Media Indigena : Weekly Indigenous Current Affairs Program

ON THIS EPISODE: Part seven of BFF: Beyond Fires and Floods, where we go beyond mainstream infatuation with crisis and catastrophe to instead dive deep into Indigenous climate narratives. Recorded at a 3-day gathering of nearly 40 journalists, scholars and experts last fall at UBC, "Reframing Fire & Forests" was day two's third session, encapsulated as follows: With extreme fire events monopolizing our attention in the daily news cycle, long-standing Indigenous-led practices of forest care, stewardship and prevention have only begun to make their way into public consciousness and policy. Yet as fires only intensify in an ever-changing climate, one might ask just how 'wild' wildfires are to begin with. Drawing on our discussion of acute events as sites or intersections of larger systems and institutions, panelists will discuss how they make sense of landscapes still reeling from colonialism, and the specific and profound challenges Indigenous communities face as they actively respond to, mitigate, and pla

ON THIS EPISODE: the sixth instalment of BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods—our extended series on Indigenous climate narratives—in which we bring you the back half of "Storying Systems vs. Symptoms," day two's second session. Returning for the remainder of this conversation, moderator Candis Callison picks things up with panelists Michelle Cyca, Tiara R Naputi, Jeffrey Ansloos, and Gina Starblanket. We also hear the thoughts of fellow BFF attendees Savannah Ridley, Stephanie Papik and Eriel Tchekwie Deranger. Learn more about BFF, including our core sponsors, at mediaindigena.com/BFF // CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic; 'Cloud Seven' by Joseph Sacco (CC-BY).  

ON THIS EPISODE: Part five of BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods, in which we bring you the first half of 'Storying Systems vs. Symptoms,' the second session of the second day of climate conversations we co-convened with dozens of Indigenous scholars, journalists and experts last October at the University of British Columbia. Moderated by long-time MEDIA INDIGENA roundtabler Candis Callison—a jointly-appointed Professor in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies at UBC—she was joined at the panel by Jeffrey Ansloos, Michelle Cyca, Tiara R Naputi, and  Gina Starblanket, which was described as follows: According to scholar Adam Hanieh, transforming our current climate trajectory means confronting 'the multiple logics of a social system that has served to center oil throughout all aspects of our lives, and we cannot extricate ourselves from oil's pervasiveness, certainly not at a pace necessary to halt runaway climate change, while remaining within this so

ON THIS EPISODE: BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods—part four, featuring the back half of "Storytellers Without Borders," the lead-off session on BFF's second day, where close to 40 scholars, journalists and experts gathered to discuss Indigenous climate narratives last November at UBC. Returning with their thoughts are panelists Tristan Ahtone, Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Deborah McGregor and Stephanie Wood, along with contributions by fellow BFF attendees Mark Trahant, Gina Starblanket, Cutcha Risling Baldy, and Eriel Tchekwie Deranger. ✪ BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods is sponsored by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Museum of Anthropology ✪ // CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic; 'Cloud Seven' by Joseph Sacco (CC-BY).

ON THIS EPISODE: part three of BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods! (And if this is your first encounter with our new series, you might want to start with BFF Part 0, i.e., episode 365, for best results.) Based on three days of conversations hosted at UBC last October, BFF brought together close to 40 scholars, journalists and experts who document and depict how Indigenous peoples contend with climate change.  In this instalment, "Storytellers Without Borders," the first in our second day's sessions, we discuss what and whom climate change stories currently serve—to what extent is what we're experiencing global change or continuity? As inheritors of a world wrought by centuries of extraction and colonialism, the deeply globalized structures and systems we now live in and with are the consequence of competing empires' efforts to terraform our territories. Yet so much of mainstream climate journalism is confined to nationalist narratives of technosaviourism, where petro-states promise a pivot to eco-states in hopes

ON THIS EPISODE: The back half of our live panel at the Great Hall of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, it was the only public portion of BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods, our 3-day gathering of journalists, scholars and experts focused on Indigenous narratives of climate change. Assembling four seasoned storytellers—Judi Kochon, Paul Seesequasis, Tanya Talaga, and Mark Trahant—they joined host/moderator Rick Harp to set the table for the other three-dozen voices who gathered that weekend back in October 2025. ✪ BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods is sponsored by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Museum of Anthropology ✪ // CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic; 'Cloud Seven' by Joseph Sacco (CC-BY).

