Media Indigena : Weekly Indigenous Current Affairs Program

This week, we get an update on the inquest into a series of young First Nation fatalities in northwestern Ontario, where seven Indigenous students have died over a 10 year period in the city of Thunder Bay. Our guest is Jody Porter, a local CBC journalist who's covered this story for years, including regular updates from the inquest. // Our theme is "nesting" by Birocratic.

This week we take a long look at a provocative poll recently published by the Washington Post about their home town pro football club, the "Redskins." The paper claims the results supposedly show "how few ordinary Indians have been persuaded by a national movement to change the football team’s moniker." Not surprisingly, team owner Daniel Snyder immediately celebrated the findings, but critics claim the poll should be punted for its shaky methodology and the way it ignores how a racial slur like the R-word diminishes Indigenous self-esteem as well as poisons mainstream attitudes toward Native peoples. Our guests this week are Jason Notte, a sports business columnist for MarketWatch.com, as well as Ottawa-based journalist and author Waubgeshig Rice. // Our theme is "nesting" by Birocratic.

Recently, Canadian energy giant Enbridge announced it was prepared to boost the Aboriginal stake in their Northern Gateway project up to 33 per cent. Mired in controversy pretty much from the get-go, that includes how it seems to have seeded tension among Indigenous peoples, dividing them into pro- and anti-pipeline camps. But will Enbridge's new offer be enough to win more Indigenous support? Sharing his thoughts: Merle Alexander, a partner and specialist in Aboriginal Law with the law firm Gowlings WLG in Vancouver. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

This week on the program: the ever-growing economic footprint of Indigenous peoples. A recent report out of Atlantic Canada suggests Aboriginal spending benefits the region significantly, to the tune of $1.14 billion annually. But it's actually a trend across the country. Joining us with her insights into these numbers is Maureen Googoo, owner-editor of Kukukwes.com, a site dedicated to covering Indigenous news in eastern Canada. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Adopted by most countries back in 2007, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) faced but a handful of holdouts: the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Flash forward to last week, when a senior Canadian politician said his government was developing a so-called "Canadian definition" of at least some portions of UNDRIP, including the bedrock notion of free, prior and informed Indigenous consent. Helping us to decipher what that could mean going forward is Hayden King, Director of the Centre for Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.  

This week on the program, making sense of Manitoba's Election. As a province with one of Canada's largest proportions of Aboriginal people, it's worth asking what the end of the NDP's 17-year run in favour of the Progressive Conservatives could mean to Indigenous interests going forward. Sharing his thoughts is long-time journalist Trevor Greyeyes, editor of the First Nations Voice newspaper. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

The remote Ontario community of Attawapiskat is but one example of a First Nation caught in the grips of a devastating suicide epidemic. This week, professor of psychiatry Amy Bombay joins us to explore the bigger picture and difficult histories underlying these all-too-common issues facing reserves across Canada. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Just how much attention have Indigenous issues been getting from the front-runners in the US presidential primaries thus far? Simon Moya-Smith of Indian Country Today fills us in. Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

"An ongoing medical crisis." According to doctors serving First Nations west of James Bay, that is the current state of Aboriginal health for the northern Ontario region. Dr. James Makokis is a Cree family doctor based in Alberta who also teaches at Yellowhead Tribal College and the Universities of Alberta and Toronto. He shares his perspective on the health care challenges and barriers facing Indigenous communities right across Canada. Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Some call it "historic." Its authors say it's "unprecedented." But what does Budget 2016 really offer Indigenous peoples in Canada? We asked Cindy Blackstock—executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and an associate professor at the University of Alberta—to help us break it down. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

A United Nations expert review committee recently reported on how well Canada has treated Indigenous peoples under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Constitutional law researcher and professor Karen Busby outlines some of the issues flagged by the committee. Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Russ Diabo, publisher/editor of the First Nations Strategic Bulletin, joins MEDIA INDIGENA's Rick Harp to discuss what, if anything, came out of a recent meeting on climate change between leaders of three national Aboriginal organizations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers.   Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.