Has there been a media "witch-hunt" of Wab Kinew? A high-profile supporter has sounded a resounding 'yes.' But does the critique imply some Indigenous women are part of the pile-on? Multiple choice, singularly stupid: A BC parent is outraged after her 14-year old is assigned a test asking students to select the correct slur for an Aboriginal woman. Fashion fabrication: Yet another non-Indigenous designer stands accused of inappropriate appropriation. We’ll hear how Versace vexes the critics and share an example of how to design right.

Returning to the roundtable are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week... Kinew Conundrum: will old assault charges against the new leader of Manitoba’s New Democratic Party divide the Indigenous community? TB Plea: HIV/AIDS advocate Stephen Lewis issues a passionate call for the feds to step up their response to tuberculosis among Inuit. Unhappy Anniversary: a recent national magazine article suggests that, one year on, the missing and murdered women’s inquiry is imploding.

Returning are Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama and Brock Pitawanakwat, assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury.

Fight of the Freedmen: Has a court victory for the descendants of ex-slaves of the Cherokee guaranteed the return of their citizenship? Casting controversy: Why Adam Beach wants other Aboriginal actors to boycott a new television series. Out of Print: why it looks very much like there’s no tomorrow for Indian Country Today.

Joining host/producer Rick Harp are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker.

// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week's Indigenous roundtable gets up close and personal with the people behind the show. As long-time listeners know, we at the podcast have brought you a wealth of voices on a variety of topics, week after week. But, as of this very episode, we’re pleased to announce a shift to a more permanent roster: joining host/producer Rick Harp are Brock Pitawanakwat, Ken Williams, Kim Tallbear and Taté Walker.

So, exactly who are these people? And if they’re gonna be roundtable regulars, shouldn’t we know a bit more about them first? Answering those questions is what this episode is all about. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Double the fun or double trouble? Seemingly out of nowhere, the federal Liberals have decided to re-arrange the political furniture as part of a late summer shuffle of their Cabinet. What is now Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada will be cleaved in two—in future, First Nations will have to deal with the department of "Crown-Indigenous relations and Northern Affairs" and the department of "Indigenous Services." But will INAC be cleaved so much as cloned? What does this ostensible re-org actually, concretely mean? In light of this unexpected shift, we’re doing a shift of our own this week to go as deep as possible on exactly these questions with special guests Russ Diabo, a Kahnawake Mohawk analyst, writer and activist, and Peter Di Gangi, a land rights researcher and analyst with Sicani Research.

// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Ottawa gets a new, Indigenous-only courtroom, but does the evidence support the move? Why critics say electronic welfare cards are being used to police the behaviour of recipients in Australia. How Iqaluit’s new beer and wine store hopes to keep a damper on drinking by customers. Rounding out this week’s Indigenous roundtable are host/producer Rick Harp along with the University of Alberta's Kim TallBear (Native Studies) and Ken Williams (Drama). // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week... Why Indigenous people totally relate to recent violence over icons of intolerance in Charlottesville, Virginia; we get into Guam, a strategic US island colony that found itself smack dab in the middle of nuclear brinkmanship with North Korea; and, Inuk singer Tanya Tagaq adds her voice to calls for the Edmonton Eskimos to change their team’s name. Returning to the roundtable are Lakota activist/communicator Taté Walker, and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.

This week's Indigenous roundtable: a new study seems to solidify the link between homelessness and contact with the child welfare system; new data reveals a disproportionate number of Indigenous deaths due to overdose in British Columbia; and, with the big Santa Fe Indian Art market around the corner, we discuss its approach to the perennial debate over "authentic" Indigenous art. Joining us are Lakota activist and communications professional Taté Walker and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week: Starvation, experimentation, segregation and trauma—to Mary Jane McCallum, these four words are critical concepts for any student of Indigenous health history. And she should know: a full professor of history at the University of Winnipeg, McCallum has studied and written about the subject extensively, including a recent article for The Canadian Historical Review. With a title that bears those four same words, McCallum’s piece discusses how these phenomena factor into every encounter of Indigenous people with mainstream health care systems, policies and research practices, and thus continue to racialize and colonize Aboriginal people. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week... the conclusion to our conversation with the authors of the recent article, "White Settler Revisionism and Making Métis Everywhere: The Evocation of Métissage in Québec and Nova Scotia." Scholars Adam Gaudry (Native Studies & Political Science, University of Alberta) and Darryl Leroux (Sociology & Atlantic Canada studies, Saint Mary’s University) return to discuss why this urge of some Settlers to 'play Métis' is a fantasy that could prove fatal to the rights of all Indigenous peoples in Canada. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week… the first in a two-part conversation that confronts the confusion and contention around what it means to be Métis. In their new article, "White Settler Revisionism and Making Métis Everywhere: The Evocation of Métissage in Québec and Nova Scotia." Co-authors Adam Gaudry (University of Alberta) and Darryl Leroux (Saint Mary’s University) argue that moves by some settler communities to insert a "Métis" identity into places and periods they don’t belong—namely, outside the Prairie homelands of the historic Métis Nation—all in an effort to "self-Indigenize," don’t just constitute wrong-headed fantasy, but a real and present danger to genuine Indigenous self-determination. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week… a bit of a mid-summer break from our regular format as we take a deep dive into the fiscal infrastructure of colonialism in Canada. As technocratic as that sounds, our guest expertly deciphers how boring bureaucracy can enable inhumane inequity. Our guide on this journey is Shiri Pasternak, Assistant Professor in Criminology at Ryerson University, and the author of a 5-part series entitled, “Resistance 150: Unsettling Canada’s Hidden Economic Apartheid.” It appears on Ricochet.media, a digital news outlet dedicated to public interest journalism. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week... tempest in a teepee: Indigenous people fight to set up a ceremonial camp on Parliament Hill for Canada Day. Did their actions shine a light on the controversy over Canada 150—or simply stoke the flames of a backlash? We also explore how a press conference meant to educate reporters on why that teepee went up seemingly mutated into a media lecture on how Indigenous people ought to conduct themselves.

At the roundtable this week are Kenneth Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama, plus Lakota activist and communications professional Taté Walker.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 bus—5 hours from home—after 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 policy—re-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 minister—John A. Macdonald—relentlessly 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.

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.

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.

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.