Á'a:Líya Warbus is a writer, director, actress, hip hop artist, mother, paddler, pow-wow dancer, activist and business owner. She owns Salish Legends Media , an Indigenous film and media team. In this conversation, Aaron Pete and Á’a:líya talk about Indigenous values and how to share them through mediums like music, film and podcasts. The two also discuss the importance of identity, finding your passion, lifting up your community and the benefits of canoe races. Á’a:líya Warbus is a First Nation...
Jul 11, 2022•3 hr 14 min•Ep. 64
Farhan Mohamed is the Co-founder & CEO of Overstory Media Group (OMG), the former Editor in Chief of of the Daily Hive, an Ismaili Muslim and father. In this interview, Aaron Pete and Farhan Mohamed discuss journalism, entrepreneurship, Bill C-18 and making a difference in the community. Farhan Mohamed attended Simon Fraser University and Capilano University. He has worked with Pacific Newspaper Group. From there, he became the editor-in-chief and partner of the Daily Hive. Today, he is the ...
Jul 04, 2022•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 63
Aaron Pete and Nikos Harris discuss criminal law, justice, mandatory minimum sentencing, Peter A. Allard School of Law, and education. Nikos Harris is an award-winning professor who also has extensive experience as appellate counsel. He has authored numerous articles on issues in criminal law and evidence, and his writing has been cited in a number of trial and appellate judgments. Nikos has served as a guest speaker for a number of organizations including Continuing Legal Education, the Trial L...
Jun 28, 2022•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 62
Shayla Raine is a Cree author from Maskwacis, Alberta. Her book, The Way Creator Sees You, is about a Plains Cree boy who struggles to accept his Indigenous features after facing adversity at school. In this conversation, Shayla shares her experiences growing up, and her journey into writing and publishing The Way Creator Sees You. Her book has been highlighted by Indiginews, the Toronto Star, APTN News and CBC. Aaron Pete asks about her childhood, experiences in the Canadian military, the journ...
Jun 20, 2022•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 61
Clint Hames and Aaron Pete sit down to discuss the importance of community, the impact of leadership, and the role of politics. The two also discuss Clint's appearances on Chill TV , his band Judy Tuesday , and his involvement with the Chilliwack Players Guild . Over the past 40 years Clint has amassed a comprehensive resume including work in the non-profit, private and public sector. He worked for 17 years in executive positions within a large non-profit and founded and ran a private sector, hu...
Jun 14, 2022•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 60
Darryl Plecas and Aaron Pete discuss the role of education, the importance of encouragement, criminology, criminal justice, safe injection sites, the defund the police movement, BC politics, the Legislature, corruption, and the responsibilities of journalists. The Honourable Darryl Plecas was first elected for MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) Abbotsford South in 2013, and was re-elected with even greater support in 2017. Mr. Plecas courageously faced many controversies and challenges dur...
Jun 06, 2022•3 hr 27 min•Ep. 59
Aaron Pete sits down with Dr. Peter Ross to learn about ocean pollution, plastics, and chemicals. He discovered the region’s killer whales to be the most ‘contaminated marine mammals in the world’ in a groundbreaking study, and reported on the widespread distribution of microplastics in the NE Pacific and Arctic oceans. In this interview, Dr. Ross explains the causes of ocean pollution, what is being done to address this growing global problem and what individuals can do to help. Dr. Peter S. Ro...
May 30, 2022•3 hr 6 min•Ep. 58
Aaron sits down with Dr. Shelley Canning to learn about careers in nursing, the challenges health care professionals face, and what improvements can be made. Dr. Canning highlights her research on quality of life, perceptions of seniors, the Gero Nurses podcast, and agism. Dr. Shelley Canning is an Associate Professor in Nursing at the University of the Fraser Valley. She is the coordinator of the University of the Fraser Valley's (UFV) Centre for Education and Research on Ageing (CERA), and a r...
May 24, 2022•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 57
Aaron Pete and Dean Werk sit down to talk about the fishing adventures Dean and his team provides through Great River Fishing , and the glamorous camping experiences he provides through Fraser Canyon Riverside Domes . The two also talk about the work that goes into becoming a fisherman, the different types of fish, conservation and fishing tour guides. “The journey never ends when you share the passion” – Dean Werk Born and raised in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Dean has been fishing British Co...
May 16, 2022•3 hr 26 min•Ep. 56
Aaron Pete and Bud Mercer sit down and talk about Bud’s service as an RCMP officer, working as the Chief Operating Officer for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games Integrated Security Unit, and becoming a City Council member in 2018. Bud Mercer is an elected City Councillor for the City of Chilliwack, British Columbia. Prior to being elected to this role in 2019, Bud was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Plenary Properties LTAP which is an affiliate company of Plenary Grou...
