It’s a dilemma that confronts much of Indigenous media: with so much of our time spent working to counter, correct and contextualize mainstream misinformation, do we not risk becoming “This Week in Settler Colonialism”? Does routinely responding to routine violations of our lands and lives see us become all-consumed by what the State does and doesn’t do? How do we resist that pull of a Settler center of gravity, and stop merely critiquing, and start actually creating outside of its orbit?
Questions on our minds a lot these days as we begin a conversation on where else we might invest our attention and intentions, to build on our original mission as an Indigenous reality check on the misrepresentations of Settler-oriented media.
Joining host/producer Rick Harp this week are Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism, and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University.
CREDITS: This episode of the podcast was edited by Anya Zoledziowski; hosted and produced by Rick Harp. Our theme is nesting by birocratic.
Barely 3 days after the Liberals' return to power -- only this time, as a minority government -- we wonder what that could mean for Indigenous peoples going forward. Did Indigenous issues make a difference this election? Did Indigenous voters?
Joining us this week to tackle these questions and more are two members of the Yellowhead Institute, a First Nation-led research centre based in the Faculty of Arts at Ryerson University: Executive Director Hayden King as well as Research Fellow Vanessa Watts.
CREDITS: This episode was edited by Anya Zoledziowski; produced and hosted by Rick Harp. Special thanks to our friends at the Ryerson School of Journalism, whose support made this live event possible. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
It's been quite the week for the bottom-line of Canadian colonialism. First, a blunt assessment of what the lives of First Nations' kids are worth as the Liberals push to quash compensation for damage done by the child welfare system. Then, as part of an election scrum, a reporter casually suggests that covering the cost of access to safe, clean drinking water on-reserve amounts to writing a "blank cheque."
So how is it that resolving a basic necessity and a fundamental inequity can both be framed as, if not implausible, at least impractical for a so-called developed economy? What do we make of a mainstream mindset that bristles at the cost of making either of these situations right? And under such a colonial calculus, is it any wonder who ultimately pays the price? Joining host/producer Rick Harp this week to crunch the numbers are Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, and Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism.
CREDITS // This episode was edited by Anya Zoledziowski; our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
This week, grousing over Greta. Even though millions recently took to the streets as part of world-wide Climate Strikes, the media still seems to reserve most of its spotlight for the teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. And yet, not everyone’s a fan: from Maxime Bernier to Vladimir Putin, she seems to irk white cis male politicians in particular. But the idolatry of Thunberg has also received pushback from parts of Native Twitter, frustrated at how she seemingly gets all the accolades while Indigenous youth and youth of colour toil in relative obscurity.
On this week's live-audience edition of MEDIA INDIGENA—recorded in Edmonton as part of LitFest's 'Author Pods' event series—we get into these Greta grumbles as a springboard into a larger discussion about allyship, white saviourism and the pros and cons of personifying and celebrifying a people’s movement.
On stage with host/producer Rick Harp were Ken Williams, an assistant professor with the department of drama at the University of Alberta, and U of A associate professor of Native Studies, Kim TallBear.
// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
Who’da thunk it? For once, we at MEDIA INDIGENA are happy to be wrong—right out of the gate at the first leaders debate, Indigenous issues are on the radar of Canada’s federal election. But will they continue to enjoy that spotlight? And among those leaders who did take part in that first to-and-fro, who got it right and who got it left when it comes to 'Indigenous affairs'? Sharing their thoughts this week with host/producer Rick Harp are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism.
CREDITS:
Phone hangup SFX: https://freesound.org/s/189727/
Music: 'Cup of Wine,' by Ilya Truhanov from Fugue; 'nesting' by birocratic
This week: the not-so-amazing race to form Canada's next government! That’s right: it's federal election time from now until October 21. But will Indigenous interests factor much if at all into this election? We discuss the recent efforts by the Assembly of First Nations to make sure that happens. Joining host/producer Rick Harp at the roundtable are Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University and Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama.
// CREDITS: Music: 'nesting' by birocratic (theme), 'Cup of Wine' by Ilya Truhanov from Fugue. Phone hangup SFX: https://freesound.org/s/189727/
From the second it hit social media, the new ad campaign for the House of Dior’s so-called 'Sauvage' cologne kicked up a stink. In fact, as soon as Native Twitter got wind of the new video—starring the notorious Johnny Depp—the blowback was fast, furious and less than fragrant. In our return to all-new episodes, we try to make 'scents' of why Indian Country’s collective nose is so out of joint.
Back at the roundtable are Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism and Kim TallBear, Associate Professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.
// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic
On this week’s collected, connected conversations—the last in our Summer Series—the serious business of self-Indigenization. On its face, Indigenous identity would seem like it would be simple to understand who is and who isn’t First Nations, Inuit or Metis. That is, if you choose to look past the colonial elephant in the room. And yet, complicated and confusing as colonialism can make the identification process, it all comes down to knowing not only who claims which Nation or People—but which People or Nation claims them.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Writer, blogger and educator Cutcha Risling Baldy and Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker; Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and writer Terese Mailhot; CBC broadcaster and writer Waubgeshig Rice, and sports business columnist Jason Notte; Ken Williams, assistant professor, University of Alberta Department of Drama, and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University; Adam Gaudry, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Darryl Leroux, Associate Professor, Social Justice & Community Studies, Saint Mary’s University.
