Father and Son Podcast Launches on National Truth and Reconciliation Day | The Canadian News

A father and son, Dickie Yuzicapi Sr. and Dickie Jr., are working together to end the intergenerational trauma stemming from residential schools.

In a new podcast that launched on September 30, Canada’s first National Truth and Reconciliation Day, the two have a conversation, as teenage Junior asks his father about his lived experiences.

Yuzicapi Sr. is a survivor of a residential school, and for him, National Truth and Reconciliation Day is about recognizing survivors and hearing their stories.

That’s why he decided to start the podcast, Hoksheda, which in Dakota means shield.

“I am doing this to show my son everything we went through and to teach him the history of our family. And also open it to everyone so that they can take the time to listen to it and learn from it, ”said Yuzicap Sr.

For Yuzicapi Jr., the day is for healing.

“It’s like finally breathing after being underwater for a minute. It feels good, like we’ve done it, we’ve invented it, now we can breathe, ”he said.

For Yuzicapi Sr., there will be no way to hold back from talking to your child about the time he spent in residential schools and the lingering effects it has had.

“You know, I’ve seen friends take their own lives on more than one occasion, so it had to be bad enough for them to do that. At night there were things walking around. There were ghosts. I’m honest, it happened. The day was a school, the night was a nightmare, ”he said.

With the podcast, both father and son want to help break the cycle of intergenerational trauma among the indigenous peoples of Canada.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a soldier dealing with PTSD or people dealing with residential school, it’s a cycle, it repeats over and over again. And that is why me, my father and many other people are trying to break the cycle, ”said Yuzicapi Jr.

The Hoksheda podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Stitcher, and wherever you find your podcasts.

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