Season Three - Episode One - Tara Janzen and Honey Constant

There are so many moments from this episode that stand out to me, but one of my favourite is when Tara Janzen and Honey Constant walked up to the massive wire fence to see the bison. They both instinctively reached for the fence and wrapped their fingers around the wires in order to get as close to as possible to the bison. Or as Honey calls them, 'my cousins.'

This episode features two young women who are making a difference in their community through their work at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. Tara is the Director of Development and works with numerous stakeholders and groups sharing the story of Wanuskewin. She is also one of the key players in Wanuskewin's efforts to achieve UNESCO status. Tara is a wonderful storyteller who is committed to ensuring her community understands the importance of Wanuskewin and indigenous history.

Honey is a Senior Interpreter Guide at Wanuskewin with enough personality and warmth to fill the entire park! She has designed a unique program for students that teaches them the cultural and spiritual significance of the bison, and now that the park is once again open to the public, she can't wait to deliver it. The bison hold such meaning for Honey and she explains why in such an eloquent way in the episode. 

I really believe that Wanuskewin is doing a wonderful job of educating our community when it comes to Truth and Reconciliation and indigenous culture and history, and the roles Tara and Honey are playing in conveying that knowledge to the public is vital. I think that comes across in this episode. 

A big thank you to Andrew McDonald at Wanuskewin for making Rona Andreas, my photographer, and I feel so welcomed at the park. Andrew allowed us access a few weeks before the park opened and made sure we were able to see the bison during our time. 

This episode was pure joy to put together. From recording my voice at Wanuskewin when it opened to the public on September 5th to the bison soundscape you'll hear halfway through the episode, it was a lot of fun to immerse myself in the park and hopefully tell Tara and Honey's story in an honest way. 

Thank you so much for listening and supporting this episode of YXE Underground. It's great kicking off Season Three of the podcast with such a dynamic episode and I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to leave a review if you really dig it and don't forget to tell your friends! 

Cheers...Eric

This episode is sponsored by the great team at Citizen Cafe and Bakery in Saskatoon. Their Douglas Sandwich might just be my favourite sandwich on Earth!

YXE Underground is a production of the Salthammer Production Company. 

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis