MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

On this week’s collage of collected, connected conversations (the fourth in our summer series): appropriation and authenticity. The second half of our extended foray into the arts, our topics range from tacky souvenirs to the endless parade of Settlers pining to play Indian, as we question the images of Indigenous people: who gets to make and profit by them, as well as what is and isn’t considered ‘authentic.’ Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta's Department of Drama • Brock Pitawanakwat, York University Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies • Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta • Taté Walker, Lakota activist and communications professional // CREDITS: This episode was produced and edited by Stephanie Wood and Rick Harp. Creative Commons music in this episode includes “Headway,” by Kai Engel, “Startup nation” by Anonymous 420, “On the Run” by ROZKOL, “Dead From The Beginning Alive Till The End,” by Doctor Turtle, Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts by LG17, plus “Home Base Groove and “Quasi_Motion” by Kevin Macleod.

On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the third in our summer series), the arts take centre stage. A stage so wide, it’ll take two acts to cover it all. For our first act, we look at representation and misrepresentation, be it on-screen, on stage, or on the page. From gatekeepers to white fragility, it ain’t easy trying to be Indigenous in this industry. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Cutcha Risling Baldy, Assistant Professor and Department Chair of Native American Studies at Humboldt State University. • Candis Callison, Associate Professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism • Kim TallBear, Associate Professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta • Brock Pitawanakwat, York University Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies • Ken Williams, University of Alberta Assistant Professor of Drama • Taté Walker, Lakota activist and communications professional • Jessica Ka'nhehsí:io Deer, a Kanien'kehá:ka journalist at CBC Indigenous // CREDITS: This episode was produced and edited by Stephanie Wood and Rick Harp. Creative Commons music in this episode includes “Headway,” by Kai Engel, L'Etoile danse (Pt. 1) by Meydän, Jolenta Clears The Table by Doctor Turtle, “New Years Day” by Breath Before the Plunge, “Love” by Steve Combs, and “Lost_Forever” by Little Glass Men.

In our second summer series collection of connected conversations: a checkup on the state of Indigenous health. A thorough examination of how the Canadian health system can all too often operate against Indigenous well-being via ill-considered policies and practices. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Mary Jane McCallum, professor of history at University of Winnipeg • Dr. James Makokis, a Cree physician based in Alberta • Dr. Lisa Richardson, clinician-educator, University of Toronto division of general internal medicine; joint strategic lead in Indigenous Health, U of T Faculty of Medicine • Dr. Jason Pennington, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto; Scarborough General Hospital staff surgeon; joint strategic lead in Indigenous Health, U of T Faculty of Medicine • Colleen Simard, writer/designer/filmmaker • Conrad Prince, child health and welfare advocate • Pam Palmater, Chair in Indigenous Governance, Ryerson University’s department of Politics and Public Administration • writer/journalist Paul Seesequasis • Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University • Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama. • Amy Bombay, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University • Danika Billie Littlechild, lawyer and international Indigenous rights advocate • Robert Jago, writer/entrepreneur // CREDITS: This episode was produced and edited by Stephanie Wood and Rick Harp. Creative Commons tracks in this episode include “Headway” and “Interception” by Kai Engel, “Isolated” by Kevin MacLeod, “Carnival” and “There are Places” by smallertide, “Comadreamers I” by Haunted Me, “Chalet” by Meydän, plus “A Perceptible Shift” and “A Human Being” by Andy G. Cohen.

Once again this year, we at MEDIA INDIGENA have dug deep into our archives to bring you a summer-long series of collected, connected conversations, on a variety of topics: from drugs to data, the arts to activism. We begin with a subject some argue has always been at the heart of the Canadian project: genocide. Once dismissed outright as an object of any serious consideration in this country, there is today a compelling case to be made that Canada's past and present actions merit the label of genocide. Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance): • Ryerson University professor Chris Powell, author of Barbaric Civilizations: A Critical Sociology of Genocide • Historian James Daschuk, author of Clearing the Plains: Disease, the Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life • Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous studies at York University • Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama. • Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC • Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment // CREDITS: This episode was produced and edited by Stephanie Wood and Rick Harp. Creative Commons music in this episode includes the tracks “Headway,” and “Evermore” by Kai Engel. Other tracks were “A Vital Piece of Music for All Your Soundtrack Needs,” by Steve Combs and “Dark Room,” by XTaKeRuX.

