Bad Cree

Mackenzie thinks of herself as a “bad Cree.” She left her family in rural Alberta, Canada, stifled by their grief after the loss of her grandmother. A few years later, her sister Sabrina suddenly and tragically dies. Mackenzie does not return home for her funeral, and the guilt weighs heavily on her. She begins having recurring nightmares about Sabrina and being unable to save her. When she wakes, holding items from her dreams, including a crow’s bloody head, she knows there must be more to these dreams than she first thought. Johns’s supernatural debut combines Indigenous folklore with themes of family, grief, and healing, all set in a community whose land is scarred by the oil industry’s greed. Actor, producer, and narrator Tanis Parenteau, a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta (Cree), communicates Mackenzie’s varied emotions and provides distinct voices for multiple characters. Her performance imbues the conversations with the feel of an audio drama. Parenteau’s facility with the Cree language makes this a must-listen.