MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

This week, an extended conversation with Sarah de Leeuw, co-author of the recent paper, Turning a new page: cultural safety, critical creative literary interventions, truth and reconciliation, and the crisis of child welfare. Written with Margo Greenwood, the paper was produced as part of their work at the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, where Sarah is a Research Associate, Margo the Academic Lead. Over the course of this discussion, we explore de Leeuw and Greenwood's argument that the ongoing crisis of Indigenous child apprehensions must be viewed in their historical and cultural contexts. That is, as an extension of long-standing violent discourses that validate the 'rights' of settler-colonial state powers like Canada to intervene into the lives of Indigenous families and communities with impunity. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

1. Downhill and out: Canada’s highest court rules against an Indigenous sacred site in favour of a ski resort. 2. White Hot: Conservative Twitter goes ballistic over a white professor’s claims that the white nuclear family reproduces white supremacy. 3. Re-Con: We check in on the second-ever Indigenous Comic Convention. Returning to the roundtable are Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker, and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.  // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

1. No joke: Why some racist Halloween stunts have people at one Alberta university upset (if not all that surprised). 2. Re-definition: Can expanding and enriching what homelessness means for Indigenous people help yield better responses? 3. Storm clouds: Why has an award-winning video game about a Thunderbird sparked some political rumblings? Back at the table this week are Brock Pitawanakwat, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Ken Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama.

1. Hatin’ on Halloween? Why a non-native writer feels her 4-year-old was cheated of the chance to dress up as "a native princess." 2. Beothuk babble: Is an east coast Indigenous people reducible to their DNA? Some archaeologists and journalists seem to think so. 3. Another meal of seal: We’ll digest your comments about our earlier chat regarding one restaurant’s traditional menu. Back at the roundtable are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

1. In name only: How did an Ontario city manage to strike up an Indigenous working group—minus any Indigenous people? 2. Ciao, chief! As a gesture of what it calls reconciliation, a school board decides it needs to drop the word “chief” from all of its employees’ job titles. 3. Book bind: After a number of contributors pull out of an Aboriginal anthology over the inclusion of an author convicted of domestic assault, the author asks the publisher to remove his work instead. We’ll discuss whether this sequence of events has made new room to discuss Indigenous male violence. Back at the roundtable are Brock Pitawanakwat, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Ken Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

1. Taste Testy: How the introduction of traditional foods in mainstream settings have inspired some, and incited others; 2. Bad Optics? A massive telescope gets the green light on the island of Hawai'i over the objections of local Indigenous people; 3. Settlement for Survivors: Canada offers $800 million to victims of the Sixties Scoop, but critics claim it’s inadequate in more ways than one. Returning to the roundtable are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Taté Walker, Lakota activist and communications professional. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

1. Unfair Share: A group of First Nations take Canada and Ontario to court for not honouring a 167-year-old promise to top up treaty payments as resource revenues rise. 2. CAP Kerfuffle: Is the leader of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples even Aboriginal? 3. Shameful or Shameless? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tells the United Nations that the "failure of successive Canadian governments to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples… is our great shame." But do his deeds even remotely match his words? Returning to the roundtable are Brock Pitawanakwat, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Ken Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Has there been a media "witch-hunt" of Wab Kinew? A high-profile supporter has sounded a resounding 'yes.' But does the critique imply some Indigenous women are part of the pile-on? Multiple choice, singularly stupid: A BC parent is outraged after her 14-year old is assigned a test asking students to select the correct slur for an Aboriginal woman. Fashion fabrication: Yet another non-Indigenous designer stands accused of inappropriate appropriation. We’ll hear how Versace vexes the critics and share an example of how to design right. Returning to the roundtable are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.  

This week... Kinew Conundrum: will old assault charges against the new leader of Manitoba’s New Democratic Party divide the Indigenous community? TB Plea: HIV/AIDS advocate Stephen Lewis issues a passionate call for the feds to step up their response to tuberculosis among Inuit. Unhappy Anniversary: a recent national magazine article suggests that, one year on, the missing and murdered women’s inquiry is imploding. Returning are Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama and Brock Pitawanakwat, assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury.

Fight of the Freedmen: Has a court victory for the descendants of ex-slaves of the Cherokee guaranteed the return of their citizenship? Casting controversy: Why Adam Beach wants other Aboriginal actors to boycott a new television series. Out of Print: why it looks very much like there’s no tomorrow for Indian Country Today. Joining host/producer Rick Harp are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Lakota activist and communications professional, Taté Walker. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.