Most people who have listened to the Urbariginal podcast would think that I was the driving force behind it, that it was a project that was in my head for some time.
They would be wrong.
Sure, it was my story and the stories of indigenous people I knew. I conducted the interviews, did the voice work, and did a lot of the writing. But I had help – a lot of it.
Carolina de Ryk, whom many of you know as the host of CBC Daybreak North, was as much a part of it as I was.
It was Carolina who sent me a message one day, asking if we can meet at a nearby coffee shop to discuss a project involving interviewing indigenous people and gathering stories. I had a full-time job but I do love to listen to other people’s stories and I am a storyteller …
I had little radio experience beyond my short-lived CHTK morning show over two decades ago but Carolina pushed me into the deep end anyway, dispatching me to the All Native tournament armed only with a general idea of what I was doing and a frustrating jumble of equipment.
Those days and nights at the All Native turned into a jumble of interviews and I formed rough ideas of what the episodes might be focused on. Carolina, though, doesn’t like rough ideas and pushed hard for refinement.
We were like a pair of inventors and, once we had some themes and more focus, it made life much easier. We had topics and fascinating stories and people to put a human face on them. And we had a thread: me and my personal feelings on the topics and how the specter of my dad seemed to hang over all of them.
Without Carolina’s drive and suggestions for the project’s direction, it doesn’t get done – or wouldn’t be nearly as good. It’s quite remarkable that, even though I did so much of what you heard, Carolina was an equal contributor and the main architect of the structure.
To be honest, my first outline wasn’t very good. It was simple, going by big topics; the salmon vs development, religion’s impact, the All Native … I had the question of treaty as well originally, but it got axed ( wisely so). I was thinking more of a series of feature stories than what it turned into.
But then, the more I related to what was being said by the people I interviewed, the more I began to share my views and experiences. And that word, Urbariginal, which I used to describe myself in our first meeting, wouldn’t go away. It made us think about how the podcast could be for others like me, people that could relate.
We were on our way.
And I knew that we were there or, at least, very close when Carolina came to my desk one morning carrying … THE WHITEBOARD! Dun, dun, dun, dun!
The dreaded whiteboard (yes, yet another amusing irony), which she posted right beside my desk as a constant reminder that things needed to be done. We charted the episodes and made “to-do lists,” which I really needed considering my poor short-term memory and the many distractions in my personal life.
Carolina was enthusiastic and had a lot of ideas – so many that I had to frequently pump the brakes on her string of suggestions so that we both could be more focused. Yes, that’s right: sometimes, I was the sane one.
I can still hear her voice: “How about …” “Maybe we can …” “I was thinking …”
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our producers/supervisors, Catherine Hansen and Jay Bertagnolli, as well as other producers and podcast creators in the CBC stable that chimed in and helped shape the podcast.
And our main sound guy, Geoff Walter, was amazing.
But Carolina was the driver. She got us there, even when there was a lot of traffic to get through - like a trusty chauffeur.
“Where would you like to go, Rudy?”
“Umm, how about looking back to the LNG issue and how I was torn on it?”
“Sure.”
“Uh, Carolina, it’s this way.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I know another road we can take.”
“Uh … “
There were many paths to choose from and, as with most creative projects, there will always be second thoughts on what was taken out and what was left in. I have written many plays and skits, short stories, a novel, as well as hundreds of news stories, and I never thought any of them was perfect.
What I do know is that The Urbariginal is very good. If it’s more than that, that’s for others to say. I’m just happy with the result and glad that I had a smart, bold partner with which to bring it to life.
Thanks, Carolina!