This week on the Matriarch Movement Podcast, I sit down with my dear friend and powerhouse
creative, Chyana Marie Sage – an author, poet, journalist, model, and storyteller who is
redefining what it means to write from truth. Her debut memoir, Soft as Bones, has already
become a national bestseller, and for good reason. From growing up between the forests of B.C. and the north side of Edmonton to becoming the first Indigenous graduate of Columbia University’s MFA program in Creative Nonfiction, Chyana’s story is one of resilience, reclamation, and ancestral remembrance.

Rooted in Story and Source
Chyana invites readers to witness the complexities of family, love, and intergenerational trauma
through a lens of compassion and understanding. As she shares in our conversation, Soft as
Bones is not just a story about pain, it’s about the courage to face the darkness with grace.

“Bones are strong and fragile at the same time,” she says. “They can break,
but they also have the magical ability to heal and fuse together again – just
like us as Indigenous people.”

Through ceremony, writing, and cultural reclamation, Chyana found a way to humanize even the
most difficult parts of her past – including her father’s incarceration – and transform that pain into art and healing.

Ceremony as a Catalyst
In our conversation, Chyana shares how sweat lodge ceremonies, therapy, and storytelling
became sacred tools in her healing journey. She speaks about praying for her father for the first
time and realizing that forgiveness wasn’t about excusing harm, it was about releasing what no
longer served her.

“Ceremony taught me to look at my father as a human being, not just as the
monster in my story,” she reflects. “That shift allowed me to write with
compassion instead of anger.”

The Birth of Soft as Bones
Chyana began her book by interviewing her mother, sisters, and grandfather – weaving together
their memories like threads in a sweetgrass braid. Each chapter became an act of
remembrance and reclamation. Her writing process was nonlinear, guided by emotion rather
than chronology – a deeply Indigenous way of storytelling that honors both land and lineage.

“When we tell our stories, we’re never telling just one story,” she says.
“We’re telling the story of our families, our communities, our ancestors – and
the land that holds us.”

From Memoir to Movement
Beyond her book, Chyana is building the Soft as Bones Storytelling Foundation, which will
host the first-ever All-Indigenous Storytelling Festival in hopefully – 2026. The vision is
expansive – bringing together writers, dancers, designers, and creatives to celebrate Indigenous
storytelling in all its forms.

She also works with Indspire (Canada’s number one national Indigenous charity), as a
storyteller and content creator, continues to model for Indigenous designers, and is currently
writing both a novel and a short film – each blending realism with connection to Source.

Reclaiming Our Voices

In our discussion, Chyana reminds us that healing begins with finding our voice – even if it starts
as a whisper.

“You don’t have to share your hardest story right away,” she says.
“Sometimes it begins with just your name and your favorite colour.”

This episode is a powerful reflection on truth, transformation, and the beauty of Indigenous
storytelling as ceremony.

Listen Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube

Episode Title: How Writing ‘Soft as Bones’ Became a Journey of Intergenerational Healing
and Truth:
Available wherever you listen to podcasts – and don’t forget to grab a copy of Soft as Bones
by Chyana Marie Sage.
You can purchase directly from Indigenous book store “Massy Books”
here: https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/temoIPlhFAidq8S_8vUqOw/lists/LEVs-qHR3r9w/
Or from her publisher directly: https://houseofanansi.com/products/soft-as-
bones?srsltid=AfmBOor1LXXrkw7Ei2In3qtomob11pjLBhPoR_McLsYkjP-EAaceddEa

Follow Chyana on Instagram and tiktok @soft.as.bones
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@softasbones