The Current - Roller derby doc that looks at the community is changing lives

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

Sport is for many a part of their national identity. So what if your nation doesn’t fall within one country’s specific borders? That’s the genesis of the roller derby team Indigenous Rising, which is the focus of the new documentary Rising Through The Fray. Filmmaker Courtney Montour and player Sour Cherry tell us about the roller derby community and how it's changed lives.

This is the sound of your legacy ERP. Nothing works in harmony. Now this is the sound of Workday, a next-gen ERP that future-proofs your organization. Workday, the AI platform for HR and finance. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. As we head into the Olympics, we'll be hearing a lot about nation versus nation competitions and how many medals Canada has won.

Sport is for many part of their national identity. So what if your nation doesn't fall within one country-specific borders? That is the genesis of the roller derby team Indigenous Rising, the first borderless team in the sport. And our first jam of the game is underway. Smackor Tia jamming against freight train. Jammers, roller skates, helmets, knee pads. There's fast action on the track. Now, the athletes represent more than 30 different.

indigenous nations. Their story is at the heart of a new documentary by Ganagahaga filmmaker Courtney Montour. Rising through the fray follows the team over the course of several years at home and at various tournaments. Sherry Bonkus is one of the team's original members. Her derby name is Sour Cherry. She is Soto Jibway from the Seeking First Nation in Treaty One Territory and she lives in Alberta Beach just outside Edmonton. Courtney Montour, Sour Cherry, are both with me. Hello. Hello. Hi. Courtney, I've seen Roller Derby described as wrestling on roller skates. And watching the film, certainly you see a lot of that.

But for anyone not familiar, when you watch a roller derby match, what does it look like? Yeah. So roller derby is an incredible sport to watch. It's two teams on a track and they are on roller skates. And it's a full contact sport. And one player on each team is the one that can make the point. And so they're the person who can go through the team. to score points. And like I said, full contact sport on roller skates, highly competitive,

and it's really great to watch. Full contact, you're not kidding around. I was surprised as I watched it. But there are rules for roller derby. Let's listen to an explanation from your film. There are four blockers from each team in the starting box with two jammers, one from each team behind the starting box. And those jammers, they wear a start. on their helmet so you can identify them. For Indigenous Rising, we have a medicine wheel or a turtle. Those jammers, for each opposing blocker that they can pass or lap, they get a point. Each jam is two minutes long.

The whistle goes, the jammer races through the pack, has to pass all those blockers, make one big lap around the track, and then starts passing the blockers again to score points. Because the first time you go through the pack, you can't score points. The second time, third time, four time, however many times you can get through until you hit that two-minute whistle mark, then you can keep scoring points. Cherry, I'm hearing blockers, jammers. Now, you're a blocker, right?

Yes, I am. What does a blocker do? Well, essentially my job is to, one, prevent the other team's jammer from getting through the pack, and two to get my own jammer through the pack. And you do that. There's a lot of jostling and hitting. What's it like being hit? Sometimes it can hurt.

Other times it doesn't even phase you. You have to focus, change your focus, and you have to not let those hits bother you. What kind of toll does this take on your body? I've been playing for 20 years, and I have osteoarthritis. I have a few repaired broken bones and a few concussions. And, you know, like any other full contact aggressive sports, you'll get injuries and it just takes its toll on you.

There's a wonderful line in the film where you say, look, I've got a broken wrist. I've had problems with my knee. I've separated my shoulder. Who does that? You clearly do. Why? I love playing roller derby. I love playing with Indigenous Rising, and I just love being on the track.

It's an outlet. It was a way for me to vent and have fun doing it. Otherwise, I don't know where I would be. You founded Canada's first roller derby team in 2005. What drew you to roller derby then? I was not a team player kind of person. but I love aggressive sports and I enjoyed watching them. And my sister and I used to sneak downstairs and watch roller derby when we were little.

And it came across a conversation that I was having with a neighbor. And I thought, why not? Courtney, what was it about this indigenous team and the sport of roller derby that made you think it's a good focus for a documentary? Rolar Derby is a serious athletic sport. And I'm not even a sports person, but it was something that drew me in years ago. I'm Ganigahaga from Gunnawage. And so living right next to Montreal where we have this roller derby hub, you know, it's incredible to be able to see it all the time.

And the space is such a welcoming space. There's such a community vibe around Roller Derby, and I think that's also be because it is all volunteer run. So there's so much passion and commitment around it. And the sport is made by and for women and non-binary individuals. So it's such an incredible space to be in. And like everything that Sauer Cherry has talked about,

you can hear those sounds in the track that you played, the intensity when they're skating on the track. So it's amazing to see. And when Indigenous Rising started, my jaw dropped. It filled me such a sense of pride to learn that there was a team that was going to play at the 2018 Roller Derby World Cup in Manchester. And that this team is indigenous women from all around the world, collectively representing their nations, rather than representing a country. that they went to the World Cup Committee and said, we don't want to represent these country colonial borders

that we don't associate with. So it was such an immense sense of pride. It was groundbreaking beyond roller derby. And this is a story that more people need to know about. Yeah, beyond roller derby. I mean, this is not your typical sports documentary. There's no big final championship, no big win. In fact, while they make gains, they do lose a lot.

What is this documentary about? What was the story that you really wanted to tell? Rising through the fray is about connection to identity, community, culture, and seeing yourself represented in the mainstream. And that is something that many people across the country today are, you know, are searching for. And so the stories of Indigenous Rising are more relevance than ever. They've created a space for teammates like Sour Cherry, Hawaiian Blaze, and Crispy.

Those are all their roller derby names to that all had different stories of disconnection and separation from their communities, not like all members on the team. but for them, it really gave them the space to be able to connect with people who understood where they were coming from and to fill them with that sense of pride, strength, and encouragement to learn more about their own identities. Cherry, you've said roller derby's not a game, it's a family. Tell me how it feels like a family. Well, you spend so much time with these people on and off the track a lot of the times. I mean, you know, you've got anywhere from two to eight hours a week with your teammates and at multiple different times.

And even for me, like I used to drive over, oh, I used to drive two and a half hours to go to a different practice space and play with my team Alberta teammates. And so the community is really small. And so when I say it's a family, I've grown close with a lot of those people from all over the place. And when we go to Las Vegas for the Ruler Derby Convention, I'm seeing people that I haven't seen in all year. It's like, you know, oh, how is your family? How's your kids? It is a family. Not everybody feels that way, but I mean, I mostly really do.

And especially with my indigenous siblings. We've connected in such a way that most teams don't connect. And that was super important. This is the sound of your legacy ERP. Nothing works in harmony. Now this is the sound of workday. NERP that future-proofs your organization. Workday, the AI platform for HR and finance.

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I mentioned that Indigenous Rising was the first borderless team, but now it's not the only one. At the first No Borders Derby, four teams competed. There's a powerful scene I'd like to play a bit of, let's have a listen. And we are Indigenous Rising Roller Derby. Today we are here representing 17 nations. We are the original nations of the Americas.

We stand united and bring together the Indigenous Roller Derby community through shared and individual history, culture, heritage, tradition, and fellowship and bring awareness to indigenous issues across Native America. Thank you. Cherry, your teammates introduce your team and then the camera cuts to you and you're moved to tears. Why was that such an emotional moment for you? Because we were there representing 17 nations, 17 borderless nations. Our team is comprised of over 30 nations.

So is it important for us to understand where we come from? Absolutely. And we're representing a collective of amazing people that, you know, we're a resilient group. And it didn't matter that it was just us representing our team. We were representing all borderless nations being involved in that tournament. and it was so essential for us to do it together. What's being on this team taught you about yourself, Jerry? It's refreshed my version of my own identity.

In 2016, or 2015, I thought at that time I was Cree, and I find out that I'm not. I'm Soto Ojibwe from Sacking First Nations. And I got to do my homework. I got to do my homework on me. I got to do my homework on my birth family, figuring out how a 60 scoop affected my life and my family. And I have a twin sister.

And we find out that through adoption agency that was designed for indigenous children, that being advertised in a newspaper saying, hey, get your Indian child here. And, you know, it's not something that people like to talk about. I mean, it was a colonialist attitude that brought me here. And through intergenerational trauma, we made it. And more importantly, Indigenous Rising gave me the outlet to not be ashamed of who I was,

not be ashamed of who I am and not be ashamed of where I came from. And that's something that I had to deal with my whole life. And being part of Team Indigenous was crazy important for me and my own identity. And as Team Indigenous evolved to Indigenous rising, it was even more important because that made us understand that we are getting bigger. We are rising. We are going to compete together for a very long time. And the evolution of this team is just getting bigger.

And that's what we wanted right from the beginning. We wanted indigenous skaters to feel safe. It's a powerful telling in the film how roller derby is fitting into your life journey of self-discovery. But this whole theme of borderless derby, Indigenous Rising isn't the only borderless team. There's also the Black Diaspora team. We're going to hear now from a player from that team known as Murder. Together, together!

This has been Black Diaspora's first season to really like skate in games and tournaments. And Team Indigenous inspires me. They wrote the blueprint for this borderless team. I think it's important because being able to be able to be. in a space where we're all together at the same time, instead of playing against each other, is like, I can't, I don't know if I have the right words to even explain the feelings that I've felt this whole weekend.

