to learning, this podcast exists to challenge, inspire, and empower.
www.relentlessindigenouswoman.ca
Relentless Indigenous Woman Podcast
Ep. 40: Balancing Light and Dark: The Medicine of Creation with Copper Canoe Woman
In this profound conversation, Dr. Candace Manitopyes sits down with Vina Brown, also known by her ancestral name ƛ̓áqvas gḷ́w̓aqs, which translates to Copper Canoe Woman. Vina is Haíłzaqv and Nuučaan̓uł, a mother, artist, weaver, scholar, and the powerhouse behind Copper Canoe Woman Creations. Her jewelry and artistry blend ancestral strength with modern design, carrying forward teachings from generations of matriarchs before her.
Vina shares how she integrates her academic and artistic worlds through a holistic understanding of Dharma (living one’s purpose) and how her ADHD diagnosis reshaped her relationship to balance and joy.
The two discuss entrepreneurship as a form of self-determination, the importance of Indigenous frameworks over colonial hierarchies, and the radical act of centring children, community, and kinship in our work.
In the second half, the conversation turns deeply spiritual and decolonial as Candace and Vina reflect on religion, shame, and the need to confront darkness with compassion. They discuss how Christianity’s colonial legacy sought to erase Indigenous cosmologies, yet how returning to balance, between light and dark, creation and destruction, restores our humanity.
This episode is a masterclass in courage, creativity, and compassionate truth-telling, and a call to remember that our work, our art, and our healing are all forms of ceremony.
IG: @coppercanoewoman
Website: www.coppercanoewoman.com
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Relentless Reflections
- Where in my life have I unconsciously centered myself or the institution over the relationships, children, or communities who actually belong at the centre?
- What parts of my “basement” (fears, shame, defensiveness, colonial reflexes) need to be acknowledged, so I can return to community with more humility?
Relentless Actions
- Write down one place in your daily life where you can replace hierarchy with relationality.
- Walk on the Land and identify one place where decay and new growth exist together. Let that be your teacher.
Relentless Resources
- Decolonizing Trauma Work: Indigenous Stories and Strategies Book
- What is Land-Based Learning? A Digital Forum Video
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Music Produced by Award-Winning Anishnaabe DJ Boogey the Beat