On this episode, the formal kick-off to our extended series, Beyond Fires & Floods (BFF): Indigenous Narratives in an Era of Extremes, beginning with the first half of a panel recorded last October before a live audience in the Great Hall of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. The opening, public component of a 3-day gathering of journalists, scholars and others focused on Indigenous narratives of climate change, the panel assembled four seasoned storytellers embodying decades of experience, a wide-ranging conversation which served as a microcosm of the overall event—co-convened by MI host/producer Rick Harp and Candis Callison, UBC Professor and long-time MI roundtabler. ** GRATITUDE ** Special thanks to Mitiana Arbon, Pacific Curator at MOA—one of BFF's four core sponsors, alongside the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, and the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. // CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

ON THIS EPISODE: Part 0 of "Beyond Fires and Floods: Indigenous Narratives in an Era of Extremes." Otherwise known as "BFF," it's the name of a three-day gathering we co-convened last October on Musqueam Lands, home to the campus of UBC. Assembling close to 40 participants from media, academia and more, BFF fostered connections and conversations on Indigenous experiences and expertise with climate change.  An extensive set of dialogues to be released on MEDIA INDIGENA in the weeks and months to come, we thought we'd first ground it with an overview of BFF's origins, contents, and objectives. "We" meaning co-convenors Rick Harp (MI host/producer) and Candis Callison, UBC Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs, and, of course, long-time MI roundtabler. *** BFF: Beyond Fires & Floods is sponsored by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Museum

On this episode: the last of our five-part series on the seminar, "Sovereignty First: Tackling the White Possessive in an Era of 'Collaboration,'" where we jump into genomics, a realm rife with racialized thinking and practice according to population scientist and Princeton graduate anthropology student Noah Collins. Yet despite challenges to Indigenous-led research in terms of access to financial and human resources, Collins notes that hasn't stopped their projects from prioritizing community over commerce. Returning to the table with host/producer Rick Harp to discuss Collin's presentation in depth are Kim TallBear (Professor of American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota–Twin Cities) and Candis Callison (Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia). CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic; 'Magnetic' by 1000 Handz (CC BY).

ON THIS EPISODE: part four of 'the White Possessive,' the latest in our five-part series on the seminar, "Sovereignty First: Tackling the White Possessive in an Era of 'Collaboration.'" Based on a presentation about pretendianism by Kim TallBear (Professor of American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota–Twin Cities), she joins fellow MI roundtabler Candis Callison (Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia) and host/producer Rick Harp to discuss what makes settler self-indigenization—where colonial cosplay works to both emulate and eliminate the Indian—arguably the final frontier of white possessiveness. CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic; 'Slow Me Down' by Jangwa; 'Magnetic' by 1000 Handz (CC BY).

ON THIS EPISODE: part three of 'the White Possessive,' the latest in our five-part series on the seminar, "Sovereignty First: Tackling the White Possessive in an Era of 'Collaboration.'" This time around, the property in question is intellectual. Rooted in a talk by Olga Ulturgasheva (Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester), we digest and discuss her account of how unscrupulous colleagues misappropriated and misrepresented her personal stories and observations, a case study in what she calls "epistemological extractivism."  Returning to the roundtable with host/producer Rick Harp are MI regulars Kim TallBear (Professor of American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota–Twin Cities) and Candis Callison (Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC).  CREDITS: Our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic; 'Magnetic' by 1000 Handz (CC BY).

