Indigenous Geographic creates education program about Inuit, Métis past and present

Indigenous people’s own “Geographic” is launching a training program to educate government and private sector employees about the history of Inuit and Métis.

The program’s first day will be Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Indigenous Geographic is an Indigenous-owned video production company with a goal of sharing Indigenous stories and “amplifying” Indigenous voices, especially those of Inuit and Métis, says Matt LeMay, its co-founder and CEO.

The aim of the new program is to teach Canadians about Indigenous culture and history while reminding them of their responsibilities as part of Canada’s commitments to its Indigenous people.

The training will take four to five hours to complete and involve viewing about 50 short films with quick quizzes after each section. Upon completion, participants get a certificate.

Matt LeMay was one of the Métis Nation’s representatives, meeting the Pope in March 2022 in Vatican City. Indigenous Geographic is working on a documentary following the papal visit. (Photo courtesy of Matt LeMay)

Unlike similar training programs that are often animated and have text for people to read from a screen, this training will have a documentary film-like quality and include videos from around Canada, said Crystal Martin, co-founder and chief administrative officer of Indigenous Geographic.

The training will be available for $399 per person on the Indigenous Geographic website, but LeMay said they are open to negotiating the price in cases of a bulk order from a company or government.

Indigenous Geographic officially started about a year ago, but LeMay said they have been working on the project for more than three years.

Both Martin and LeMay are based in Pembroke, Ont. Martin is originally from Sanirajak and LeMay is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario.

Currently, they have six full-time employees and a network of about 25 animators, cinematographers and editors they work with. And they are hiring more.

In their three years of work, they have created around 100 video projects, five documentaries and have been to all provinces and territories in Canada except for Yukon, LeMay said.

Trailers for the films are on the Indigenous Geographic website, and the full documentaries will be available to those enrolled in the training program.

In spring 2025, they plan to start distributing some of the documentaries on Amazon Prime Canada, LeMay said.

Martin said one of their most exciting upcoming  projects is Apology, a documentary about what the Catholic Church has done in the years since Pope Francis’s visit to Iqaluit in July 2022.

Martin helped organize the event in Iqaluit and LeMay was one of the Métis Nation’s representatives to visit Vatican City in Rome prior to the Pope’s trip to Canada.

The two have ambitious plans to expand Indigenous Geographic. They hope to start an annual magazine and a podcast that will explore the effects of climate change in Inuit communities.

“National Geographic and Canadian Geographic have largely built their legacies on the backs of Indigenous people and our experiences,” said LeMay, who himself used to work as a videographer for Canadian Geographic.

While Indigenous Geographic is not connected to either of those organizations, he added “We realized that Indigenous people should have their own ‘Geographic.’”