MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

THIS WEEK: 'Chapter 2' of The Anti-Indigenous Handbook. A look into the "constellation of corporations, special interest organizations, politicians, lobbyists, and hate groups work[ing] to limit or eliminate… [Indigenous] self-determination," the ' Handbook ' gathers together reports from the US, Canada and Australia. In part one of our sit-down with two of its contributors, we discussed Guåhan (a...

The Anti-Indigenous Handbook : A collective effort spanning three countries, this ' Handbook ' is the joint product of four media outlets: the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network , The Guardian Australia , High Country News , and The Texas Observer . And though each case embodies anti-Indigeneity in its own particular way, what they have in common are concerted, systematic efforts to "undermine...

Settler panic in the Atlantic. Why do opponents of a new Mi'kmaq fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia speak as if it's illegal when it has the support of a 21-year-old Supreme Court ruling? Why do they persist with arguments that the fishery could endanger the stock when not even 10 licenses are involved—an iota compared to the millions of pounds caught by the industry every year? And what might th...

This week: Indigenous Gender and Sexuality Studies. A subject at the center of a talk delivered this past March by Dr. Jennifer Nez Denetdale, Professor of American Studies at the University of New Mexico, and the author of Reclaiming Diné History: The Legacies of Navajo Chief Manuelito and Juanita . Historic figures with a direct connection to Denetdale, as their great-great-great-granddaughter....

On this week's collected, connected conversations (the last of our summer-long series), we bring you part two of our resource resistance retrospective. Yet, as part one revealed, these issues are hardly historical. Indeed, it was only six months ago that the Royal Canadian Militarized Police—in full riot gear and armed to the teeth—raided Wet'suwet'en activist camps for the second time in as many...

This week's collected, connected conversations (the seventh in our summer-long series) make up the first part of a double-episode look at resource resistance , inspired by a struggle too big to ignore , one punctuated by striking video of back-to-back raids by militarized police against small Indigenous encampments in what's now known as interior British Columbia. Yet these dramatic events of 2019...

On this episode's collected, connected conversations (the sixth in our summer-long series): we get down with data and tight with tech, tackling topics that range from social media to social services. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta • Ken Williams, assistant professor, Un...

On this episode's collected, connected conversations (the fifth in our summer-long series): navigating the harms and hopes associated with drugs. From alcohol to opioids, taxes to testing, you could say we've explored our fair share of substances on this show. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the...

On this week's collage of collected, connected conversations (the fourth in our summer series): appropriation and authenticity. The second half of our extended foray into the arts, our topics range from tacky souvenirs to the endless parade of Settlers pining to play Indian, as we question the images of Indigenous people: who gets to make and profit by them, as well as what is and isn't considered...

On this week's collected, connected conversations (the third in our summer series), the arts take centre stage. A stage so wide, it'll take two acts to cover it all. For our first act, we look at representation and misrepresentation, be it on-screen, on stage, or on the page. From gatekeepers to white fragility, it ain't easy trying to be Indigenous in this industry. Featured voices this podcast i...

In our second summer series collection of connected conversations: a checkup on the state of Indigenous health. A thorough examination of how the Canadian health system can all too often operate against Indigenous well-being via ill-considered policies and practices. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Mary Jane McCallum, professor of history at University of Winnipeg...

Once again this year, we at MEDIA INDIGENA have dug deep into our archives to bring you a summer-long series of collected, connected conversations, on a variety of topics: from drugs to data, the arts to activism. We begin with a subject some argue has always been at the heart of the Canadian project: genocide . Once dismissed outright as an object of any serious consideration in this country, the...

THIS WEEK: A systemic look at media. It's the second half of our extended conversation with our very own Candis Callison and Mary Lynn Young, co-authors of Reckoning: Journalism's Limits and Possibilities. Published by Oxford University Press, it's the work of former practitioners in the field who now study and teach the craft at the University of British Columbia's School of Journalism, Writing a...

