MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

In this back half of our longer-than-expected mini INDIGENA, host/producer Rick Harp picks up where he left off (drinking deeply of coffee, commodity fetishism and character actor Wallace Shawn) with Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor in the Faculty of Native Studies and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience and Society) and Candis Callison (UBC Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs), as they discuss: Two men swapped at birth—one Indigenous, one not—receive apology from provincea Dutch designer's appropriation of a Navajo word as her company's name sparks fashion flapa B.C. politico decries advisory on provincial website noting that many Indigenous peoples "may not identify with" the term 'British Columbians' CREDITS: ♬ 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0). Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.

For our latest mini INDIGENA (the sweet + sour version of MEDIA INDIGENA), we yank on the global supply chain linking locals in Campbell River, B.C. to the opening of what’s only the second “Indigenous-operated, licensed Starbucks store” in Canada. And just like last time—when our MINI went long on what we meant to be just our opening topic—our content cup once again runneth over, as we eat up an entire episode exploring the ethics of commodity-based commerce as carried out by Indigenous participants at each end of the colossal coffee trade. Joining fairly-caffeinated host/producer Rick Harp the afternoon of Wednesday, April 3rd were coffee companions Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor in the Faculty of Native Studies and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience and Society) and Candis Callison (UBC Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs). CREDITS: 𝅘𝅥𝅯 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Dust and Conclusions' by BIIANSU (via ZapSplat.com)

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.

On this week’s program: a plethora of pretendianism! So much, in fact, it’s going to take two whole episodes to fit it all in. And here in part one, we take our deepest dive yet into the ultimate underpinnings of pretendianism—the political imperatives of whiteness. Driving the insatiable settler urge to possess every last thing, fueling the desire to assume and consume imagined Indigenous 'identities.' Indeed, such self-serving self-Indigenization is very much a byproduct of the colonial imagination, a contorted construct which privileges the individual over the collective, the racial over the relational, and possession over peoplehood. So says podcast regular Kim TallBear, who, by the end of this episode, so thoroughly unpacks the problematic formulation and foundation of so-called Indigenous "identity"—a hyper-individualized right to resources invoked in isolation from those it performatively pantomimes—you may never want to use the term again. A talk she delivered last month in Ottawa, it took place at a two-day symposium convened by the Wabano Centre—an Indigenous Centre for Excellence in Health Service based in the national capital region. One of four core presenters at the event, Kim shared the stage with Drew Hayden Taylor, Brenda Macdougall and Pam Palmater, with MI's Rick Harp as emcee/moderator for the event. CREDITS: 'One more day in orbit' by Aldous Ichnite (CC BY); 'Horror background atmosphere for horror and mystical' by Universfield (CC BY); 'Goshen's Lonely' by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY). Our intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week: 'Close Encounters of the Colonial Kind,' the title of a talk given by our very own Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor of Native Studies) at “Of the Land and Water: Indigenous Sexualities, Genders and Ways of Being,” hosted earlier this year in Whitehorse, YK by the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. Although rooted in her by-now familiar terrains of sexuality and science, Kim’s monologue was a bit of a departure from what we’re used to here on the podcast: delivered in the fictionalized voice of ‘IZ,’ she’s the personification of an Indigenous-driven movement of ‘unapologetic intellectual promiscuity,’ or what IZ herself calls “critical polydisciplinamorous engagement.” An adaptation of her 2023 Substack post / 2021 essay by the same name, Kim’s keynote so aroused our curiosity we had to have her flesh out the body of thought behind it. In the first of this two-part discussion, she walks MI host/producer Rick Harp and MI audio editor Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas through ‘IZ Speaks Back’ and ‘IZ Confesses,’ which together make up the first half of her talk. CREDITS: ♬ 'A Moment' by Mr Smith (CC BY 4.0); 'Cryin' in my Beer' by Jason Shaw (CC BY 4.0); 'As Time Passes' (via ZapSplat.com); a sample of 'Staying’s Worse Than Leaving' by Sunny Sweeney; our program intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. SFX: 'Deep Space Vibrations Ambience Loop' by rhodesmas; 'Ambient space 4' by DylanTheFish.

Our lead story: residents from James Smith Cree Nation react to the conclusion of the Saskatchewan inquest into the in-custody death of mass killer Myles Sanderson, whose September 2022 stabbing spree killed 11 and injured 17.

On this week’s Indigenous round table: legal limbo? Did the Supreme Court's recent rejection of Quebec’s constitutional challenge to Bill C-92 really cement the self-determination of Indigenous peoples on child welfare? Or did it seal in the status quo, one where the feds still hold all the cards and all the funds? A ruling described as “very beautiful” by one leader, hailed as paving “the road… for the transfer of authority” by another, such celebrations risk missing the core point of C-92’s critics: that it was always a half measure, keeping full authority and jurisdiction in the grips of the Canadian government. Making the supreme hype about the Supreme Court’s ruling all the more puzzling. Now that the pixie dust has settled, MEDIA INDIGENA regulars Brock Pitawanakwat (associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University) and Ken Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama) joined host/producer Rick Harp to try and decipher where things now stand after the ruling, drawing on the perspective of well-known child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society. // CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. Other music (i.e., bridges to and from Cindy Blackstock interview) sourced from Zapsplat.com.

