Brothers David and Rod Fiddler took over their father Heidi’s Saturday morning radio show after he died in 2008, and listeners look forward to their unscripted two-hour show that David describes as not planned, funny, serious, and informative.Willow Fiddler/The Globe and Mail
Saturday mornings in Sandy Lake First Nation are relatively quiet. There’s little action besides the smoke billowing from chimneys in wood stove-heated homes and small packs of rez dogs roaming the snow-packed gravel roads with a confident regality.
That is, until 10 o’clock when local radio personalities and brothers David and Rod Fiddler open their radio show at the local James Fiddler Memorial Radio Station.
Nestled in the downtown hub that consists of a Tim Hortons, Northern Store, the band office and other administrative offices, the radio station brings the community together, David Fiddler said.
“There’s a sense of community when you have a radio, even if there’s somebody here just playing music, you have this sort of a connection,” he said.
In preparation for the two-hour show on what is dubbed Sandy Lake’s Very Own 93.5 FM radio, Mr. Fiddler posts the streaming link on Facebook and asks where people will be listening in from. Band members living away from the Northwestern Ontario fly-in and friends of the community tune in regularly from Ottawa, Vancouver and everywhere in between.
The community began streaming its radio broadcasts online about two years ago to keep off-reserve members connected when away from home.
“I think we’re trying to adapt to the new realities and take advantage of what’s out there,” Mr. Fiddler said. “A lot of our people that have to live out there, that have to live in urban locations or other communities … they feel connected when they listen to our radio, to see what’s going on.”
Mr. Fiddler, who works as the Ontario Works administrator for the community of about 4,000 people during the week, opens the show speaking the community’s Oji-Cree language as the dialogue quickly flows into a mix of both Oji-Cree and English.
Over the next two hours, the show will feature unscripted banter full of Sandy Lake humour, music and guests.
“The timing is just right on a Saturday morning, getting up, having a coffee or breakfast or something. It’s just turn on the radio and see what happens,” Mr. Fiddler said.
He and his late brother Gordon took over their father Heidi’s Saturday morning radio show after he died in 2008. His other brothers Rod, Ambrose and Monias now take turns filling in.
With the exception of opening the show with a prayer and the gospel songs their dad used to sing and play, Mr. Fiddler said nothing is planned.
“It can be serious, it can be funny, it can be informative, anybody can call in … people don’t know what to expect at any time and will say anything,” Mr. Fiddler said laughing. Some of the calls on a recent Saturday were from someone looking to buy a breakfast plate (usually part of fundraising efforts), a birthday greeting that prompts the Fiddler brothers to belt out a short version of Happy Birthday, and a request for the owner of the truck parked by Marcel’s to move it ASAP.
“Sometimes we’ll gauge what’s going on in the world or around our area and just have a general talk about things,” Mr. Fiddler said.
On that particular weekend, it was hockey – both professional and local – and the recently opened winter road.
“Good, cold weather, much needed weather,” Rod says as he announces the -28 degree temperature necessary to keep the winter roads in good shape.
Gary Mamageesic on the air at the James Fiddler Memorial Radio Station, where he broadcasts weekly giving program updates and talks with community visitors and service providers.Willow Fiddler/The Globe and Mail
Programming throughout the rest of the week includes three radio announcers and community volunteers that fill time slots with interactive games, language immersion lessons, community program updates, and music ranging from classic crooners to 1980s rock ballads to gospel hymns. In one corner of the radio station sits a drum set for events like gospel jamborees that are broadcast live. Other volunteers include a group of ladies known as the Material Girls who use the space to put together wreaths and sew moccasins for funerals. They ask listeners to come and help them.
The station’s history goes back to the 1970s when it broadcast from a small cabin using a CBC signal.
In 2008, community members including Mr. Fiddler, his late brother Gordon, and the late elder Louie Fiddler started a radio fundraising campaign to buy their own transmitter and upgrade equipment. In just a day, they raised close to $20,000 allowing them to break ties with the CBC and have complete control over their own programming.
“Ever since then, we’ve been broadcasting in our own [Oji-Cree] language,” said band councillor Apin Kakegamic, who holds the radio portfolio.
He said the radio is key to preserving the language, especially for elders and those who don’t know how to speak it but are tuning in.
Elsewhere, radio appears to be falling out of fashion. The CBC itself recently indicated it plans to eventually transition its traditional radio and television broadcasting to completely digital through online streaming. President and CEO Catherine Tait said the move, not expected to begin within the next decade, is necessary to stay relevant.
But Mr. Kakegamic believes the radio station in Sandy Lake will always be a relevant part of the community.
“I hope the radio keeps on going forever. We like it,” Mr. Kakegamic said with a chuckle.