THIS WEEK: A systemic look at media. It’s the second half of our extended conversation with our very own Candis Callison and Mary Lynn Young, co-authors of Reckoning: Journalism’s Limits and Possibilities. Published by Oxford University Press, it’s the work of former practitioners in the field who now study and teach the craft at the University of British Columbia’s School of Journalism, Writing and Media. In part one of our discussion, we covered what kind of tool journalism is, and how the field tends to idealize itself, seemingly unaware of its continual performance of white masculinity. Here in part two, we get into what Callison and Young refer to as ”systems journalism,” an approach that moves storytellers away from a disinterested, objective 'view from nowhere' to a greater self-awareness about the murky, often choppy waters of identities and interests they themselves swim in. It's a call for journalism to work harder to make more visible and legible the social, economic, political, even biological structures that order all of our lives. // MUSIC: Our theme is ‘nesting’ by birocratic. Other music this episode: “Backed Vibes Clean” by Kevin MacLeod. Hear more of their work at incompetech.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

On this episode: part one of our extended conversation on the limits and possibilities of journalism. And these days, we hear little about the latter, a lot about the former—even before COVID-19 took its toll on the industry. Some blame media companies’ downfall on the digital: the interwebs and smartphones shredding the business model of now-obsolete oligopolies. And yet, it’s not all cause for techno-driven doom and gloom. In fact, there are those who believe digital might actually be a doorway to better journalism, especially for those audiences legacy outlets have failed to reach, much less represent. Among the hopeful: Candis Callison and Mary Lynn Young, Associate Professors at UBC's School of Journalism, Writing and Media and the co-authors of Reckoning: Journalism’s Limits and Possibilities, a book about the media moment we’re living through, a time where crisis and opportunity co-exist. // MUSIC: Our theme is ‘nesting’ by birocratic. Other music this episode: 'Clean Soul,' by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

THIS WEEK: NAISA INDIGENA. And just who or what is a “NAISA”? It’s the Native American Indigenous Studies Association. Or as they put it, a “professional organization for scholars, graduate students, independent researchers, and community members interested in all aspects of Indigenous Studies.” Many of whom gather every year to share and discuss their scholarship. And this year, that included us! And then, just like that, COVID-19 took out NAISA 2020. What’s a roundtable to do? Well, lemons do make for great lemonade, so get ready for some bittersweetness as we stage a roundtable about the roundtable. Joining host/producer Rick Harp are Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University Brock Pitawanakwat, Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama, Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

THIS WEEK: Food and environmental justice. Topics at the heart of a talk given back in February by Dr. Priscilla Settee, Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, and Adjunct Professor for the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba. A global educator and activist from Cumberland House Swampy Cree First Nations with a keen interest in Indigenous food sovereignty, she can now add David Suzuki Fellow to her list of accomplishments, a way to take her research deeper into the impacts of climate change on the environment and livelihoods of northern trappers. As with the other 2019/20 Weweni Indigenous Scholars Speaker Series lectures, Settee sat down immediately after her presentation—“The Impact of Climate Change and Environmental Degradation on Indigenous Knowledge Systems: What You Should Know”—to discuss her ideas further with MEDIA INDIGENA host/producer Rick Harp, an opportunity courtesy of the University of Winnipeg’s Office of Indigenous Engagement. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

THIS WEEK: The ‘Looting’ of America. As if a pandemic wasn’t enough to contend with, disturbing video came out on social media this week of blatant police brutality against a black resident of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, video that has sparked outrage in streets across the US. Outrage met with tear gas, smoke bombs and rubber bullets. Meanwhile, as can happen in such highly-charged, volatile situations, property has been damaged, even destroyed. People vs. property: guess how the media weighed harms carried out against both in their coverage—or how well their stories convey the role and function policing plays in the everyday lives of black and brown people? Joining host/producer Rick Harp to discuss these questions and more this week were Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC, as well as Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

On this week’s episode: “Indigenous Knowledge and Heavens,” the title of a talk delivered earlier this year by Inuk scholar, Dr. Karla Jessen Williamson. An Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations at the University of Saskatchewan, the Greenland-born academic is the first Inuk to be tenured at a Canadian university. Following Williamson’s lecture—the fourth in the 2019/20 Weweni Indigenous Scholars Speaker Series, organized by the University of Winnipeg’s Office of Indigenous Engagement—she sat down with MEDIA INDIGENA host/producer Rick Harp to discuss gender relations in post-colonial Greenland Inuit communities, and why she argues “genderlessness” is closer to their realities. // This episode edited by Rick Harp and Stephanie Wood. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.