The Deadly Uncle Podcast was created as a safe space to connect Indigenous men and boys to their culture and communities. Join Curt Young and Trent Agecoutay as they talk to "Deadly Uncles" in the Indigenous Community.
Each podcast promotes belonging and social inclusion to support the physical and mental wellbeing of Indigenous men and boys. This week Young and Agecoutay talk with Bert Crowfoot
Bert Crowfoot is the great great grandson of Chief Crowfoot, who is a signatory of Treaty 7.
Bert has two Indian names. His Siksika (Blackfoot) name is “Kiyo Sta’ ah” or Bear Ghost and his Kwakwaka‘wakw name is “Gayutalas” or Always Giving. He was adopted by the Kwakwaka ‘wakw at a potlatch in 2008, by the late Chief Adam Dick.
With a career spanning over 47 years, Bert has been a steadfast advocate for Indigenous rights, cultural preservation, and community development. His journey began in journalism in 1977, where he honed his skills covering sports, eventually transitioning from a freelancer for Native People newspaper, published by the Alberta Native Communications Society (ANCS), to a full-time employee.
He rose through the ranks to become editor in 1981 and eventually left due to
philosophical differences. He started publishing the Nation’s Ensign newspaper in his basement in 1981 and left in 1982.
In 1983, Bert founded the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) which published several publications including Windspeaker (a national Indigenous newspaper), Alberta Sweetgrass, Saskatchewan Sage, Ontario Birchbark and Business Quarterly. Buffalo Spirit was supposed to be a Manitoba publication but evolved into a cultural and spiritual exploration of Indigenous spirituality within Windspeaker. Those publications later evolved into an online news service called Windspeaker.com.
He is also the CEO and General Manager of CFWE-FM, a northern Alberta Indigenous radio network, CJWE- a southern Alberta-wide Indigenous radio network and CIWE-FM (The Raven 89.3) an indigenous radio station serving the Edmonton area.
On Feb 29, 2024, the The Windspeaker Radio Network launched its tenth 100,000 watt transmitter, giving Alberta “One Million Watts of Indigenous Power!”
Bert's many honors over the years include: the Tribal Chiefs Institute’s Life Time Achievement Award (2002); a Lifetime Achievement Award from the province of Alberta; Venture Magazine’s “50 Most Influential Individuals in Alberta” (2004); Venture Magazines “100 Entrepreneurs who built Alberta” (2005); nominated to CBC’s Alberta 100 list (2005), and inducted into the Aboriginal Walk of Honor in Edmonton (2006).
Recognized as “Provincial Minor Coach of the Year” (1992); he coached Team Alberta women's softball at the 1993 Canada Summer Games in Kamloops, BC; and honored with an 2023 Achievement in Publishing from the Alberta Magazine’s Publishers Association.
He received an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Alberta in June of 2023. He was the recipient of a Backfoot headdress transfer from the leaders at Siksika First Nation in June of 2023.
He was selected as the recipient of 2024’s Digital Publishing Leadership Award by the National Media Awards Foundation.
The Aboriginal Multi Media Society is in the process of digitizing all of its media files including audio, video and photographic files (over 3000 total). These files date back to 1966 and will be available on a website in the near future.
The project is called, “Digitizing the Ancestors.” Bert is a digital storyteller with an intuitive eye developed over the past 45 years as a professional photographer,