This podcast was edited and produced by Anya Zoledziowski and Rick Harp.
CREDITS: Creative Commons music in this episode includes the following works by Kevin MacLeod: "Awkward Meeting," "Upbeat Forever," "Western Streets," "The Show Must Be Go" and "Beauty Flow." It also includes "Heimweh" by Sascha Ende and "Crown" by Kuzzzo. Learn more about MacLeod and Ende at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io; Kuzzzo at Fugue. Our intro music comes courtesy of BenevolentBadger.com
On this week’s collected, connected conversations (number eight in our Summer Series): comprehending and combating Climate Change. And as our current crisis continues to heat up the planet, it’s also lit a fire under MEDIA INDIGENA. That’s partly because we know that climate change disproportionately impacts Indigenous peoples—despite Indigenous knowledges offering critical clues to how to help combat imminent climate disaster.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Russ Diabo, publisher/editor of the First Nations Strategic Bulletin; Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism, and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta; as well as Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta's department of drama.
This episode was produced and edited by Anya Zoledziowski and Rick Harp.
CREDITS // Creative Commons music in this episode includes the following works by Sascha Ende: "Mystery Of Dandela (instrumental)," "Flucht (Romeos Erbe)," “Image film 033,” "Chord Guitar 002" and "Dreamsphere 8." We also featured the track "Beauty Flow" by Kevin MacLeod. Hear more of both artists’ work at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io. Our intro music comes courtesy of BenevolentBadger.com
On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the seventh in our Summer Series): the other half of our two-part look at remaking the Indigenous family. Last episode, we got into the colonial principles of Settler family forms and norms. This episode, we lay out how they are applied in practice, with Indigenous people often on the receiving end. And if the expression “What you believe in, you budget” holds true here, it would seem the Canadian state has never been one to believe in either Indigenous children or their families.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance) Sarah de Leeuw, Research Associate with the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH); Kenn Richard, founder and former Executive Director, Native Child and Family Services of Toronto; Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, along with journalist and photographer Wawmeesh Hamilton; Indigenous homelessness researcher Jesse Thistle; and Ken Williams, assistant professor, University of Alberta's department of drama.
This episode was produced and edited by Rick Harp.
CREDITS // Creative Commons music in this episode includes works by Sascha Ende and Kevin MacLeod; learn more about their work at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io. We also featured songs by Stanislav Vdovin and Ilya Marfin; hear more by them on Fugue. Our intro music comes via BenevolentBadger.com.
On this episode’s collected, connected conversations (the sixth in this Summer Series): Part One of “Re-making the Indigenous Family.” Said to be among society’s most sacrosanct institutions, 'The Family' is a core site and source of social reproduction. But is the Settler family form the only way to organize human relations? Does it matter that this dominant, mainstream form differs from those of Indigenous peoples? The answers to these questions are critical, for they are at the heart of why Canada’s child and family welfare systems have failed Indigenous children and families. And yet, as you’ll hear in this episode, what is a failure to some is of benefit to others, on a truly massive scale.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker, and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta; Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism; Commentator and entrepreneur Robert Jago plus lawyer and international Indigenous rights advocate Danika Billie Littlechild.
CREDITS // Creative Commons music in this episode includes the track "Beauty Flow" by Kevin MacLeod. Learn more about MacLeod’s work at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io.
Our intro music comes via BenevolentBadger.com
This episode was produced and edited by Rick Harp.
On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fifth of our summertime shows): how core concepts of Christianity continue to inspire and infuse the laws, attitudes and actions of supposedly secular Settler states toward Indigenous peoples.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism; Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University; Lakota activist and communications professional Taté Walker.
This podcast was edited and produced by Anya Zoledziowski and Rick Harp.
CREDITS: Creative Commons music in this episode includes the following works by Kevin MacLeod: "Rising", "Mirage", "Space 1990," "Agnus Dei X", "Comfortable Mystery 2", "Dirt Rhodes", and "Beauty Flow." Learn more about the artist at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io. Our intro music comes via BenevolentBadger.com.
On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fourth in our Summer Series shows): reckoning with Reconciliation.
But what is 'Reconciliation'? How should it happen? Questions that arise time and time again on our podcast. Questions that are essential to confront for any Settler colonial state like Canada—or at least would be if Canada was serious about moving away from a foundation built upon Indigenous dispossession, disjuncture and dislocation.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Anishinaabe comedian, writer, media maker & community activator Ryan McMahon; Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama, and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University; Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism; and writer/educator Hayden King.
CREDITS: Creative Commons music in this episode includes the following works by Kevin MacLeod: "White Lotus," "Thinking Music," "Celebration," "The Way Out," "Private Reflection," "Unanswered Questions," and "Beauty Flow." Learn more about the artist at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io. Our intro music comes via BenevolentBadger.com.
