[Image:Trails, Tales and Spruce Tea podcast hosts shalan joudry and Frank Meuse]

~ Jesslyn Fraser, The Victoria Standard

The crackle of footsteps on the forest floor. A gurgling woodland stream. The hypnotic beat of a drum. Spruce tea pouring into a cup. The crisp crunch of a fresh cranberry. Voices and their stories.

These are some of the sounds that draw listeners in to Trails, Tales and Spruce Tea - a podcast series hosted by partners shalan joudry [sic] and Frank Meuse that interweaves rich audio with the Mi’kmaw tradition of oral storytelling. Regular episodes feature Mi’kmaw guests and discussions on topics ranging from Mi’kmaw language, history, and archaeology to everyday activities like cranberrying, hunting and forest walks with grandchildren, while the Intertales series presents recorded oral storytelling sessions.

Joudry and Meuse take inspiration from work and personal interests. Joudry is an ecologist, oral storyteller, writer, musician and mother. Meuse is a storyteller, basket-maker and avid outdoorsman as well as a longtime Councillor and former Chief in their community of Bear River First Nation. Together, they work at Stone Bear Tracks and Trails, a local wilderness retreat.

“We bring groups in and walk them around the land, and we have sharing circles for a day or two days. And I realized that conversation is so meaningful and impactful,” explains joudry. “Some of the groups there didn't really know a lot of other Mi’kmaw or indigenous people other than what they see in the news. I used to say that I was really hoping to reach nonmi’kmaw in Nova Scotia so that they could have a more diverse and human story in their mind when they think of Mi’kmaw. But it's also important to reach other Mi’kmaw listeners so that they hear each other's stories.”

Podcast discussions shift between big issue topics and ones’ more personal to joudry and Meuse. Joudry’s work throughout Nova Scotia provides opportunities to capture conversations with prominent Mi’kmaw such as Cathy Martin, Roger Lewis, Tim Bernard and Rose Meuse. And then there are conversations with each other and good friends, as well as forays into the forest, where Meuse shares his knowledge of the land and Mi’kmaw traditions.

“My role in it is pretty small,” he laughs. “I just have to come up with a story that day. And we're not trying to make it too political. We're trying to keep things fairly interesting - not light, but simple. If [listeners] want to research [a topic] more, they can, but we just kind of hit the high spots and then it makes the listeners want to listen to the rest of it.”

Joudry produces each episode herself. Her interest and training in audio engineering strongly influenced her choice of format for the project. She felt the audio component would allow for an emotional connection to the speakers, who could tell their own stories in their own voices.

“I found that there weren't as many people advocating for the importance of oral storytelling. Then somebody pointed out the increase in popularity of podcasts. I started listening to more and I thought, oh, this is it! What I'd really love to do is share stories and conversations, just by audio.”

Audiences have been downloading the podcasts from Nova Scotia, across the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, and as far away as California.

With each regular episode typically requiring a production time of eight to ten hours, joudry and Meuse created the Intertales series to fill the gaps between regular episodes. Recorded live, Intertales features the storytelling talents of Meuse, joudry and others. Their stories often have an amusing twist.

“We really liked the humorous part of it,” says Meuse. “We think it’s so important to lighten some of the subjects up a bit. The younger audience really enjoys that.”

Meuse says they launched the project with no real expectations, but soon realized it was a valuable way of preserving their own oral stories for their descendants.

“We didn't have a whole lot of recorded things for our children and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to listen to when we're long gone.”

The pair are not certain where the project will go. For now, Meuse says they are content to see how it evolves.

“We're just going to go with it. We keep having fun and that's the most important thing.”

Trails, Tales and Spruce Tea is available to download free at https://sprucetea.podbean.com and on Apple itunes.