MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

On this week’s round table—the last all-new episode before our summer series launches—the second half of our special live on location look at Indigenous-led genomics. Recorded at the Global Indigenous Leadership in Genomics Symposium at UBC back in May, part one brought us the basics of genomics, how it differs from genetics, and how Indigenous genomics compare to those of the mainstream. This time around, we hear from SING Australia's Amanda Richards-Satour (Adnyamathanha and Barngarla Community Engagement Coordinator with the Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics) and SING Aotearoa's Phillip Wilcox (associate professor of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago.  Also on hand, MI regulars Kim TallBear (University of Alberta Native Studies professor, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience and Society, and SING Canada co-founder) and Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC. 📄 TRANSCRIPT: https://mediaindigena.com/why-indigenous-led-genomics-matters-part-ii-ep-349/ ♥ Renewed gratitude to UBC's School for Public Policy and Global Affairs, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, and SING Canada, for making this event possible. 🖒 ☆ 100% Indigenous owned + operated, our podcast is 100% audience-funded. Learn how you can support our work to help keep our content free for everyone. ☆ // CREDITS: ‘Frequency Unknown’ by Aldous Ichnite (CC BY); our intro/xtro music is ‘nesting’ by Birocratic. 

What is genomics? In what ways might Indigenous genomics differ from its mainstream counterpart? And why is it important they be Indigenous-led? Answers to those questions and more on this special edition of MEDIA INDIGENA, recorded live on location at the Global Indigenous Leadership in Genomics Symposium, hosted this past May at the University of British Columbia. Joining Rick Harp for the first half of this two-part conversation were MI regular (and SING Canada co-founder) Kim TallBear, as well as Warren Cardinal-McTeague, UBC Assistant Professor of Forest and Conservation Sciences and SING faculty member. Much gratitude to UBC's School for Public Policy and Global Affairs, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, and SING Canada, for making this event possible. 📄 TRANSCRIPT: https://mediaindigena.com/why-indigenous-led-genomics-matters-part-i-ep-348/ // CREDITS: 'Yacht Commander' by Midnight Commando (CC BY 4.0); our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week: our return to the realm of IZ, the personification of critical Indigenous studies as imagined by MEDIA INDIGENA regular Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor of Native Studies), a character she embodied in her keynote at “Of the Land and Water: Indigenous Sexualities, Genders and Ways of Being,” hosted earlier this year in Whitehorse by the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. And in this back half of the adventures of IZ (missed the first half? catch it here), we hear her thoughts about a pair of close encounters: the first, “IZ Speaks Back,” a virtual date with a tiny troop of technophiles hoping to hear some extraterrestrial intel ; the other, “IZ Confesses,” a slick if surreal soirée celebrating racial diversity in science. Making space once again for Kim’s other worldly explorations, host/producer Rick Harp along with audio producer and MI editor, Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas. CREDITS: ♬ ‘Futuristic Sci-fi Arpeggio,’ ‘Nebula Soundscape’ and ‘Space Journey Through Nebulae and Galaxy’ by UNIVERSFIELD (CC BY-SA 4.0); ‘Shit September’ by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY 4.0); ‘Your Choice’ by Audio Hero via ZapSplat.com; ‘at the whale game’ by Jean Toba (CC BY-SA 4.0); our program intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

In this back half of our longer-than-expected mini INDIGENA, host/producer Rick Harp picks up where he left off (drinking deeply of coffee, commodity fetishism and character actor Wallace Shawn) with Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor in the Faculty of Native Studies and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience and Society) and Candis Callison (UBC Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs), as they discuss: Two men swapped at birth—one Indigenous, one not—receive apology from province a Dutch designer's appropriation of a Navajo word as her company's name sparks fashion flap a B.C. politico decries advisory on provincial website noting that many Indigenous peoples "may not identify with" the term 'British Columbians' CREDITS: ♬ 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0). Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.

Exploring Indigenous involvement in the coffee trade, the podcast discusses the economic challenges faced by indigenous coffee farmers and the ethical implications of commodity-based commerce. It delves into the complexities of ownership dynamics, the concept of commodity fetishism, and the controversies surrounding an Indigenous-operated Starbucks store in Canada.

