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MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

Current affairs roundtable focusing on Indigenous issues and events in Canada and beyond. Hosted by Rick Harp.
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MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs
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Now displaying: 2017
Jul 2, 2017

This week, is the state of Indigenous health care plagued by governmental ill will? Some might think so in Alberta, where a pair of provincial employees were punted for a racist text message about a First Nations school principal. Meanwhile, in Ottawa, the political battle over health care inequity for on-reserve kids continues as the feds announce they want parts of a human rights ruling quashed. Joining us this week with their diagnoses of what might be at the root of both situations are two physicians. Dr. Lisa Richardson is a clinician-educator with the University of Toronto's division of general internal medicine. Dr. Jason Pennington is a staff surgeon at Scarborough General Hospital and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. Together, they serve as co-Leads for Indigenous Health Education with the U of T’s Office of Indigenous Medical Education. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Jun 25, 2017

This week... When words fail: Especially when one hears about the enormous equity gap in federal funding between French and Inuit languages in Nunavut. Plus... Putting us on the map—literally. Google announces that users of its Maps app will now get to see thousands more Indigenous communities. But will that hide as much as it reveals?
 
Back again at the roundtable are Karyn Pugliese, APTN's Executive Director of News and Current Affairs, plus Lisa Girbav, a radio broadcaster and student from the Tsimshian territory.

Jun 18, 2017

This week: why things aren't okay in Thunder Bay. In the wake of two more Indigenous teens found dead in this northwestern Ontario city’s waterways, their home First Nations are sounding alarm bells, but local police maintain there is no crisis. And WTF is a MOU, and why should we care? We unpack the recent signing of a joint memorandum of understanding between the Canadian government and the Assembly of First Nations. Back again are Karyn Pugliese, APTN's Executive Director of News and Current Affairs with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Lisa Girbav, a radio broadcaster from the Tsimshian territory and a student at UBC. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Jun 10, 2017

This week: Questioning curious carriages of justice in Canadian courts. Questions like, how is it that a victim of a brutal assault in Alberta not only gets locked up in remand against her will but was made to testify cuffed and chained?! And how did an Inuk grandmother from Labrador end up in an all-men’s prison for opposing a controversial hydroelectric mega-project? Returning to the roundtable are Karyn Pugliese, APTN Executive Director of News and Current Affairs, and Lisa Girbav, a radio broadcaster from the Tsimshian territory and a student at UBC. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Jun 3, 2017

This week... outrageous outfits: A group of Alberta students host a controversial "Cowboys & Indians" costume graduation party. Plus, rough ride: a northern Manitoba man says he was unfairly ejected from a Greyhound bus5 hours from homeafter his diabetes-related symptoms were mistakenly thought to be signs of drunkenness. Joining us this week are Karyn Pugliese, Executive Director of News and Current Affairs with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, and Lisa Girbav, a radio broadcaster from the Tsimshian territory and a student at the University of British Columbia. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

May 29, 2017

This week, an extended conversation with two of the people behind 'Unsettling Canada 150.' Planned for the exact same date as Canada Day—July 1—this national, Indigenous-led day of action will serve as a counter-action to the multi-million dollar, orgiastic commemoration of the country’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. A joint initiative of the movements known as Idle No More and Defenders of the Land, 'Unsettling Canada 150' will feature a series of events in the weeks leading up to July 1st. Our guests are Janice Makokis, legal scholar and First Nations advisor, and First Nations policy analyst Russ Diabo. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

May 22, 2017

On this week’s roundtable: sensationalizing suicide? We recount the critiques of 13 Reasons Why, the Netflix teen drama that's sparked controversy for centering the suicide of one of its characters. And shaking off Shakespeare: amid the recent kerfuffle over cultural appropriation, we’ll discuss why one Ontario school board has booted the Bard in favour of Indigenous authors. Joining us at our roundtable are Jessica Deer, a staff reporter with the Eastern Door newspaper in Kahnawake, and, in Phoenix, Arizona, Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker.

 

May 14, 2017

This week, a breakdown of the BC election, the result of which is still up in the air, leaving Indigenous peoples with all sorts of questions. Questions like which would be better or worse for their interests, a Liberals/Greens coalition or NDP/Greens? How much Indigenous issues factored into this election, or how much Indigenous voters did? And how did Indigenous candidates fare? Our roundtable welcomes two BC-based journalists, Angela Sterritt of CBC Vancouver and CBC Indigenous, and Wawmeesh Hamilton, who works for CBC and Discourse Media. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

May 7, 2017

This week, an extended interview with James Daschuk, author of Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life. The award-winning book is a harrowing, historical account of Canada's original Aboriginal policyre-location via starvation.

