MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

An Indigenous broadcaster shares his personal and political perspective on police treatment of Aboriginal people, an issue he recently wrote about in his Huffington Post piece, "This Is Why People Of Colour Fear The Police." Jesse Wente is the director of Film Programmes at TIFF Bell Lightbox, and a long-time CBC Radio pop culture columnist. He joined us from Toronto. // Our theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Fresh off our week at the Podcast Movement conference in Chicago, the team behind MEDIA INDIGENA 'checks in' on our progress 18 weeks into the show. We share our experiences, lessons and successes—including our ultimate, larger vision for the show's future, both on and off the mic. Featuring Ian Milne, MI's Head of Audience & Partnership Development. // Our theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

New research out of the University of Toronto into Indigenous child welfare has highlighted what some already suspected: that, when it comes to investigations of abuse or neglect, Indigenous families in Ontario are way more likely to be investigated than their white counterparts—130 per cent more, in fact. The disparity grows even greater for child removal, with young Aboriginal people 168 per cent more likely to be taken. But such over-representation is not unique to Ontario. Canada-wide, the most recent numbers show fully a third of all children and youth in care are Aboriginal. Our guest this week is Kenn Richard, executive director of Native Child and Family Services of Toronto. // Our theme is "nesting" by Bee-row-Crat-ic.

This week: the fight for funding of Indigenous languages. Despite the best efforts of the Canadian government to wipe out the roughly 60 Aboriginal languages in that part of the world (what some call deliberate linguicide) those ancestral tongues are not yet stilled. But this is no time for complacency, which is why people like Lorena Fontaine, an associate professor of Indigenous Governance at the University of Winnipeg, is part of the team behind a lawsuit that they hope will force Canada to truly walk its talk on Indigenous language revitalization. // Our theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

According to its proponents, Indigenous public health goes beyond the original concept to encourage health practitioners to be more aware of the larger social, political and historical issues and dynamics that often drive Aboriginal health disparities. This week’s episode comes to you from Toronto, host to “Public Health 2016,” the annual conference of the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA). Our guests are Nancy Laliberte and Alycia Fridkin of the Provincial Health Services Authority of British Columbia. // Our theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.  

"Contaminated, hard to access or toxic." According to a new Human Rights Watch report, that’s what all too many First Nations endure when it comes to safe, quality drinking water—in some cases, for decades.  Our guest this week is Amanda Klasing, a senior HRW researcher and the author of its report, “Make it Safe: Canada’s Obligation to End the First Nations Water Crisis.” // Our theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic

One of Canada's largest provinces now says it's sorry for its "silence in the face of abuses and deaths at residential schools... [and] for the continued harm that generations of abuse is causing to Indigenous communities, families and individuals." The formal apology by the Ontario government comes almost one year after Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report. But will Ontario’s actions speak louder than its words? Joining us with his reflections on the rhetoric versus realities of reconciliation is comedian and podcaster Ryan McMahon. // Our theme is "nesting" by Birocratic.

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.