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.