Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s
Last May, investigative journalist Connie Walker came upon a story about her late father she’d never heard before. One night back in the late 1970s while he was working as an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he pulled over a suspected drunk driver. He walked up to the vehicle and came face-to-face with a ghost from his past—a residential school priest. What happened on the road that night set in motion an investigation that would send Connie deep into her own past, trying to uncover the secrets of her family and the legacy of trauma passed down through the generations.
Gimlet Media, Spotify
Reporter, producer
(2022)
RCMP spent more than $13M on policing Coastal GasLink conflict on Wet’suwet’en territory
The cost of policing the Coastal GasLink pipeline conflict in northern B.C. between January 2019 and March 2020 was more than $13 million, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(October 2020)
B.C. officials wrestled to define major industrial projects as essential through pandemic
As the B.C. government developed an essential services list in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bureaucrats tangled with how to justify ongoing construction of major industrial projects like Site C and LNG Canada, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(October 2020)
MMIWG families gather in Ottawa on the eve of the national inquiry’s final ceremony
It was a small, intimate gathering of families in front of the Centennial Flame in Ottawa on Sunday evening. A time for people who’ve travelled to the capital for the final ceremony of the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls to get grounded in prayer and to be together.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(June 2019)
MMIWG inquiry still fighting for access to RCMP files, weeks before closing ceremony
With its final report just weeks away from being released, the national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls was in federal court this week, fighting for access to two files from RCMP.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(May 2019)
Indigenous leaders at UN meeting push for decade dedicated to language revitalization
Indigenous leaders are calling for the UN’s year of Indigenous languages to be expanded to a decade in speeches at a gathering in New York this week of the United Nations’ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(April 2019)
Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders, supporters call for stop work order on Coastal GasLink pipeline
Driving along the forest service road outside Houston, B.C. voices come in and out over the radio channels as people co-ordinate with one another at a worksite for the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(February 2019)
14 arrested as RCMP break gate at Gidimt’en camp checkpoint set up to stop pipeline company access
The RCMP have arrested 14 people and entered a fortified checkpoint on a forest service road in northern B.C. where people at the Gidimt’en camp were barring a pipeline company from access.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(January 2019)
Teaching math through cedar weaving, trade beads and oral history
“A lot of teachers are wondering how they can use the culture in teaching math, so that’s one of the biggest things we wanted to do is come and share that with everyone,” said curriculum specialist Tina Demings.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(November 2018)
A hereditary chief opens up about supplying his nation with free cannabis oil
After his late father was denied medicinal marijuana, Wil Marsden pledged to supply Gitanyow members in need.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(October 2018)
‘More was required of Canada’: Ruling shows where Ottawa fell short with First Nations on Trans Mountain
As First Nation appellants celebrated their win at the Federal Court of Appeal on Thursday, they also pointed out the specific failures of the federal government’s approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as confirmed in the ruling.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(August 2018)
As Trans Mountain changes hands, Coldwater couple not sure who will clean up lingering oil spill
It’s been four years since Janice Antoine and Percy Joe first learned about an oil spill on their land, after a so-called anomaly was discovered in the Trans Mountain pipeline that runs beneath the couple’s property on the Coldwater Reserve near Merritt, B.C.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(June 2018)
‘Urgent actions’ needed to address violence against Indigenous women and girls — UN report
The United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women had some strong words for Canada at the end of her 13-day visit, saying the country has “unfinished business that requires urgent actions.”
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(April 2018)
Actor’s history of domestic violence brought to light as Indian Horse opens in theatres across Canada
Melanie Rope wants people to know about actor Will Strongheart’s history of violence against her and others, before making a choice about whether or not to see the movie Indian Horse.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(April 2018)
Woman who survived B.C. serial killer lifts up ‘sisters’ still on the streets
CeeJai Julian remembers when she first got clean, standing up in 12-step meetings feeling guilty for being alive, when so many of the “sisters” she knew from the streets were gone.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(April 2018)
Locked up at 12: A Métis woman tries to overcome the inequalities in Canada’s justice system
Amanda Lepine has 12 hours before she will be sent back to prison. But first, a graduation ceremony.
She’s just spent 40 days on Vancouver Island at Tsow-Tun Le Lum, a “helping house” that offers substance abuse and trauma treatment to Indigenous Peoples.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(March 2018)
Why are Indigenous women disproportionately represented in federal prisons?
The call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report almost three years ago states the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in custody must be reduced — but the numbers are getting worse.
The Current
Current Affairs Radio Segment
(March 2018)
B.C. MLA under fire for suggesting Indigenous languages funding better spent on policing
B.C. Liberal MLA Mike Morris is under fire after comments he made in the legislature, suggesting that funding committed to Indigenous languages in the province would be better spent on policing resources.
