Media Indigena : Weekly Indigenous Current Affairs Program

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This week—Attention 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.