A First Nations woman from Saskatchewan’s story of her father’s experience at residential school has won the world’s most prestigious journalism award.
Stolen: Survive St. Michael’s, a podcast by journalist Connie Walker and the team at Gimlet Media, won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Best Audio Journalism.
“I feel like I’m still in shock. It’s disbelief. It means so much. It’s an incredible honor,” Walker said Monday.
“I think of all the people who bravely shared these stories with us. People should know these stories. More people will hear them now.”
Walker is a former CBC reporter who now works for New York-based Gimlet Media. She is a member of the Okanese First Nation in southern Saskatchewan.
The team working with Walker included former Saskatoon StarPhoenix reporter Betty Ann Adam, a member of the Fond du Lac Denesuline Nation in northern Saskatchewan.
Walker said it’s important to recognize the history and stories of Indigenous communities, and that these stories are increasingly being told by Indigenous peoples themselves.
“Our stories matter,” she said.
Walker said she was inspired by the care Adam took with survivors and the determination of fellow Indigenous team member, Chantelle Bellrichard, who unearthed thousands of pages of documents for the project. .
Walker, reached by phone in Seattle, said she was on the phone all day with her team, siblings and other parents.
“It’s been non-stop,” she said. “Many tears of joy.”
Other category winners announced Monday included The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Associated Press.