A lot of times you feel like you're not loved, and so being in this space and feeling like this just, I don't know, the hugs and the high fives and cheering for each other the entire time, it's huge. It means so much to Black Diaspora. Two more points for Black Diaspora as the Jam-in. Courtney, why was it important to you to include these other borderless teams in the documentary? It was just so important to show the impact that Indigenous Rising has,

not only for the teammates, but on the sport as a whole. Our creative crew of all-female crew traveled around with the team over a few years to three different tournaments and in their home lives. And it was important to show the different tournaments. And this one, No Borders Derby, was the first time they were having this tournament. And it was so special to be there and a different energy from the other tournaments because we had Indigenous Rising there, creating this tournament with Black Diaspora, Fuego Latino, and Jewish Roller Derby. You know, as you mentioned about Sour Cherry in that moment, being overcome with emotion, there was so much emotion that weekend.

There was happy tears and just those tears of just really feeling like they belonged. And it was this beautiful moment of connecting over shared stories, shared histories, shared experiences and really finding that excitement for how they can bring this to the greater roller derby world. And that's what's important about these borderless teams that they want the opportunity to have some tournaments that are just for those teams, but they want to play alongside all the other teams that are playing for countries, states, provinces. They belong in those spaces.

And that's what they're trying. That's what they're showing. Cherry, as we heard it in that clip, you know, Indigenous Rising is referred to, you know, as a team as a blueprint for other teams. What does it mean to you to hear that description? The first time I saw that, it was incredible. like watching her interview and speak the way she spoke about our team was it was very I was very proud and knowing that that's the way other people look at it to it's phenomenal it floors me that you know from an idea that somebody had that Mick and Jumpey had to have it to come to fruition and have its longevity the way it is and know that there's a future here. It's phenomenal that even other people see that. And that is so important. And it's exactly what we wrote

looking for, I guess. Courtney, it's such a physical sport, even a little bit violent. But there's also so much kindness and connection in it, too. Why was it important to show things like smudging ceremony and indigenous prayer, not just the jams and the slams. I mean, for Indigenous Rising, that's their truth. And this is how their teammates relate and create this space to connect to Roller Derby. And it's funny, I actually don't find Roller Derby a violent sport. I really think it's really just a very highly competitive sport, you know, on roller skates. It's interesting.

There is a moment in the film, like Hawaiian Blaze talks about like it's okay to show this aggression. I think it's important that women are allowed to act these ways and react these ways in a sport. And then I found that balance in the film by showing how the teammates connect. And doing a daily smudge for the team is very important. And it was an honor to be allowed to film these smudge ceremonies and to be asked to participate alongside the team as well. Anytime there's ceremony, it's always a discussion with, you know, with the the teammates with the participants, is this something that can be filmed? There's protocols, and that's important that the team had space that was private and just for them,

and there were certain elements that are for the world to see about Indigenous Rising. Now, you've both been attending screenings of the documentary. What's that been like? It's been incredible. People are really connecting with the stories of Indigenous Rising. and that sense of sometimes feeling isolated from community, culture, and identity. And that connection now to be represented in the mainstream. There's really excitement because I think many people out there right now are grappling with those issues in society and in the current political situation.

So it's been wonderful. And Sour Cherry had the chance to come to our Quebec premiere in Montreal at, RIDM, the Montreal documentary film fest. So Sauer Cherry went from seeing it on, you know, a laptop to being in the theater with audiences. And she had many questions asked her. So I'll let her chat about that. Yeah, Cherry, what was it like for you at those screenings?

It was kind of surreal, actually. You know, to watch audience reaction. Like, I've never seen myself up on a screen like that. It was kind of mind-blowing. but cool in the same time. But some of the questions, you know, touched. Like, there were simple questions, but then there were a few tough questions. And sometimes those are asking me where I'm going to, where would I be without roller derby?

I'm like, I don't know. Where would you be? Yeah. Sorry? Dead or in jail. Why do you say that? My life at the time when I started roller derby, when I founded the league, it wasn't in the most positive, it wasn't in the most positive mindset. Let's put it that way.

You know, the world was falling apart. And I'm like, you know what? I got to find an outlet. So rather than playing hockey or, you know, lacrosse I hadn't even heard of yet, believe it or not. Or any other sports for that fact, I'm like, you know what? let's try something different. Let's do something different. Let's put together something different.

So I did. And it was the best thing I ever did. Now, I understand you've had to take a break from playing because of various injuries. What do you miss about being on skates? Everything. I don't miss doing 100 laps, that's for sure. But, you know, I miss training. I miss coaching.

I miss being on the track, having that aggression, and, you know, I miss teaching people how to hit each other safely so that you don't get injured. I just, I miss all of it right now. And it's kind of frustrating just sitting back, waiting for surgery and waiting for my life to eventually move on. Well, thank you very much for sharing some of your story and your journey, Cherry. and Courtney, your journey with the documentary. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Sour Cherry, aka Sherry Bonkus, is an original member of the team Indigenous Rising.

Courtney Montour's documentary about the team is Rising Above the Fray. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca. slash podcasts.