Born into one world, stolen into another — Standing Bear’s journey back to himself is one of the most powerful stories you’ll ever hear.
Wayne “Standing Bear” Snellgrove is Saulteaux/Anishinaabe from Fishing Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada.
He was stolen at birth from his tribe and culture and placed into the Canadian foster care system — spending four years in an orphanage before being adopted by a white family — as a victim of what is now known as the Sixties Scoop.
An era in which Canadian child welfare authorities took Indigenous children from their families and communities for placement in foster homes and adoption by white families.
Standing Bear channelled his pain into sport, becoming a two-time USA National Swimming Champion — the only full-blood Native American ever to accomplish that feat, with numerous national records to his credit.
But championships couldn’t fill the void.
The water that carried him to victory was also carrying something deeper — a connection to the land, the spirit, and the people he hadn’t yet found.
In this deeply moving conversation, Standing Bear opens up about what it was like to grow up in foster care — the grief, the dislocation, the unnamed longing — and how the water became his sanctuary long before he understood why.
He also shares the music that lives inside him: picking up his flute, he plays melodies inspired by the birds and butterflies of his Saskatchewan homeland — a breathtaking moment of living ceremony.
He communicates directly with Spirit and interprets the messages he receives for all of us to use.
Under the mentorship of his Elder, Grandfather Tony StoneHawk of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation, Standing Bear walks the Red Road as a ceremony leader, fire keeper, and spiritual educator — grounded in the Seven Grandfather Teachings of humility, love, respect, bravery, honesty, wisdom, and truth.
As an Anishinaabe author and musician, he has collaborated on the We Are the Medicine album — a collection of Indigenous North American flute sounds, drums, and singing, created to bring medicine to the world through meditation, ceremony, and prayer.
He is also the author of four books, including the bestselling Daily Medicine — a spiritual prayer book containing 366 meditations focused on Indigenous healing and spirituality, meant to show us how to continue walking our path with love, honour, and clarity.
This is a conversation about identity, resilience, reconciliation, and the ancient wisdom that was always waiting to be reclaimed. Standing Bear doesn’t just talk about healing — he is healing, in real time, for all of us.
