MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

This week on the program: the ever-growing economic footprint of Indigenous peoples. A recent report out of Atlantic Canada suggests Aboriginal spending benefits the region significantly, to the tune of $1.14 billion annually. But it's actually a trend across the country. Joining us with her insights into these numbers is Maureen Googoo, owner-editor of Kukukwes.com, a site dedicated to covering Indigenous news in eastern Canada. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Adopted by most countries back in 2007, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) faced but a handful of holdouts: the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Flash forward to last week, when a senior Canadian politician said his government was developing a so-called "Canadian definition" of at least some portions of UNDRIP, including the bedrock notion of free, prior and informed Indigenous consent. Helping us to decipher what that could mean going forward is Hayden King, Director of the Centre for Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.  

This week on the program, making sense of Manitoba's Election. As a province with one of Canada's largest proportions of Aboriginal people, it's worth asking what the end of the NDP's 17-year run in favour of the Progressive Conservatives could mean to Indigenous interests going forward. Sharing his thoughts is long-time journalist Trevor Greyeyes, editor of the First Nations Voice newspaper. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

The remote Ontario community of Attawapiskat is but one example of a First Nation caught in the grips of a devastating suicide epidemic. This week, professor of psychiatry Amy Bombay joins us to explore the bigger picture and difficult histories underlying these all-too-common issues facing reserves across Canada. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Just how much attention have Indigenous issues been getting from the front-runners in the US presidential primaries thus far? Simon Moya-Smith of Indian Country Today fills us in. Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

"An ongoing medical crisis." According to doctors serving First Nations west of James Bay, that is the current state of Aboriginal health for the northern Ontario region. Dr. James Makokis is a Cree family doctor based in Alberta who also teaches at Yellowhead Tribal College and the Universities of Alberta and Toronto. He shares his perspective on the health care challenges and barriers facing Indigenous communities right across Canada. Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Some call it "historic." Its authors say it's "unprecedented." But what does Budget 2016 really offer Indigenous peoples in Canada? We asked Cindy Blackstock—executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and an associate professor at the University of Alberta—to help us break it down. // Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

A United Nations expert review committee recently reported on how well Canada has treated Indigenous peoples under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Constitutional law researcher and professor Karen Busby outlines some of the issues flagged by the committee. Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.

Russ Diabo, publisher/editor of the First Nations Strategic Bulletin, joins MEDIA INDIGENA's Rick Harp to discuss what, if anything, came out of a recent meeting on climate change between leaders of three national Aboriginal organizations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers.   Our opening and closing theme is 'nesting' by Birocratic.