Our goal is to empower: Onion Lake podcast bridges community through conversations [Video]

With Onion Lake’s population of over 4,000, Heathen saw a need for more communication methods.

“We have over a thousand homes in our community, [so] going door-to-door isn’t feasible, but the podcast allows us to engage directly with members and gather feedback,” he said.

Episodes have featured guests from different “walks of life,” including community leaders from surrounding areas, psychologists and even athletes, such as Colby Stanley, a professional Chuckwagon Association driver based in Meadow Lake.

Live-streaming on multi-platforms, he said, encourages interactive dialogue by inviting viewers to comment and join the conversation in real time.

Expanding beyond just a podcast

Beyond sitting in a studio, Heathen’s works includes mobile living-streaming equipment, allowing him to broadcast events like hockey games, sports tournaments and Powwows.

He noted that this capability allowed him to virtually bring listeners and viewers to last year’s Saskatchewan Indigenous Summer Games in Lac La Ronge, which gave the community the opportunity to …