ON THIS EPISODE: Part two of 'the White Possessive.' And back in part one, we brought you the basics of this analytical framework as articulated by Aileen Moreton-Robinson, an analysis at the heart of the event, "Sovereignty First: Tackling the White Possessive in an Era of 'Collaboration.'" Featuring five presentations, the first was by none other than MI's Candis Callison (Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia), applying her lens as a media scholar. Here in our second engagement with the ways whiteness works to possess every last thing, we see how that possessiveness seemingly knows no bounds—right down to the extraction of our bodies' most minute material. Drawing on a presentation by Jennifer Brown (Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Alaska Native Studies at the University of Alaska-Southeast) on how that's played out in Alaska in some dubious public health research and reportage, host/producer

ON THIS EPISODE: Interrogating 'the white possessive.' And according to Indigenous scholar Aileen Moreton-Robinson, countries like Canada, Australia and the U.S. are best understood as 'white possessions'—possessions which take a great deal of work and resources to maintain, a relentless reproduction of "the nation-state's ownership, control and domination" over stolen Indigenous lands and waters. But, of course, the machinations of white possessiveness can also be less overt. Secure in their belief in a colonial status quo, states now promote Indigenous 'inclusion' within socioeconomic systems predicated on their dispossession and disappearance. Gestures at 'collaboration' that are more confabulation, a 'reconciliation' that's really about recuperation. The kind of contradictions discussed extensively at "Sovereignty First: Tackling the White Possessive in an Era of 'Collaboration'"—an October 2024 panel inspired by Moreton-Robinson's insights into whiteness, race and the state—a series of presentations we'

On this episode: the back half of the all-Indigenous panel MI host/producer Rick Harp moderated at “Reimagining Political Journalism: Perils, Possibilities & What Comes Next”—convened last November by Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication in Ottawa—in which the audience joins in with their thoughts and questions for our all-star panelists: Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia Veldon Coburn, faculty chair of McGill University’s Indigenous Relations Initiative and assistant professor at the Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies at the University of Ottawa Brett Forester, a reporter and broadcaster with CBC Indigenous in Ottawa Pam Palmater, podcaster, professor and chair of Indigenous Governance at Toronto Metropolitan University Niigaan Sinclair, media commentator, Faculty of Arts Professorship in Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics at

On this episode: Reimagining Political Journalism, the title of a three-day November 2024 event at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication in Ottawa, it included a formidable panel of Indigenous practitioners, moderated by MI’s own Rick Harp! Sub-titled “Perils, Possibilities & What Comes Next,” our all-Indigenous panel delved into all three over our 90-minute conversation—shared here as the first of two parts—a frank and freewheeling exchange on power, politics, and journalism in Canada, featuring: Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia Veldon Coburn, faculty chair of McGill University’s Indigenous Relations Initiative and assistant professor at the Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies at the University of Ottawa Brett Forester, a reporter and broadcaster with CBC Indigenous in Ottawa Pam Palmater, podcaster, professor and chair of I

On this week’s collected, connected conversations, our three-part pile of political pontifications concludes its campaign—as does our Summer 2024 Series as a whole—with a comparison of activism versus access: in the pursuit of mainstream political influence, is it better to be in the room or out on the streets? Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University • Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama • Michael Redhead Champagne, a Winnipeg-based community leader, helper, author, and public speaker • Lisa Monchalin, criminology lecturer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C. • Trina Roache, assistant professor of journalism at the University of King’s College • Brett Forester, Ottawa-based reporter with CBC Indigenous // CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'rye

On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the seventh in our eight-part summer series): the push and pull of performative politics, where we address the question of just how far Indigenous individuals can advance Indigenous interests in a settler-centric system. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University • Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama • Nick Martin, senior editor with National Geographic • Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia • Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment // CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/ari

On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the sixth in our summer series): a political perusal of the prerogatives of power. The first in our three-part look back at the allure and limits of mainstream political participation, we begin with a Trudeau triple-header, a Liberal dose of discussions about the only federal leader this podcast has ever known. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University • Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama • Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia • Kim TallBear, professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment // CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding

On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fifth in our summer series): the conclusion to our five-part retrospective, Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, wherein we feature a few more settler-centric solutions to settler-made problems, as well as examples of what truly independent Indigenous initiatives look like. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Naiomi Metallic, associate professor of law at Dalhousie University, and Yellowhead Institute advisory board member • Tim Thompson, First Nations education advocate, and Yellowhead Research Fellow and advisory board member • Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment • Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama • Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University • Terese Mailhot, author and associate professor of Engli

On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fourth in our summer series): part four of Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, ranging from the precarity of charity to the dubious duty to consult. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Michael Redhead Champagne, Winnipeg-based community leader, helper, author, and public speaker • Lisa Monchalin, criminology lecturer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C. • Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia • Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment • Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama • Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University // CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includ