In this conversation, originally recorded in 2014, Daschuk discusses his investigation into the roles that disease, climate and politics played in the deaths and subjugation of thousands of Aboriginal people in the late 1800s, an era when Canada’s first prime ministerJohn A. Macdonaldrelentlessly pursued his so-called 'National Dream.' A pursuit that coincided with the often nightmarish existence of first peoples on the Plains. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Apr 29, 2017

THIS WEEK: We delve into an Indigenous woman's 30-year-plus court battle to regain her Indian Status, a battle that just resulted in victory in Ontario. But will Lynn Gehl's win against the sexism of Canada's Indian Status system endure? If so, what could it mean for thousands just like her? We then look at Bill S-3, a bill that, like Gehl's case, deals with gender discrimination in the Indian Act but, like most federal fixes in this area, only seems to exacerbate the problem it was meant to solve. Joining us again are scholar Pam Palmater and author Paul Seesequasis. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Apr 22, 2017

This week: Transportation Troubles. In Saskatchewan, a recent government budget announced the shutdown of the STC, a provincial bus service that critics say is a lifeline for rural communities and reserves. Meanwhile in Manitoba, a First Nations owned airline was stunned to learn that it too could have its wings clipped after news that the province will end its support for a local airport. Returning to the roundtable to discuss the implications of these cuts are academic Pam Palmater and writer Paul Seesequasis.

Apr 15, 2017

This week, a double dive into recent moves by Health Canada: first, its decision to fund the cost of a travel companion for pregnant Indigenous women who give birth outside their community; second, is social media an effective way for the department to connect to Indigenous kids in need of medical care? Sharing their diagnoses are scholar Pam Palmater and writer Paul Seesequasis. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Apr 8, 2017

THIS WEEK / Colonial Editorial: Why people like ex-TRC head Murray Sinclair are outraged by a Globe and Mail op-ed rejecting the idea that South Africa's experience with oppression parallels that of Canada’s. Is the Globe guilty of whitesplaining? / Third-party Mis-management: a federal Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs continues to hear whether the practice of forcing First Nations to rely on outside managers to run their communities can somehow be improved. The kind of question that kind of answers itself. Joining the roundtable are: Pam Palmater, the Chair in Indigenous Governance with the department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University, along with writer and journalist Paul Seesequasis. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Apr 3, 2017

On this week's Indigenous roundtable, we examine mainstream Canadian media and reconciliation. When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its nearly 100 Calls to Action back in late 2015, the fourth estate was among the institutions encouraged to take up those calls. It's been well over a year: what action has been taken? What has that meant for how stories about Indigenous people get told? To what extent have national media managed to overcome their legacy as channels of Canadian colonialism? And how do individual Indigenous journalists navigate the needs and vantage points of news outlets serving a predominantly non-Indigenous audience? Joining us this week to discuss these questions are Waubgeshig Rice, author and video-journalist with CBC News Ottawa, and Hayden King, an assistant professor with Carleton University’s School of Public Policy & Administration.

Mar 25, 2017

On this week's roundtable: Federal foot-dragging. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered feds to stop underfunding child welfare on-reserve back in 2016. So why has it still yet to happen? And, Departmental dysfunction: a recent news report describes a section of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada as a "deeply troubled, if not toxic, work environment." But is it a localized infection or a rot that's more wide-spread? Danika Billie Littlechild and Robert Jago return.

Mar 18, 2017

On this week's Indigenous roundtable: Do growing calls for tougher laws deliberately target some more than others? A look at the apparent push to increasingly criminalize Aboriginal behaviour by non-Aboriginal interests. Plus, how a disproportionate number of Indigenous people throughout Canada struggle with severe food insecurity. Returning to the roundtable are Danika Billie Littlechild and Robert Jago. // Our theme is nesting by birocratic.

Mar 11, 2017

This weekAttention Status Indian men: do you have sperm to spare? Some women on Craigslist are hoping you'll consider making what might be called a liquid transaction. And proudly unpatriotic: a Native student at an Oklahoma high school is reprimanded for refusing to pledge allegiance to the United States.

Joining us once again are entrepreneur and commentator Robert Jago and lawyer and international advocate Danika Billie Littlechild.

// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Mar 5, 2017

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 by 2020. And in fact some have been lifted, only to see other communities join the list. In the face of this glacial pace, has hope for real change from the Liberals pretty much evaporated?

Joining us this month for the first time are Montreal-based entrepreneur and commentator Robert Jago and Danika Billie Littlechild, a lawyer and international advocate based in Maskwacis, Alberta.

Feb 25, 2017

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 hard life made only worse now that he's been charged with the recent killing of a Winnipeg transit driver. Joining us once again: scholar Brock Pitawanakwat and journalist Wawmeesh Hamilton. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Feb 20, 2017

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 NDP government thinks the party has abandoned Aboriginal people like him—will his pitch for a new party see Indigenous issues get more attention, or just more marginalized?

Returning to the roundtable once again are Brock Pitawanakwat, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Wawmeesh Hamilton, a journalist and photographer based in Vancouver.

//Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Feb 11, 2017

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 roundtable once again are Brock Pitawanakwat, assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Wawmeesh Hamilton, a Vancouver-based journalist and photographer. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Feb 3, 2017

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 Alberni, BC—what do you do when a road where you live is named after a dead white supremacist? According to a majority of city council, apparently nothing at all.

Joining us are Brock Pitawanakwat, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Wawmeesh Hamilton, a Vancouver-based journalist and photographer.

Jan 28, 2017

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 benevolencean 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 federal suicide prevention funds went nowhere. But how could such a 'charity case' approach possibly work for the dozens of other communities in similar straits? Back again are criminologist Lisa Monchalin and youth advocate Michael Redhead Champagne. // Our theme is 'nesting,' by birocratic.

Jan 23, 2017

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.

Jan 14, 2017

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 investigations.

Joining us once again are criminologist Lisa Monchalin and youth advocate Michael Redhead Champagne.

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