MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

On this week's Indigenous roundtable: fire and water. A new investigation into the overall state of First Nations fire prevention and protection in Canada paints an abysmal picture. But with no shortage of suggested solutions, the real question is why they have yet to be implemented. And, a drop in the bucket: it's one of Trudeau's biggest promises to First Nations—an end to boil water advisories...

This week, two troubling stories of Indigenous institutionalization. The first comes to us from an Ontario jail where 9 out of 10 inmates are Aboriginal—and 10 out of 10 reportedly face challenges of a mental, cognitive or addictive nature. The second features numbers no less startling: one young First Nations man, 18 years in the foster care system, put in and pulled out of 73 different homes! A...

On this week's Indigenous roundtable… Success for Survivors : Despite attempts by both the Harper Conservatives and the Trudeau Liberals to keep former adoptees out of Ontario courts, not only was their Sixties Scoop class-action suit heard, they won. What could it mean for similar suits in other jurisdictions? And, Putting our peoples first : a one-time deputy premier under Manitoba's previous ND...

This week, it's Women on the Watchlist: why were rallies in support of an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls on the radar of Canada's national security apparatus? 
Plus, 

Inherited Issues: Rival claims to hereditary leadership in BC have ended up in a non-Indigenous court. Is this the ultimate in irony or just the logical outcome of outside interference? Back at the roun...

On this week's Indigenous roundtable: Make room for men—we try to decipher recent revelations that the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls will examine "ways in which the testimonies and stories of men and boys might be collected," sparking fears that it risks de-centering the voices and perspectives of those it was set up to serve. And: Street fight in Port Alber...

This week, we discuss a western Canadian premier's racializing of the contentious issue of night-time moose hunting: could his hyperbole put Aboriginal people in the cross-hairs? And, the ambivalence of benevolence — an anonymous donor has pledged almost $400,000 to support a First Nation reeling after two 12-year-old girls took their own lives, seven months after the community's request for feder...

This week, a look at the legacy of the late Arthur Manuel, whose vision of Indigenous rights was uncompromising. We also discuss a National Observer report suggesting that the Canadian government is backtracking on its pledge to be more transparent about its legal positions vis-à-vis Aboriginal and treaty rights. Our roundtable welcomes back Lisa Monchalin and Michael Redhead Champagne.

On this week's roundtable: the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Some 4 months after its official launch, critics question its progress to date ahead of its November 2018 deadline. And, on-reserve rape kits: Health Canada gets called out for not moving quicker on a request from northern Ontario First Nations trying to take action on sexual assault investigation...

On this week's Indigenous roundtable: a northern Ontario outfit that rents huts to ice-fishers is in hot water after an ad on Kijiji tells Status Indians to stay away! Plus, Canada 150: a century and a half after the country's creation, what exactly do Aboriginal peoples have to celebrate? Joining the MEDIA INDIGENA roundtable this month are Lisa Monchalin , author of The Colonial Problem: An Indi...

On this week's Indigenous roundtable, we look back and ahead—what were the trends and themes that defined this past year for Indigenous peoples, and what might the next 12 months bring? According to our roundtable, 2016 was a breakout year for empowering Indigenous media artistry and activism. It also ended with a bang, as heated discussions about identity fraud re-ignited after new revelations ab...

This week's podcast, a kind of holiday edition , features an interview Rick conducted back in 2011 with Ryerson University professor Christopher Powell about his then-new book, " Barbaric Civilization: A Critical Sociology of Genocide ," published by McGill-Queen's University Press. The interview appears courtesy of NCI-FM, where it first aired.

On this week's Indigenous roundtable... Jennifer Lawrence's 'sorry' butt: the Hunger Games star has apologized after social media slammed her conduct at a sacred site in Hawai'i but critics say her mealy-mouthed words of so-called contrition only made things worse. And Cherokee choose change: a senior legal official with the tribe reverses a 9-year-old ban on same-sex marriage. We'll look into wha...

