mediaindigena

Ep. 23: Why Won't Hollywood Let Adam Beach Live?

Will it happen again? Will someone portrayed on-screen by Aboriginal actor Adam Beach be quickly dispensed with, leaving us next to no time to really know his character? According to our guest this week, it's been something of a pattern for Mr. Beach—indeed, it's a fate faced by all too many Indigenous actors in Hollywood, as they appear all too briefly in mainstream television and film productions. 2016-08-12 07:03:50 +0000 UTC View Post

Ep. 22: Critiquing Canada's Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

When loved ones die, there’s no question who suffers most—their families. And of those who pushed hardest for the newly-launched National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, none fought more fiercely than the relatives of these stolen sisters. Now some of those families have been left disappointed by the details of its 2016-08-05 03:46:31 +0000 UTC View Post

Ep. 21: Food Insecurity in Canada's North

According to the WHO, food security is “when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” In Canada's north, food access and affordability are critical issues—for many Indigenous communities in particular—and government subsidies seem to only go so far. In this week's episode, Madeleine Redfern, mayor of Iqaluit (Nunavut's...

Ep. 20: Inaction on the Indian Act

This week on the program: Inaction on the Indian Act. Derided for
decades, it’s hung in there as one of Canada’s oldest laws. Now there
are hints from the federal Justice Minister that its days could be
numbered... just not right away. Joining us with her thoughts on the
delayed dismantling of the Act is Naomi Sayers, a law student active in
legal reform and education who writes under the banner of 2016-07-23 21:36:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Ep. 19: Aboriginal Anxiety About The Police

After an epic editing session, I am proud to share the latest MEDIA INDIGENA podcast, which is, hands down, one of my favorite conversations as a journalist—ever. For the next 40 minutes, listen to broadcaster Jesse Wente hold court on the personal and political impacts of Indigenous interactions with the police. We also share news about our new Facebook group! Rick

Ep. 18: Podcast Progress Report: How Are We Doing?

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 2016-07-12 19:53:07 +0000 UTC View Post

New episode: The work to keep Indigenous children with their families

A new report out of Ontario paints a disturbing picture of the disparity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal families when it comes to rates of investigation and removal of children. Sadly, it's a situation all too common across Canada. We hear what the executive director of an Aboriginal-run child welfare group makes of the data and what he thinks lays behind the numbers.

Ep. 16: Could legal action make Canada walk its talk on Indigenous languages?

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 this 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...

Ep. 15 now up! Indigenous Public Health

Quick note to let you know this week's episode of mediaINDIGENA, all about Indigenous public health, is now ready for your listening pleasure! Thanks to Alycia Fridkin and Nancy Laliberte for being my awesome guests. We recorded our conversation on-site in Toronto at Public Health 16, the annual conference of the Canadian Public Health Association.

Ep. 14: Human rights watchdog urges equal access to clean drinking water for First Nations

"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 Classing, a senior HRW researcher and the author of its report, “2016-06-09 00:25:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Ep. 12: Update on Coroner's Inquest into #Aboriginal student deaths in Thunder Bay

This week's episode has just dropped: an update on the coroner's inquest into a series of Indigenous student deaths in the Northwestern Ontario city of Thunder Bay. Our guest is Jody Porter, a journalist with CBC Thunder Bay who's covered this story for years, including the inquest. Listen now: https://soundcloud.com/mediaindigena/inquest-into-indigenous-student-deaths

Episode 11: Redskins-related Poll Prompts Pushback by Native Americans

Quick note to say that episode 11 of MEDIA INDIGENA is now posted for your on-demand listening pleasure! See if you noticed a little twist to the format this time around. Here's the synopsis: 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 ...

Program note re: Episode 11

To the supporters of MEDIA INDIGENA: A note such as this is long overdue from us and, I must confess, will be way too short. But know that it will not be the last: it shall be followed up in reasonably quick succession by more messages, and on a more regular basis. Some 11 weeks into the podcast, MEDIA INDIGENA has managed to cover a fair amount of ground while hearing from a variety of voices, and I am so pleased that so many of you have lent your financial and moral support to these efforts...