This episode was edited and produced by Rick Harp.
On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the third in our Summer Series), we head to the lab to put Science under the microscope. From archaeology to genetics to the ethics of biological research, Indigenous people are commonly subjects of study. Studies that often get us wrong or worse, just flat-out deny the worth of our own forms of inquiry and knowledge.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism; plus, Lakota activist and communications professional Taté Walker.
CREDITS: Creative Commons music in this episode includes the following works by Kevin MacLeod: "Magic Scout Cottages", "On the Ground", “With a Creation,” and "Beauty Flow." Learn more about the artist at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io. Our intro music comes via BenevolentBadger.com.
This episode was edited and produced by Rick Harp.
This week’s collected, connected conversations, the second in our Summer Series, feature a focus on the media. From blatant double-standards, to persistent narratives of First Nations ‘failure,’ to victim-blaming, Canadian media has long misrepresented Indigenous peoples, which is why we've so often reported on the reporters.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism; Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University; Michael Redhead Champagne, community organizer; author and journalist Waubgeshig Rice and writer/educator Hayden King.
This episode was edited and produced by Rick Harp.
CREDITS: Creative Commons music in this episode includes the following works by Kevin MacLeod: "New Direction" "Heartbreaking," “Crowd Hammer,” "Come Play with Me", "Amazing Plan: Distressed", and "Beauty Flow." Learn more about the artist at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io. Our intro music comes via BenevolentBadger.com
Given how all of our Summer Series shows dig deep into our archives, perhaps it’s only fitting that our first episode of the season explores history and heroes. Although, as you’ll hear, what constitutes the latter is certainly in the eye of the beholder.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): Kisha Supernant, anthropological archaeologist and associate professor at the University of Alberta; Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University; Lakota activist and communications professional Taté Walker and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta; Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism.
This episode was edited and produced by Rick Harp.
CREDITS: Creative Commons music in this episode includes the following works by Kevin MacLeod: "Wholesome," "Inspired," "Fluidscape" and "Beauty Flow" as well as "Sleepers" by Sascha Ende. Learn more about both artists at incompetech.com and filmmusic.io. Our intro music comes courtesy of Benevolent Badger.
THIS WEEK: Vetting the V-word. 'Victims' and 'victimhood'—it's controversial conceptual territory for many, and depending on your vantage point, distressing for different reasons.
In this, our third and final look at reactions stirred up by the report of the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, we get into when the word works for us or potentially works against us, a larger conversation prompted in part by this comment from Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew: "I have no interest in my sons seeing themselves as the victims or survivors of genocide."
// This episode was edited by Anya Zoledziowski. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
What’s in a word? Well, when that word is "genocide" and you’re part of Canada’s mostly-white, mostly-male commentariat, nothing, apparently. And if you’re like the Prime Minister, the word supposedly matters much less than the vague actions we should focus on going forward.
In part two of our extended look at the report of the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, we examine the steaming pile of hot takes that have come in its wake, including those of Settler media makers who've been at great pains to declare that 'Canadian genocide' is just not a thing, and that using the G word somehow threatens Canada's international reputation.
// This episode was edited by Anya Zoledziowski. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
This episode, we discuss reaction to the final report of Canada's National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This week marks the official release of that report, just days after details of a leaked copy were circulated by the media.
But did publishing that "unauthorized document" compromise the core messages of the report? More importantly, did it risk further traumatizing families and friends of the murdered and missing?
Joining host/producer Rick Harp to discuss these questions and more are Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama, and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University.
// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
This week: State of Alienation. It was a country that didn’t even exist 120 years ago. Yet, today, authorities in Australia are convinced they’re somehow justified in declaring certain Indigenous people to be illegal 'aliens,' individuals the state feels it has the right to kick off the continent despite their connection to cultures which have occupied that continent for tens of thousands of years.
Joining host/producer Rick Harp back at the roundtable this week are Candis Callison, Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies at Princeton University and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.
// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
THIS WEEK: Raising (and removing) red flags in Saskatchewan. A small Prairie village suddenly finds itself at the centre of a storm after one of its residents publicly displays flags long associated with hate. Now a First Nations man is being investigated by police after taking it upon himself to take down those symbols.
Joining host/producer Rick Harp back at the roundtable this week are Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, and Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama.
// Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
THIS WEEK: Earth’s bio-diversity death spiral—can we change course? A new United Nations study paints a dark picture of the future, a future pretty much guaranteed if we as a planet continue to follow a path of economic, political and ecological auto-asphyxiation. We discuss why some feel our greatest hope lies in the collective example set by many Indigenous peoples.
Joining host/producer Rick Harp this week are Candis Callison, Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies at Princeton University, and Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama.
// This episode was edited by Anya Zoledziowski. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
This week: How a lake in the States lost its Indigenous name, re-gained it, only to potentially lose it again because of a Minnesota court decision. Join us as we dive into the details of the Dakota waters known as Bde Maka Ska (aka Lake Calhoun). Sitting with host/producer Rick Harp at the roundtable this week are Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.
// // This episode was edited by Anya Zoledziowski. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.