On this week's roundtable... Return to the Rock: last episode, the future of the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline project seemed uncertain, with many opponents fearing the worst. Then on Sunday, to the surprise of many, the Army announced it would not permit construction to proceed. But will the company behind the pipeline listen? And, L ooming land grab? We'll discuss a Reuters report sug...

On this week's Indigenous roundtable... Where do things stand with Standing Rock? The struggle in North Dakota against the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline continues to face constant pressure from federal and state authorities. With winter weather only adding to the challenges, how much longer can these thousands of activists hold out? P lus, Pixar Polynesian: the Disney-owned studio's n...

On this week's program... The all-too-brown face of child poverty in British Columbia: a new report details the frustratingly familiar reasons why and what to do, but will governments act? Plus, the bigger picture underlying why educators on a northern First Nation have walked out over wages at a reserve high school. Returning this week to our roundtable, Ken Williams, playwright-in-residence at t...

On this week's show... invalidation in Val d'Or : Why have three-dozen Aboriginal accusations of police abuse in this Quebec town come up empty? Plus, smudge grudge: a BC parent is suing her children's school because she claims it forced them to take part in a religious Indigenous ceremony. Joining us at this week's roundtable are Ken Williams, playwright-in-residence at the University of Saskatch...

On this week's program: Trump triumph ... what could the election of this outrageously racist man mean for Indigenous peoples in the US and beyond? And, another First Nation goes to pot . That is, if the Siksika in Alberta get their way, as Canada's first Indigenous purveyors of medical marijuana. Joining us once again at the roundtable are Ken Williams and Patrice Mousseau.   // Our theme is 'nes...

On this week's Indigenous roundtable… Triggering Tension: non-Aboriginal hunters in Manitoba are upset after an Indigenous leader made no bones about bagging a bull in a no-kill zone; and, Sticker Shock: an Alberta trucker sets off a social media tsunami due to a giant decal on his rig that reads "one squaw too many." Joining us this week are two new roundtablers: from Saskatoon, Ken Williams, pla...

This week's Indigenous current affairs roundtable discusses the controversial, much-criticized, Muskrat Falls hydro project in Labrador: has an 11th-hour negotiation addressed the critics' concerns? And the Public Health Agency of Canada has shone a spotlight on the issue of family violence in its annual report, including how it impacts Indigenous families. Joining us once again on this week's rou...

This week on our Indigenous current affairs roundtable: is Alberta all wet when it comes to Indigenous water rights? A recent story in the Globe and Mail suggests the province's view may be skewed when it comes to whose rights take priority. Plus, a First Nation in British Columbia says it wants to administer drug tests to all its politicians and employees as a way to combat drug abuse. Will it wo...

This week, our Indigenous current affairs roundtable unpacks recent revelations that, despite federal bureaucrats saying the cupboard for First Nations education funding was full, the Liberals deliberately chose to delay a large chunk of it until after the next election. And, we'll share our thoughts on an alarming report out of BC that shows First Nations kids in custody suffer alarming rates of...

Ottawa's police force is taking some heat after one of its own appears to have posted racist comments on a local newspaper's website. The commentary followed a story about the tragic and untimely death of acclaimed Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook. The police are investigating, calling her death "suspicious," but won't get into specifics. Meanwhile, members of Ottawa's Indigenous community are outrage...

A First Nation that only seems to get the spotlight when bad things happen is once again in the headlines: Shamattawa. Literally left devastated last week after a major fire destroyed key services and infrastructure — including the reserve's only grocery store — it's all the more worrisome when you consider the northeastern Manitoba community is only accessible by plane or boat most of the year. T...

For the third time in 9 months, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ordered the federal government to end its discriminatory practice of inequitably funding child welfare services on-reserve. The Tribunal's initial ruling happened in January, the result of a 2007 human rights complaint. But despite Indigenous Affairs Canada being told to "immediately remove the most discriminatory aspects of [i...

According to The Guardian , it's a discovery that "challenges the accepted history behind one of polar exploration's deepest mysteries." This week, 168 years after it sank, a ship once captained by the famous British explorer Sir John Franklin seems to have finally been found. Known as the HMS Terror, it was one of two large crafts used by the ill-fated Franklin expedition, now the stuff of legend...