Bestselling author reconnects with native Indigenous language at Georgian

Sept. 8, 2025

Wasauksing First Nation, an island community on Georgian Bay near Parry Sound, was where Waubgeshig Rice began learning Anishinaabemowin, the native language of the Anishinaabe. Growing up, storytelling with elders and other knowledge keepers was a way to discover the history and traditions of his community and keep his culture alive.

After working for nearly two decades as a journalist with CBC in Sudbury, Waub turned his energy back to the storytelling of his community and became a bestselling and award-winning author, publishing three novels and a short story collection. He’s now a Georgian student in the Anishnaabemowin and Program Development program.

We spoke with Waub to explore his storytelling journey and what it means for him to reclaim his language and bring Indigenous representation to mainstream media.

Why did you decide to enrol in Anishnaabemowin and Program Development at Georgian?

I’m on a lifelong journey to become a fluent speaker of the language of my people, and I recently decided that I needed to take a postsecondary program to level up my skills. I asked around my network, and the Georgian program came highly recommended by graduates and former faculty. Along with becoming a better speaker, the program could open the door to further educational opportunities, whether teaching or further learning. 

What do you enjoy most about the program and what have you gained from it?

I enjoy being able to learn and speak Anishinaabemowin every day. I haven’t had regular learning like this since I was a kid going to elementary school in Wasauksing, where we had daily language class. While the first months of the program were largely review for me, it was still very valuable to refresh my skills, and I’ve learned a great deal since then. The courses are excellent in building language skills. I also really enjoy the community aspect, even though most of us in the program join virtually. There’s lots of support among our cohort, and we’ve made some really good friends.

What drew you to change career paths from journalism to creative writing?

Simply the support from readers and their desire to see more of my writing. My novel Moon of the Crusted Snow was published in 2018 and connected with a pretty big readership right away, and that grew a lot in the years that followed while I was working as a radio host at CBC in Sudbury. Eventually there was great interest in a sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow, and I was offered a contract to write it. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to properly commit to carrying that out while still working as a full-time journalist, so I made the decision to leave CBC to work on Moon of the Turning Leaves. It was published in 2023 and became a bestseller too. I’m very fortunate to have had eventful careers both in journalism and literature, and I’m hugely grateful to readers who pushed me to become a full-time writer. 

On your website, you write that your experiences reclaiming and reconnecting with Anishinaabe culture and stories have largely influenced your storytelling journey – can you share more about that? How do you decide which stories to tell?

I could write a whole book on that alone! I was very fortunate to grow up in my home community of Wasauksing during a time of cultural resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s. I had great role models showing me and my generation and other community members how important and beautiful our Anishinaabe ways and history have always been. A major component of that is storytelling, which we spent a lot of time doing with elders and other knowledge keepers in school, in ceremony, and just in the home. I saw how crucial those stories were to keep our culture alive, even with our traditions forbidden or outlawed by Canada. I think it’s my responsibility to keep sharing our truths and experiences in whatever format I can. Basically, the stories I want to write and tell are the ones that convey our humanity, history, resilience and cultural richness as Anishinaabek. 

What impact or message do you hope to leave through your writing?

I just want Indigenous people to see themselves and feel at home in my writing, and I want others to feel like they’re welcomed into the circle I’ve created to learn and make good relationships. Again, my primary objective is to show the humanity of our people and make connections through that. 

Have you faced challenges in your career, life, education, or other that have helped shape you?

I’ve faced many challenges in different ways, but the ones that have probably shaped me the most have been stereotypes about Indigenous people have persisted in all areas of the dominant white Canadian culture, from education to media to society in general. Most of the time those stereotypes and myths are bolstered by systemic and institutional racism, so I’ve always worked hard to challenge those and change opinions in whatever realm I’ve found myself in. That’s meant advocating for our people and stories to inform bosses, colleagues, classmates, and friends about our truth and the true history of this country. 

Why is it important for you to bring more Indigenous representation and voices into arts and the media?

Because Indigenous people have generally been neglected or ignored historically in Canadian arts and media, and others have unjustly told stories about us without us. That’s led to all kinds of wrong ideas about who we are. It’s about speaking our truth and having our art and stories take their rightful place in the mainstream. 

Do you have any upcoming projects that you’re excited about?

I’ve got a new novel coming out next year (hopefully) and my first kids’ book coming out in 2027! I’m really excited about both. I’m also looking forward to including more of my language learning into my writing in the future, thanks to a lot of what I’ve been learning at Georgian.

Aside from writing, what else are you passionate about?

My culture, my community, my family, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (I’m a black belt), music, sports, and reading. That pretty much takes up all of my time!

What advice would you give to other Indigenous people aspiring to follow a career as a writer or journalist?

Your story is valid and you deserve to share it. Keep speaking your truth! And make sure to listen to others and make time for their stories. Writing and storytelling is never just a one-way street.