May 09, 2022•3 hr 11 min
Caroline Phelps is the Artist In Residence Program Coordinator, Cultural Liaison Lead at the Skwachàys Lodge Aboriginal Hotel & Gallery in Vancouver, BC. Caroline Phelps is from both Nuu Chah Nulth; Sto:Lo Territories and of Hawaiian descendent. Ancestral Name is QwAACWA which comes from Ahousaht BC. Caroline promotes and will always love the summer traditional Tribal Canoe Journeys, where they support their youth in guiding them in a good way using our culture protocol, also welcoming every...
May 03, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 54
Aaron asks Kris Cu about moving from the Philippines to Canada, finding his passion for nature, researching bugs, and photographing birds throughout British Columbia. In this conversation, Kris and Aaron go through the amazing photos Kris has taken of owls, birds, ducks and other animals. More specifically, Kris shares his tools, techniques and ethics around his nature photography. Kris identifies himself as a birder, and shares the apps he uses to identify birds and hear their calls, camera equ...
Apr 25, 2022•3 hr 14 min•Ep. 53
Tim Srigley is the craftsman behind Black Flag Leather Goods a great leather-working YouTube channel . Tim Srigley lives in Chilliwack, BC, with his wife and 3 year old daughter. He started leather working in July of 2020. He was on a 3 month paternity leave from work and looking for a hobby to do while his daughter napped each day. That hobby turned into a business and he was suddenly selling a good amount of small goods (wallets, belts, camera straps, etc). It quickly got out of hand and that ...
Apr 19, 2022•3 hr 7 min•Ep. 52
Pepita Elena McKee shares how she overcame adversity, makes a difference in her career, and how she became the CEO of Impact Resolutions . Aaron and Pepita talk about mediating between corporations and Indigenous communities regarding developments, her personal background, attending university and founding Impact Resolutions. Pepita Elena McKee is the CEO of Impact Resolutions , an award–winning researcher, engagement specialist, and social strategist. Pepita attended Langara College for Aborigi...
Apr 13, 2022•2 hr 53 min•Ep. 51
Keith Thor Carlson is a father, husband, professor of History at the University of the Fraser Valley, Tier One Canada Research Chair in Indigenous and Community-Engaged History, and ethnohistorian. Professor Carlson’s scholarship is designed and conducted in partnership with communities and aspires to answer questions that are of relevance to those communities. His interests include: Indigenous history, Indigenous historical consciousness, and the history of settler colonialism — especially in w...
Apr 04, 2022•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 50
Aaron and Dr. Dara Kelly delve into the functioning of Indigenous finance prior to colonization, with a specific focus on the economic and leadership aspects of potlatches. Dr. Kelly enlightens the listeners on the intricate relationship between Indigenous culture and the concept of money. Dara Kelly is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business. She is from the Leq’á:mel First Nation, part of the Stó:lō Coast Salish. Dara earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Com...
Mar 28, 2022•3 hr 10 min•Ep. 49
Paul van Westendorp is a bee expert, researcher and British Columbia's Provincial Apiculturist. In 2019, Mr. van Westendorp was called in to help address the Asian Giant Hornets discovered in Nanaimo, BC. As provincial apiarist, van Westendorp oversees statistics and the provincial beekeeper registry, which includes approximately 4,300 beekeepers, most of whom are hobby beekeepers concentrated in the Fraser Valley. In an interview with Provincial Employees Association, Paul comments “The importa...
Mar 22, 2022•2 hr 52 min•Ep. 48
Tyler Olsen is a father, journalist, reporter, and managing editor of the Fraser Valley Current . Tyler grew up in Vernon, graduated with a bachelor of journalism from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, and then went to work for his hometown paper. In 2010, he moved to the Fraser Valley to start working at the now-defunct Chilliwack Times, and began reporting for the Abbotsford News in 2014. Over the last decade Tyler has covered crime, courts, politics, municipal affairs, health care and a...
Mar 17, 2022•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 47
Gurleen Maan is the Creative and Operations Director at her family's farm Maan Farms Market & Estate Winery. Maan Farms has a long and proud history of farming and creating unique experiences for the citizens of Abbotsford, the Fraser Valley, and Greater BC. Started in 1977, Maan Farms began as a small roadside stand selling berries and over the years has shifted from conventional farming to an Agritourism business providing unique farm experiences for all ages such as: an Adult Easter Egg H...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 46
Matthew A. Hawkins is a father, videographer, photographer, podcast host, content creator for Around Chilliwack, founder of Hawkins Media and Board Member for the CEPCO Creative Commission. As the founder and chief operator of Hawkins Media and its subsidiary, FilmAds.ca, his goal is to use his passion for art—particularly film—and the creative process as a whole to produce works of both personal and professional value. While pursuing that passion, he has learned how to not only create work that...
