“The number one thing about journalism is that it is essentially telling stories,” explains Paul Andrew. Paul is Shuhtoatine (Mountain Dene) from Tulita, lives in Yellowknife and he has told a lot of stories in his time. Born out on the land, he spent 14 years of his life in the bush and seven years in residential school. He went on to become Chief and later joined the CBC where he worked in radio and TV for three decades until he retired. Occasionally, he does contract work as a retiree.

He first got involved with broadcasting as a way to help the unilingual Dene people in his area who did not speak English but who needed to be informed about all that was unfolding at the time. With land claims, pipeline development, land use permits, economic development going on, he wanted to keep the elders in the loop and with the community radio programming he did before joining CBC, he had a chance to help out and was able to continue giving back to the community by keeping people informed when he progressed in his career.

Thinking about how he got into journalism, Andrew reflects on the informal learning he has done and says, “The important thing to remember is that Dene are wonderful storytellers. You don't need formal education to tell stories. We've had amazing storytellers forever and ever. These people taught us what we know. They didn't have any formal education but they certainly knew how to tell stories.”

While there are technical aspects that can be learned on the job, Andrew encourages people to remember that even doctors and lawyers have to learn how to do their jobs. “One of the things that I really learned is to use the skills you have. If you're a good storyteller, you can talk, you can tell anybody to listen to you, that's a really good start to getting into journalism,” he continues.

Andrew is an accomplished journalist and a proud Dene man. He marvels at his people had in place pre-contact and of the quality of the treaty negotiations for Treaty 11. “Residential schools and colonization really tried to convince us that we were inferior, our ways, our beliefs were inferior. If we believe that, then we're going to try to go after somebody else's gifts. But we already have our gifts. We just have to realize that and it's amazing how far it can take us,” he asserts.

What he’s seen in his lifetime is an emergence of respect for Indigenous knowledge and more confidence in his people to share their wisdom. Through his work in journalism, he has tried to share what he and his people know.  “Dene knowledge of the environment is amazing, astrology is amazing. Every possible thing you think about, Dene have immense knowledge about that,” he shares.

For Indigenous students leaving their home communities, Andrew has advice, “That’s so rewarding, you should not miss that. Get out in the world!” He talks about the way children learn about farm animals but never see them in the North and then they go south and see pigs and cows and a whole world opens up. Speaking of travel, he says, “It makes you proud of who you are, and where you come from.” It also provides the opportunity to meet good people around the world and to share and gain knowledge.

Over the course of his life, Andrew has overcome many obstacles. Coming out of the fifties and the sixties, he remembers how it wasn’t a good time to be Indigenous in Canada, how few people would listen to Indigenous perspectives and how much racism there was. What helped him overcome challenges was the wisdom of the elders. “The elders have always told us ‘You can do anything. You can recover from anything. They can throw anything at you in the world, they can hurt you. They can put you down, they can do whatever they say and do to you. The only person that will let you down is yourself. We teach you to be good hunters. We teach you to be good people. We teach you to tackle any kind of issues,” he recalls.

Looking back, the advice Andrew wishes he had received was around the importance of a Western education. Back then, people lived on the land and an education wasn’t needed. He saw the strength of his people living in the bush in all weather. Now, an education is so much more important and with so much more financial support available, it’s something he feels is in reach for Indigenous youth.

“We always have had smart people. We've always had strong people. We've always had hard-working people.”

As far as wellness, Andrew tries to take care of himself mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. He reads to challenge his mind, he doesn’t avoid his emotions, he tends to himself spiritually and surrounds himself with good people. Andrew pays attention to how he eats, exercises, and seeks out laughter, stories, music and supportive community.

When it comes to inspiration, Andrew looks to his parents. “I come from amazing people. I just want to show the rest of the world this is what makes them amazing. That's what I try to live up to and that's my inspiration. I want the people who brought me up to be proud of Paul Andrew."

In conclusion, Andrew shares, "We have a lot of social issues in the North. There are times when people, especially young people, really have a hard time and sometimes they have no hope and it's a very lonely place to be." What he wants young people to know is, "There is hope and don't give up. Whatever the problem is, you can get over it."

Journalism, Paul Andrew came to find, is essentially telling stories, and he made a career doing just that. Helping unilingual elders in his community stay up to date with the latest news, he has given back in kind for all the wisdom and stories they have shared with him. A proud Dene man, he’s shared his gift of storytelling with his audience and the knowledge of his people as a broadcaster bridging the gap between cultures one episode at a time.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.