Celebrating 30 Storytellers for the Second Indigenous Storyteller Edition

It’s time to celebrate! TELUS STORYHIVE is spotlighting Indigenous storytellers in British Columbia and Alberta for the second Indigenous Storyteller Edition. 

Congratulations to 30 emerging Indigenous content creators who will each receive $20,000 in production funding, along with training, mentorship and distribution on TELUS Optik TV. Our partners, the Indigenous Screen Office and Creative BC will also be providing top up funding of $3,000 towards each project.

Indigenous talent is continuing to rise in British Columbia and Alberta— it’s time to help bring these stories of resilience, strength and passion to screen. Selected creators of our second Indigenous Storyteller Edition will lead with their story, and their narrative at the forefront.

Join us in congratulating the following creators on their STORYHIVE Indigenous Storyteller Edition selection:

ALBERTA

• Beky CARDINAL, "ᐊᐧᓂᔨᐦᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ waniyihcikewin (Loss)," Camrose

• Bruce Miller, "Skylar's Comet," Calgary

• Chance Isbister-Yellow Sun, "Cowboys Of Siksika," Cluny

• Chandelle Holomego, "Becoming her Ally," Edmonton

• Cody Lefthand, "The Lost Lemon Tapes," Eden Valley

• Dale Alexis, "Reserved Parking," Enoch

• Dallas Soonias, "Second Team," Calgary

• Douglas Winnipeg, "The Pendleton Man," Calgary

• Jerimiah Morrison, "Kitsínooki," Lethbridge

• Lyndon Suntjens, "Decolonizing our Youth!" Edmonton

• M.J Badger, "kiwetin-the north wind," Sherwood Park

• Natascha Okimaw, "Kakichihiwewin: The act of healing with words," Grand Prairie

• Paige-Lynn Chisaakay, "The Old Pine Tree," Edmonton

• Tammy Johnston, "To the Beat of Her Own Drum," Calgary

BC

• Brian Majore, "Other Voices," Prince George

• Catherine Lafferty, "Indigenous Feminist Writers Circle," Victoria

• Chantal Adams, "Kiid Jaad: Spruce Woman," Hornby Island

• Dolly Kruger, "Chief Thunder Bird," Penticton

• Erynne Gilpin, "Tracing Lines," Victoria

• Eva Louise Grant, "Emotionless Girl," Victoria

• Lesley Assu, "Standing Spruce: A separation rebuilt through culture," Campbell River

• Mariel Belanger, "Wild Horses Brought Her Home," Vernon

• Michelle Ikwumonu, "Rosie's Ride," Kamloops

• Mike Nichol, "Shacktown," North Vancouver

• Quanah Style, "Love is Calling," Vancouver

• Shaelyn Johnston, "Anishinaabemowin," Coquitlam

• Shay Garza, "Choices," Vancouver

• Shayla Stonechild, "Reclaiming Matriarchy," Vancouver

• Skylee Murray, "Story of Cedar Woman," West Vancouver

• Tryna Gower, "People For Peace," Dawson Creek

We would like to thank our esteemed selection committee of Indigenous filmmakers and community members that select the projects for this edition.

Screens need Indigenous representation. Look out for these projects coming to TELUS Optik TV and online platforms in 2024. 

Celebrate more Indigenous Voices on Optik TV Channel 126 and on STORYHIVE’s YouTube Channel. 

TELUS STORYHIVE acknowledges that the area in which our staff predominantly gather and work is within the unceded Indigenous territories belonging to the sḵwx̱w 7mesh (Squamish), sel̓l̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples. We acknowledge that many Indigenous communities and cultures survive on the land where we work, live, and play. We recognize that Indigenous peoples have been deeply harmed by Canada's past and present colonial institutions, and we will strive to understand our individual place within this painful history. In our work together, we will take conscious steps to include Indigenous people in decision-making processes and address structural inequities in the Canadian screen-based production sector.