Squaw'kin Iskwewak
Carol Morin has landed in Northern Canada for now, and, back in the land of her ancestors. (As the host of Northbeat on CBC Television). Her background is Northern Cree and Chipewyan. Her home community Sandy Bay, Sk. Carol Morin has been a member of the media for more than a quarter century. She has worked at both private and public radio stations in Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Fredericton. While in Regina, Carol produced a morning radio talk show on CKRM and anchored weekend news for CKCK TV. She was also co-host of the CBC News world program This Country. Just before becoming host of InVision, Carol was producer/reporter for radio program, First Voices on CKUA in Calgary, Alberta. "We have to remember that young people are watching. And, the choices we make might influence them greatly. That's what happened to me." Carol was 15 when she first visited a radio station in Regina, Saskatchewan. By the age of 16, Carol was a “go-fer” at CKCK Radio, a volunteer position that allowed her to observe. The following year, on a scholarship Carol studied Radio & Television at SAIT in Calgary, Alberta. Before graduating, she was offered a job at CKO-FM in Edmonton. Carol, at age 19, was producing a radio morning talk show at CKRM Radio in Regina, as well as anchoring weekend television news at CKTV. Her career has taken her to all regions of Canada, covering politics, the arts, indigenous issues, and current affairs. Professionally, she has worked for both radio and television, private and public broadcasting, as well as doing some work in print and film. In 1989, Carol became the first First Nations person in Canada to anchor a national newscast (CBC News World – Calgary). She also studied law, with a scholarship, at the University of New Brunswick and spent 3 years working as an actor in Calgary during the mid 1990’s.
Carol’s personal life gives Carol inspiration to continue as a journalist. With a great love and respect for her Cree/Dene heritage, Carol embraces cultural Diversity. “There are many gifts we’ve been given as aboriginal people. One way for me to Honor those gifts I have been give is to develop them; whether they be telling the stories of Our People, dancing or singing. Another way to Honor and give thanks is to pass down the love and respect for Tradition. It’s my prayer that my three children always know who they are, where they have come from and that they are beautiful. On a larger scale, it is my prayer that the work I do within the news media and at CBC-TV will allow others to know that we, as People, are proud and strong. There is a renewal happening within our communities. I’m blessed to be a part of that, even if it’s only as an observer; as a journalist and as a teller of stories." Carol is an award-winning journalist, recently receiving the Manitoba Film and Television Industry Award for Best TV News Anchor (2000) and winning awards for Best Feature Reporter and Best Live Coverage (of the rioting in Quebec City during the Summit of the Americas - 2001) from the Native American Journalists Association. Carol has also been nominated for a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the category of Media & Communications (2001). In 2002, Carol received two awards nominations.
The Winnipeg-based women's drum group Squaw'kin Iskwewak, of which she is a member, was nominated for a Prairie Music Award in the category of Outstanding Aboriginal Recording. Carol was also nominated for a 2003 Aboriginal Achievement Awards in the Media and Communications category. In 2006, Carol won an award for hosting the Best Newscast awarded by the Radio and Television News Directors Association of Canada (small market). Carol is also an avid reader and writer. In fact, she recently received a Canada Council Writer's Grant to help in the process of completing her first novel entitled, Bearskin Diary. She has also received a writer's grant from the NWT Arts Council to help with writing her first stage play entitled, The Ruse. Included within her body of, as of yet, unpublished work, is also a manuscript of poetry, and anthology of short stories/essays about growing up in southern Saskatchewan and a number of Children's stories. In 2006 Orca Books based in Victoria picked up "Kookum's Tablecloth", with a publication date to be announced.