MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs – Details, episodes & analysis

On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fifth in our summer series): the conclusion to our five-part retrospective, Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, wherein we feature a few more settler-centric solutions to settler-made problems, as well as examples of what truly independent Indigenous initiatives look like.

Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):

• Naiomi Metallic, associate professor of law at Dalhousie University, and Yellowhead Institute advisory board member

• Tim Thompson, First Nations education advocate, and Yellowhead Research Fellow and advisory board member

• Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society

• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama

• Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University

• Terese Mailhot, author and associate professor of English at Purdue University

• Robert Jago, writer, educator, co-founder and director of the Coast Salish History Project

• Danika Billie Littlechild, assistant professor of law and legal studies at Carleton University, and Ethical Space research stream leader at the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership

• Dr. Jeffrey Ansloos, clinical psychologist, associate professor of Indigenous health and social policy at the University of Toronto, and Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies in Indigenous Health and Social Action on Suicide

• Jesse Thistle, author and assistant professor in the department of humanities at York University

// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); Design for Dreaming by Lo-Fi Astronaut (CC BY); '02 - ricochets on the lake' by neil|lien (CC BY ND); 'Its A Trap' and 'A Moody Phonecall' by John Bartmann (CC 0); 'spacewalk' by Tea K Pea (CC BY); 'Seasonal Interlude' and 'F block (Outro)' by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY); 'Vibes Phibes' by DaveJf (CC 0).

On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fourth in our summer series): part four of Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, ranging from the precarity of charity to the dubious duty to consult.

Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):

• Michael Redhead Champagne, Winnipeg-based community leader, helper, author, and public speaker

• Lisa Monchalin, criminology lecturer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C.

• Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia

• Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society

• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama

• Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University

// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'Reflections' by Kevin Hartnell (CC BY-SA); 'Pangea's Pulse' by Aldous Ichnite' (CC BY); 'Extremely Tik-tok compatible for slow videos' by Lundstroem (CC BY); 'New minimalist VII (Remix)' by Christian H. Soetemann (CC BY ND).

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.

Northern education rooted in the north: for many, it's a vision at the very heart of Laurentian University, a northern Ontario school that today is in turmoil. Administrators now pursuing a dramatic—some say draconian—process of retrenchment and austerity, cutting dozens of programs and positions.

Seen as a tricultural hub serving the region’s English, French and Indigenous populations, the institution has not only shared a campus with the University of Sudbury (among others), it’s shared funding. Now that too will end. Putting the fate of the U of S Indigenous Studies program—among Canada’s oldest—up in the air. But as some try to make sense of all the slashing, critics allege the process remains shrouded in secrecy. Prompting some to wonder whether larger agendas and larger forces may be at play.

Joining host/producer Rick Harp at the roundtable this week are MI regular Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, as well as special guest Celeste Pedri-Spade, an Associate Professor and Queen's National Scholar in Indigenous Studies at Queen’s University.

// CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. SFX: “ding” by tim.kahn (CC BY 3.0)

It’s the second half of our conversation with artist Chief Lady Bird about her decision to design a beer can label in support of Indigenous women’s causes. In part one, we learned about how it all came to be and some of the reaction that’s poured forth in its wake. This time, we go deeper into popular misunderstandings and misrepresentations of drugs and addiction, drawing on the insights of a neuroscientist who not only studies drugs but unapologetically enjoys them too.

Joining host/producer Rick Harp for even more social lubrication are Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment, Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC, and our special guest, artist Okimaa Kwe Bihness, also known as Chief Lady Bird.

// CREDITS: “Tree Tenants,” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

It was meant as a gesture in support of Indigenous women. A one of a kind design by an Indigenous artist known for her bold, provocative imagery. But when it comes to her latest work, it’s not what her art shows that’s sparked strife so much as where it’s shown—wrapped around a cold can of beer. Cue the beer can backlash, with some slamming the artist for supposedly glorifying or at least trivializing a substance many blame for violence against and among Indigenous people. This week, the first half of an extended conversation with Chippewa/Potawatomi artist Chief Lady Bird to learn more about the origins of her collaboration with the brewery, the outrage it tapped into, and why this topic can be so touchy to talk about—for us included.

Also joining host/producer Rick Harp: MI regulars Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment, and Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC.

// CREDITS: Our theme is ‘nesting’ by birocratic.

Canine colonial. Is it apt to draw parallels between the worst ills of mainstream child welfare systems and those of animal welfare? It’s the potentially provocative thesis of the Vancouver Humane Society, a thesis they soon hope to put into practice.

Joining host/producer Rick Harp for a decolonial discussion on dogs on and off the rez are MI regulars Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama, and 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: Episode edited by Stephanie Wood. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

They’re one of Canada’s oldest political parties. Heck, they gave the country its first ever prime minister back in 1867. Today, the Conservative Party of Canada hopes to form the next federal government. They may get their chance: rumours of a summer election abound.

Making the party’s recent policy convention—and the associated keynote speech of leader Erin O’Toole—possible windows into what another Conservative government might hold in store for Indigenous interests. Joining host/producer Rick Harp to parse the party's policies and pronouncements are Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, and Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC.

CREDITS: “Disco High” by UltraCat (CC BY 3.0)

A crapload of controversy. Did an Indigenous member of the Manitoba Legislature cross the line when she claimed members of the governing Conservative party "just don't give a crap about Indigenous women and girls in this province"? The Speaker sure thought so: ejecting the member for refusing to apologize or withdraw her so-called indecorous language. Meanwhile, not so long ago, an Indigenous MP in New Zealand was also ejected from that Parliament for not wearing a tie, or, as he put it, “a colonial noose.” On this episode, our roundtable unpacks unparliamentary conduct: is it just the usual tempest in a teapot of petty politics, or a thinly-disguised dig at unruly, ill-mannered savages who refuse to behave?

Joining host/producer Rick Harp are MI regulars Kim TallBear, associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Environment, and Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC.

// CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. SFX: 'boo 01' by tim.khan; 'Quiz Show Buzzer 2' by JapanYoshiTheGamer

With COVID-19 immunization programs now underway in Canada and beyond, the basic questions of who, when and where have leapt to the fore. Will the most vulnerable be the most vaccinated in time? Some, like the Métis of Manitoba, say they’ve been left exposed, prompting their efforts to try and cut out the provincial middle man by going straight to the manufacturers. A situation that arguably raises questions about just how much control or capacity Indigenous governments actually have when it comes to safeguarding the health of their own peoples.

Back at the roundtable with host/producer Rick Harp are Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama, and Brock Pitawanakwat, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University.

// CREDITS: This episode was edited by Stephanie Wood. Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.