CBC Indigenous
Reporter
(February 2018)
Calling Foul: The Indigenous Basketball Team Fighting Gas Sponsorship
The All Native Basketball Tournament has been held annually in Prince Rupert, British Columbia for 56 years and attracts up to 1,400 people per game in a community civic centre. The whole week has turned into a celebration of Indigenous sport and culture with a big party element that some people call Second Christmas. But with liquified natural gas companies now sponsoring the tournament some First Nations, led by reigning champions the Skidegate Saints, are bringing active protest to the week’s contest.
Vice Sports
Host
(September 2016)
Saskatchewan teen cast in film that mirrors her own family’s loss
Jess Zacharias had no idea a Hollywood scout was watching her play volleyball at the National Team Challenge Cup in Richmond, B.C., last month.
A week later, the 17-year-old agreed to play the body double in a true story, feature film mirroring her own family’s tragic loss —a film about a teenage girl’s untimely death — and her volleyball team’s determination to pull together during a time of overwhelming grief.
CBC On the Coast
Current Affairs Radio Segment + Web Story
(August 2016)
Hidden In Plain Sight: Stories of Migration and HIV in Chile
In the past two decades Chile has emerged as one of Latin America’s most prosperous nations. But beneath the surface of this success story, people are struggling to have their voices heard amid growing social tensions. In early 2016, a group of student journalists travelled to Chile to investigate why some of the country’s most vulnerable people remain hidden in plain sight.
UBC Graduate School of Journalism & Vice News
Web producer
(2016)
BC’s Highway of Tears Email Scandal Raises Doubts for Families of Murdered Women
Delete, delete, delete.
On May 18th, a former staffer in the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation sent a letter of complaint to the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner. He was concerned about how a freedom of information request was handled.
Vice News
News story
(October 2015)
Life and death along Canada’s Highway of Tears
Justice is difficult to find on the 450 mile stretch of Highway 16 that winds through central British Columbia, connecting Prince Rupert and Prince George. In 1994 alone, three teenage girls were killed along this route: Ramona Wilson, Roxanne Thiara, and Alishia Germaine. No one was ever charged.
Vice News
Documentary host and feature writer
(October 2015)
Out of the Shadows
Mental illness is the leading cause of disability worldwide, but it remains one of the world’s most neglected diseases.
We went to Togo, Benin, Jordan, and India to look at how some countries are addressing this major health challenge and coming up with creative solutions to bring mental illness out of the shadows.
UBC Graduate School of Journalism
Web producer
(October 2015)
CBC New Fire
From remote reserves to bustling big cities, join Urban Native Girl Lisa Charleyboy as she brings you to the surprising heart of the conversations important to Indigenous youth. Drop in as they reveal the complexities, challenges and contradictions of what it means to be young and Indigenous today.
CBC Radio One Summer Series
Associate Producer
(Summer 2015, 2017)
The Invisible Crime
The documentary story of a young man who feared for his life at the hands of his own father because of his sexuality. So-called crimes of honour make the news when daughters are targeted but this is the story of a young man bridging two cultures who says he was … and continues to be as vulnerable.
CBC The Current
Freelance radio documentary
(January 2015)
Residential school survivor learns how to bring her experience into the classroom
This week, teachers from across British Columbia were in Vancouver learning about the legacy of residential schools, and how to incorporate those lessons into their classroom. For a trio of teachers from Burns Lake, what happened to First Nations people in residential schools is much more personal.
CBC Daybreak North
Current affairs radio segment
(August 2015)
Missing & Murdered: Unsolved cases of Indigenous women and girls
“These are the unsolved stories of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women.”
CBC
Investigative Project
Role: Researcher/writer
(Launched in 2015)
Bringing birth back to remote Manitoba First Nation
Santina Tait is seven months pregnant, waiting in Winnipeg to give birth to her second child. She remembers the last time she was pregnant and in the city.
“When my water broke I phoned my mom to come, but [the baby] came so quick. And I was going to take an epidural to prolong my labour so [my mom] could be here. I really wanted my family or someone to be there with me, but it couldn’t happen.”
CBC Aboriginal
Feature story
(July 2014)
China’s Generation Green
How can China manage its dangerous water, contaminated soil, mountains of waste, and disappearing biodiversity? The country has become a symbol of the darkest side of economic development and globalization. And 300 million more people are expected to enter the country’s middle class by 2020, multiplying the damage.
We know about the problems. But there has been little attention paid to the work Chinese people – particularly young people – are doing to mitigate the environmental crisis.
UBC Graduate School of Journalism
Web Producer
(May 2014)