The Origin Story Project

Natural Born Tellers and The Origin Story Project Team are very grateful for the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and our private funders.

The Natural Born Tellers’ Origin Story Project, will explore how oral traditions can be a conduit for the transfer of culture to increase resilience and define an empowering identity within Canada’s African diaspora.

In 2020, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported that social, economic, and political factors shape the conditions in which individuals grow, live, work, and age, and are vitally important for health and wellbeing. Inequalities in these conditions can lead to inequalities in health. When these inequalities are systematic, unfair and avoidable, they can be considered inequitable. It concluded that Anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination are key drivers of health inequalities faced by diverse Black Canadian communities.

This project will explore how storytelling can be used to build resilience and identity within communities to counteract the effects of these inequalities and health challenges.

Identity, Resilience & the Epigenetic Link

In his book, Between the Listening and the Telling, author Mark Yaconelli illustrates the connection between storytelling, identity, and resilience.

He points out that storytelling is the path to community identity and renewal. That in past times, storytelling was our source of identity, connecting us to all fundamental aspects of life. That ‘we use story to trace our wounds, to express our identity, to plot our trajectory, to unearth our collective trauma.’

Activist Adrienne Maree Brown, suggests that although many Black people feel trapped within a world imagined by the dominant culture, ‘one of the ways people get free is by telling a different story, a story based on the particular truths of what they have lived’. Furthermore, research has shown that the accumulation of stories and the relationships and interactions in which these stories are communicated, results in individuals with the strongest sense of self and inner resiliency.

Epigenetics is a relatively new area of research which has challenged previous beliefs about the ‘Nature vs Nurture debate’. In literal terms, epigenetics is DNA (genetics) and the environment around it (epi). 

Serene Thin Elk of the Yankton Sioux Tribe says that epigenetics explains how things experienced by past generations can activate physical and psychological responses within our DNA today. This happens because of markers and imprints that are made on our DNA due to the environment experienced by our ancestors. Entire generations of African people were disrupted from their kinship systems, which we now know informs identity. In order for us to thrive and heal from trauma that earlier generations did not have the space or time to address, we must build systems and processes that will lead to desirable outcomes. 

We believe that The Origin Story Project will meet this need!

Be a Part of the Origin Story Project

“Nothing about me, without me!”

One main and consistent thread throughout the project will involve the use of Michael Quinn Patton’s Utilization-Focused Evaluation (U-FE). This is program evaluation that is done for and with specific primary intended users, for specific, intended uses. In other words, the people that we are doing this work for, such as Black community members, community and library programmers, will be involved at each stage of the process. This will allow us to determine if we are on the right track throughout, and give us the opportunity to course correct along the way.


U-FE has evolved since 1978 to its latest evolution in 2022, to highlight the role of utilization-focused evaluation in addressing issues of equity and sustainability in the context of social justice change.

This is why your participation is essential!

We would like to connect with storytellers of all levels, community animators, communities, families and individuals to develop and test all components of this initiative. If you are interested, please reach out to us at info@naturalborntellers.org.

Meet Our Amazing Team!

Debra Baptiste

Executive Director & Founder

For three years, Debra curated and produced the world’s second oldest storytelling festival, the Toronto International Storytelling Festival as Festival Director. From 2021 to 2024, Debra was Executive Director for Storytelling Toronto.

In 2022, Debra created the Professional Standards for Professional Storytellers Project (PSCSP). She curated and facilitated collaboration among community stakeholders nationwide to generate a comprehensive toolkit for the benefit of all professional Canadian storytellers.

Debra sees the profound potential that culturally attuned storytelling could have in fortifying marginalized communities and has conceived The Story Origin Project to answer the call.

Dr. Moyo Rainos Mutumba

Traditional Story-keeper

Moyo is interested in understanding mindsets and structures of Othering as well as embodied responses to challenging Othering. Born into a family of Indigenous wisdom keepers and decolonization movement actors, Moyo grew up learning about the possibilities of community work and decolonial practice as it relates to Black lives. Since coming to Turtle Island in 2001, he has been active in advocating for Black and Indigenous liberation. He has worked as a frontline practitioner in harm reduction services for home-deprived Black and Indigenous communities and as a counselor (primarily with BIPOC 2SLGBTAQ).

Moyo founded Ubuntu Learning Village (www.ubuntu) in 2012 in Gutu, Zimbabwe. In 2018, Moyo co-foun/ded Ubuntu Free School (UFS), an Ubuntu-centred community-based learning space for children located at Ubuntu Learning Village. At UFS, Moyo does teacher-education, pedagogy, and curriculum development.

Additionally, Moyo is the Co-founder, Co-Director, and Consultant of Bloom Consulting where he supports leaders in facilitating strategic organizational change to create and sustain cultures of belonging and social change.

Kesha Christie

Professional Storyteller

Kesha connects people and culture through African and Caribbean Folktales, Aesop fables, and original stories.

She is the founder of Talkin’ Tales and the producer of the annual ‘Resilient Rhythms’ storytelling event which celebrates African oral culture through storytelling, spoken word and poetry in Ajax, Ontario. She has also served on the executive on the board of Storytellers of Canada.

Zoya Shepherd

Digital Consultant

Zoya is motivated by the imminent needs of the Caribbean to move towards more inclusive futures, and has developed research focused design of more inclusive educational resources.

Zoya founded her design shop Studio44 in 2022. She was for many years, one of the top art directors at Harper Collins, charged with spearheading strategy and production of cover designs, brand campaigns, and marketing material for Harlequin books. She is a graduate of OCAD University, where she specialized in Inclusive Design.

Nikkie To

Digital Consultant

She is passionate about the power of community-centred initiatives and strives to reimagine responsive strategies that promote access, equity, and inclusion for the full spectrum of human experiences. In her practice, she is committed to creating a positive impact in the design of physical and digital platforms, products, and services through the use of participatory action research and design.

Prior projects include developing Sensory Design Guidelines for children’s treatment centres, designing multi-sensory experiences that support persons with sensory disabilities, and delivering workshops to design accessible learning materials for STEM subjects.

Tokunbo Awe

Community Facilitator

Fluent in English and Yoruba, Tokunbo has a Diploma in Social Service Worker and a Certificate in Indigenous Peoples as well as extensive educational knowledge on anti-oppressive practices, anti-black racism, and cultural diversity awareness and competence.

With over ten years of experience in program development and implementation, community engagement, and client relationship management, she has successfully established and fostered relationships with diverse community partner groups and co-facilitated and provided support for youth programs that engage diverse groups of youths and amplify their strengths, such as an intergenerational program that bridged the gap between youth and seniors.

Dr. Rita Cox

Senior Advisor

She was awarded the Order of Canada for storytelling, and her legacy extends to her role as a leader in Caribbean and Black communities. A library collection, park and school (Dr. Rita Cox – Kina Minagok Public School) are named after Cox in Toronto.

Dr. Cox was a founding member of the National Association of Black Storytellers and Caribanna, on the board of the Ontario Arts Council and the Storytellers School of Toronto, and co-founder of The Cumbayah Festival of Black Heritage and Storytelling. She has represented Canada as a storyteller and librarian on the national and international stage.