02/16/2026
🎬 Today on Good Medicine with film producer Jesse Bochner… we’re stepping into the wild — into stories carried on wings, hooves, and river currents.�
His latest project, Animal Nation, is a seven-part documentary series that reimagines nature storytelling. Instead of admiring wildlife from afar, it centers the relationship between Indigenous communities and iconic keystone animals — bear 🐻, eagle 🦅, salmon 🐟, wolf 🐺, caribou 🦌, beaver 🦫, and bison 🦬 — exploring not only what these animals do within an ecosystem, but what they teach us about reciprocity, responsibility, and repair.�
The series weaves Indigenous knowledge, traditional ecological understanding, and Western science together through a two-eyed seeing approach — not competing truths, but interwoven perspectives. Voices long excluded from scientific conversations are brought back into the circle. While it speaks honestly about environmental realities, it refuses to dwell in doom and gloom. Instead, it highlights people taking meaningful steps forward. 🌱�
Through filming, Jesse found himself waist-deep in salmon runs, offering to***co to a caribou, helping relocate a beaver, and witnessing moments so powerful they dissolved the distance between filmmaker and land. He speaks about respectful storytelling — earning trust, entering homes and sacred spaces with clarity of intention, because real life carries real impacts.� ✨
Jesse encourages young storytellers to be brave. Take the leap of faith. Even a mountain can be crossed one step at a time. �
Catch Animal Nation on APTN Thursdays, with versions in French and Mohawk. Learn more at Two Ducks Media online.�
Storytelling, Jesse reminds us, can be good medicine … and sometimes, so can a simple peanut butter & jelly sandwich 🥪.�
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/northernnative/jessebochner_soundcloud?si=9bfa78c4457144e9b9d67817216d899c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