On this episode: part one of our extended conversation on the limits and possibilities of journalism. And these days, we hear little about the latter, a lot about the former—even before COVID-19 took its toll on the industry. Some blame media companies' downfall on the digital: the interwebs and smartphones shredding the business model of now-obsolete oligopolies. And yet, it's not all cause for t...

THIS WEEK: NAISA INDIGENA. And just who or what is a "NAISA"? It's the Native American Indigenous Studies Association. Or as they put it, a "professional organization for scholars, graduate students, independent researchers, and community members interested in all aspects of Indigenous Studies." Many of whom gather every year to share and discuss their scholarship. And this year, that included us!...

THIS WEEK: Food and environmental justice. Topics at the heart of a talk given back in February by Dr. Priscilla Settee, Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, and Adjunct Professor for the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba. A global educator and activist from Cumberland House Swampy Cree First Nations with a keen interest in Indigenous food sove...

THIS WEEK: The 'Looting' of America. As if a pandemic wasn't enough to contend with, disturbing video came out on social media this week of blatant police brutality against a black resident of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, video that has sparked outrage in streets across the US. Outrage met with tear gas, smoke bombs and rubber bullets. Meanwhile, as can happen in such highly-charged, volatile si...

On this week's episode: "Indigenous Knowledge and Heavens," the title of a talk delivered earlier this year by Inuk scholar, Dr. Karla Jessen Williamson . An Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations at the University of Saskatchewan, the Greenland-born academic is the first Inuk to be tenured at a Canadian university. Following Williamson's lecture—the fourth in the 2019/20 Weweni Indigenous...

THIS WEEK: Weapons and exceptions. The Liberal government's recently-announced ban on 1500 types of assault weapons is not going over well with certain gun owners. Could the exemption for, among others, Indigenous hunters make them a target? We cover which weapons the ban covers, and whether Canada always walks its talk concerning violence. Joining host/producer Rick Harp at the roundtable once ag...

THIS WEEK: 21st century voting, 19th century colonialism. An Ontario First Nation feels frustrated by the fact that, just weeks away from its June election, it still hasn't got the green light from Indigenous Services Canada to hold their own vote under their own rules. Rules that include on-line voting, a system they say is critical amid concerns of COVID-19. Joining host/producer Rick Harp to di...

THIS WEEK: Butter blowback. With next to no fanfare, the makers of Land O' Lakes butter have stripped their packaging of a decades-old iconic Indian maiden. Prompting pouts a-plenty from some Settlers who found the switch distasteful—a butter backlash that spread across social media. But, no surprise, #NativeTwitter was more than ready with a flurry of counter-memes. Joining host/producer Rick Har...

Patient privacy, public protection: they can feel at odds in this era of coronavirus. And yet, when it comes to the impacts of the virus on black and brown people, some say there's not enough information being captured and communicated. But could knowing who is infected risk stigma in turn? Tackling these thorny questions and more with host/producer Rick Harp this week are Candis Callison, Associa...

THIS WEEK: Corona commiseration. It's the topic on everyone's mind, all the time —which itself can be a challenge, for us included. Inundated with infection information, how much might be too much for our mental health? It's a real question: with so many media already covering Covid-19, should we? Joining host/producer Rick Harp to share their thoughts on exactly that and more are Ken Williams, as...

THIS WEEK: Post-secondary plunder. Cornell, MIT, Rutgers — can you guess what these prestigious U.S. centers of higher learning have in common? Well, together with scores of schools just like them, they all owe their existence and persistence to the systematic theft of Indigenous lands. Dating back to the late 1800s, this heartless campaign of dispossession has just been documented in agonizing de...

After hosting back-to-back episodes of special guest appearances concerning COVID-19, this time we re-connect with two of our regular roundtablers, both to see how they're faring in this new era of "the rona" and which virus-related stories and developments they think will especially impact Indigenous people and communities. Back at the table with host/producer Rick Harp are Ken Williams, assistan...