Indigenous people created snowshoes, boiled rosehips for vitamin c, and built birchbark canoes. In Kananaskis country a Tsuut’ina Nation wilderness survival guide teaches Drew how to survive without tools. He throws the “atlatl” spear, tries natural sunscreen, and helps build a lean-to shelter. The Yakama Nation in Washington state regained their treaty right to fish in treacherous river canyons. Dip-net fishing is a cultural tradition, and the river is a giver of life with four salmon runs per year.

Back in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains Drew hikes, after a smudging ceremony, with a teacher who combines traditional knowledge with modern tech on his hikes. He helps indigenous youth connect with nature and learn life skills. Indigenous skills allowed the ancestors to thrive in the harshest of places.

In Going Native, celebrated humorist and author Drew Hayden Taylor examines the stereotypes and traditions of Indigenous identity while discovering cool new ways Indigenous people are shaping their culture in the 21st century.