Mar 07, 2022•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 45
Stephen Hui is a father, expert hiker, author, and photographer in British Columbia. Stephen Hui has been hiking, backpacking, and scrambling in British Columbia’s Coast Mountains for 30 years. Hui is the author of Best Hikes and Nature Walks With Kids In and Around Southwestern British Columbia , coming to bookstores in May 2022. His first two books, 105 Hikes In and Around Southwestern British Columbia and Destination Hikes In and Around Southwestern British Columbia , were #1 B.C. bestsellers...
Feb 28, 2022•2 hr 28 min•Ep. 44
Geetanjali Gill is a mother, wife, researcher, associate professor at the University of the Fraser Valley and Gender and Development Consultant. Geetanjali studied in Canada and the UK in the field of International Development Studies. She has taught international development studies courses at the University of Sussex (UK), as well as at Simon Fraser University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. In addition to her academic teaching, Geetanjali has worked for more than 16 years as an internati...
Feb 21, 2022•2 hr 57 min•Ep. 43
Lee Harding is a father, grandfather, biologist, environmental consultant, hunter, and researcher. In this conversation, Aaron and Lee talk about the wolf culling that is taking place in British Columbia. Aerial wolf reduction involves the shooting of wolves from a helicopter, which the province claims is the most effective and humane way to reduce wolf populations in remote areas to protect Caribou. Mr. Harding's research suggests this is inaccurate, and in the conversation they discuss viable ...
Feb 14, 2022•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 42
Sonny McHalsie, also known as Naxaxalhts'i is a father, grandfather, historical researcher, cultural researcher, author, editor, tour guide, educator and member of Shxw’ow’hamel First Nation. Sonny was an editor of Towards a New Ethnohistory: Community-Engaged Scholarship among the People of the River . He was a co-author of the book T owards a New Ethnohistory: Community Engaged Scholarship among the People of the River . I Am Stó:lō: Katherine Explores Her Heritage (1997) – focusing on his fam...
Feb 08, 2022•3 hr 6 min•Ep. 41
Sami is an Assistant Professor in the School of Sustainable Energy Engineering at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. His research focus currently is improving carbon capture technology. In this conversation, Aaron and Sami discuss climate change, sustainable energy, CO2, how Mr. Khan became interested in the topic and the role chemical engineers can play. He leads the Engineered Interfaces for Sustainable Energy (EISEn) group, studying creative ways to enhance the performance and longevity of...
Jan 25, 2022•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 40
Andrew Christopher is a Father, Husband, Singer, Songwriter, Entertainer and Host of the AC Podcast. Andrew Christopher, as he often says, is “living the dream”. He values time with his wife, 3 kids and his work as a father and husband in Ryder Lake, BC, above all else. The fact that he is able to create and perform music as a career is a result of some hard life lessons which have molded him into the artist, and man he is today. Andrew lost his daughter, Lilee-Jean, to cancer in 2013 at 2.5 yea...
Jan 18, 2022•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 39
Adam Gibson is a father, husband, entrepreneur, community leader, and black belt martial artist. Mr. Gibson is a father of two boys, married to his wife Stephanie, and owns and operates a martial arts school in Chilliwack. Their business also provides a before and after school childcare program that picks kids up directly from school. Adam is an avid athlete that loves martial arts, skiing, surfing, and playing golf. He also recently started dirt biking with his two boys. He cares about his comm...
Jan 11, 2022•3 hr 30 min•Ep. 38
Carin Bondar is a Canadian biologist, writer, filmmaker, instructor, speaker, television personality, mother, and School Board Trustee in Chilliwack, BC. Video Interview: https://youtu.be/n5m85h_kTS0 Her work focuses on increasing science literacy and communication. Recently elected to the Chilliwack School Board , Bondar is an advocate for STEM education and for keeping girls in STEM subjects through high school. Bondar is author of the books Wild Sex and Wild Moms (Pegasus, New York), she is w...
Nov 30, 2021•2 hr 43 min•Ep. 37
Carrielynn Victor is an artist, plant harvester, illustrator, storyteller, mother, conservationist, fisher and medicines practitioner within S'ólh Téméxw (the Fraser Valley). Video Interview: https://youtu.be/z4vx8zhKSPs Eastern Fraser Valley based artist Carrielynn is a descendant of Coast Salish ancestors that have been sustained by S’olh Temexw (their land) since time immemorial and Western European ancestors that settled around Northern Turtle Island beginning in the 1600’s. Carrielynn was b...
Nov 16, 2021•3 hr 3 min•Ep. 36
Scott Sheffield is a researcher of Indigenous Military History, Father, Husband, author and associate professor of history at the University of the Fraser Valley. VIDEO INTERVIEW: https://youtu.be/FZAytR_pxCw Scott has been married to his wife Kirsten for 27 years, and they have two sons. Scott Sheffield is involved with two different research projects at the University of the Fraser Valley. The first is the culmination of almost two decades of research and publication on the subject of Indigeno...
Nov 09, 2021•3 hr 13 min•Ep. 35