This week: building upon last episode's commanding talk by MI's own Kim TallBear, in which she highlighted the insatiable settler drive to consume all things Indigenous—including so-called ‘identity’ claims staked by individuals—host/producer Rick Harp discusses her insights with fellow roundtable regulars Ken Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama) and Brock Pitawanakwat (associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University), a conversation peppered with a rundown of just the latest litany of colonial cosplayers making headlines. CREDITS: 'An Autumn' by BIIANSU (via Zapsplat.com); our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.

On this week’s program: a plethora of pretendianism! So much, in fact, it’s going to take two whole episodes to fit it all in. And here in part one, we take our deepest dive yet into the ultimate underpinnings of pretendianism—the political imperatives of whiteness.  Driving the insatiable settler urge to possess every last thing, fueling the desire to assume and consume imagined Indigenous 'identities.' Indeed, such self-serving self-Indigenization is very much a byproduct of the colonial imagination, a contorted construct which privileges the individual over the collective, the racial over the relational, and possession over peoplehood.  So says podcast regular Kim TallBear, who, by the end of this episode, so thoroughly unpacks the problematic formulation and foundation of so-called Indigenous "identity"—a hyper-individualized right to resources invoked in isolation from those it performatively pantomimes—you may never want to use the term again. A talk she delivered last month in Ottawa, it took place at a two-day symposium convened by the Wabano Centre—an Indigenous Centre for Excellence in Health Service based in the national capital region. One of four core presenters at the event, Kim shared the stage with Drew Hayden Taylor, Brenda Macdougall and Pam Palmater, with MI's Rick Harp as emcee/moderator for the event. CREDITS: 'One more day in orbit' by Aldous Ichnite (CC BY); 'Horror background atmosphere for horror and mystical' by Universfield (CC BY); 'Goshen's Lonely' by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY). Our intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week: 'Close Encounters of the Colonial Kind,' the title of a talk given by our very own Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor of Native Studies) at “Of the Land and Water: Indigenous Sexualities, Genders and Ways of Being,” hosted earlier this year in Whitehorse, YK by the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. Although rooted in her by-now familiar terrains of sexuality and science, Kim’s monologue was a bit of a departure from what we’re used to here on the podcast: delivered in the fictionalized voice of ‘IZ,’ she’s the personification of an Indigenous-driven movement of ‘unapologetic intellectual promiscuity,’ or what IZ herself calls “critical polydisciplinamorous engagement.”  An adaptation of her 2023 Substack post / 2021 essay by the same name, Kim’s keynote so aroused our curiosity we had to have her flesh out the body of thought behind it. In the first of this two-part discussion, she walks MI host/producer Rick Harp and MI audio editor Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas through ‘IZ Speaks Back’ and ‘IZ Confesses,’ which together make up the first half of her talk. CREDITS: ♬ 'A Moment' by Mr Smith (CC BY 4.0); 'Cryin' in my Beer' by Jason Shaw (CC BY 4.0); 'As Time Passes' (via ZapSplat.com); a sample of 'Staying’s Worse Than Leaving' by Sunny Sweeney; our program intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. SFX: 'Deep Space Vibrations Ambience Loop' by rhodesmas; 'Ambient space 4' by DylanTheFish.

The podcast explores the implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling on Indigenous child welfare laws, questioning whether it truly enhances self-determination or maintains the status quo. Guests analyze the strengths and gaps of Bill C-92, emphasizing the need for true Indigenous leadership and more resources. They discuss challenges in implementation, jurisdiction, and coordination of services, highlighting the ongoing issues faced by Indigenous children in provincial child welfare systems. The episode concludes with reflections on the ruling's impact and a promise of future discussions.

Discussing the redesign of Minnesota's state flag with indigenous elements, the controversy, and the importance of asserting indigenous perspectives. Exploring symbolism in state flags, indigenous identity, and the complexities of representing indigenous peoples in the context of settler colonialism.