This episode, another ‘mini’ INDIGENA (the easy-peasy version of MEDIA INDIGENA)—one where the first item went way longer than anyone expected! Joining host/producer Rick Harp on Tuesday, February 6th were Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor in the Faculty of Native Studies) and Candis Callison (UBC Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs), as they discuss the multiple Indigenous actors within Mni Sóta Makoce who helped drive the process of reimagining Minnesota’s contested state flag, the pushback, and the possible perils of engaging and enabling settler symbolism. CREDITS: 𝅘𝅥𝅯 'All Your Faustian Bargains' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Guatemala - Panama March' by Heftone Banjo Orchestra (CC BY 4.0). 🕬 SFX 'Hockey fanfare' by jobro.

For our first mini INDIGENA of 2024, Candis Callison (associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and Graduate School of Journalism at UBC) and Kenneth T. Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama), joined host/producer Rick Harp this Friday, January 19th to discuss: Norway to pay Sámi reindeer herders millions for violating their human rightsHow Canada led efforts to weaken original UN Indigenous rights declarationWhy the Yellowhead Institute no longer tracks Canada's fulfilment of the TRC Calls to ActionThe Canadian Space Agency seeks Indigenous interns CREDITS: 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Brass Burrough' by Cagey House (CC BY); 'Free Tutti Church Organ (F 008)' by Lobo Loco (CC BY).

For our final episode of 2023, a live audience recording from the spring, when we took part in the ICA 2023 Pre-conference, “20 Years of Podcasting: Mapping the Contours of Podcast Studies,” hosted May 24th and 25th at Toronto Metropolitan University. Entitled, “Independent Indigenous podcasting as knowledge production,” this four-person roundtable was a rare opportunity to bring folks together in one place—Rick Harp, Brock Pitawanakwat, Kim TallBear—along with Candis Callison, who joined us remotely. Here’s the essence of our event: "Curious about podcasts as academic avenues, our discussion will explore both pragmatic and conceptual outcomes of independent Indigenous podcasting as a form of knowledge production, for both media and the academy… There is much overlap on [MI’s] roundtable between media-makers and academics, many of whom are regularly asked for media commentary on current Indigenous topics. Several of us work(ed) within Indigenous and mainstream print and broadcast media. We will explore how producing for a primarily Indigenous audience compares to addressing a mass audience." // CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week, our penultimate program of 2023 reunites Kim and Ken for another mini INDIGENA (the rough and ready version of MEDIA INDIGENA) to discuss an array of items, including: a response to pushback against our discussion (ep 334) about state vs. federal recognition of tribes in the U.S. the mass resignation of CN Rail’s Indigenous Advisory Council, citing “the company's ineffective use of the Council's strategic input” plans announced for Anishinaabemowin version of the first ‘Star Wars’ movie Canadian bureaucrats crow about their new eagle-shaped correctional building “to support Indigenous inmates on their rehabilitation journey,” to which Twitter naturally reacted CREDITS: 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); Lifecycle by Fabian Measures (CC BY). Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.

On this week’s round table: colonial carbon culpability. Calling it a “first-of-its-kind analysis,” a recent study by Carbon Brief has crunched the numbers on some 170 years of emissions, seen through the lens of climate justice. Entitled, “How colonial rule radically shifts historical responsibility for climate change,” the report adds a critical dimension to addressing the question of what—and who—has brought us to the brink of depleting our cumulative carbon budget, the maximum CO2 our planet can handle before global temperatures rise to dangerous levels. Among those carbon culprits with a gigatonne to answer for: the former British Empire, so vast it’s said every week a country somewhere celebrates their independence. So brutal that to factor in its era of extractive violence nearly doubles the UK’s contribution to (and thus responsibility for) climate change. On this episode, host/producer Rick Harp and MI regular Candis Callison sit with study co-author Simon Evans to discuss this tally of twin legacies many still struggle to navigate and repair. // CREDITS: Our intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. Episode edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.

This week: where there’s smokes, there’s fire. Does a recent ruling by Quebec’s Superior Court have the potential to dramatically alter Canada's constitutional landscape? Known as R. v. Montour and White, the case takes its name from a pair of Mohawk tobacco traders who refused to pay millions in excise taxes on goods brought across the Canadian border. Import duties the defendants said violated the Covenant Chain, a series of treaties with the Haudenosaunee dating back to the mid-1600s. A defense the court not only accepted, but built upon to breathe new life into these centuries-old treaties, adopting the more recent lens of UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A Declaration the Court held to be both binding and the floor of section 35 protections for Indigenous rights in Canada. And the Court didn’t limit the scope of its findings to just tobacco, or even the Mohawks. As some observers note, it affirmed the right of any and all First Nations to freely pursue economic development by their own chosen means, a view that goes well beyond the familiar, racist shackles of mere subsistence or moderate livelihood. Joining host/producer Rick Harp to smoke out the potential ramifications of this mammoth, 440-page judgement—a ruling (spoiler) Canada appealed days after our recording—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.) * 100% Indigenous-owned, we're 100% listener-funded: learn how you can help keep our content free for all at mediaindigena.com/support * CREDITS: 'Forest Heartbeat' by malictusmusic (CC BY); our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.

This week: controversy at the Congress. The National Congress of American Indians, that is. And according to its website, NCAI is “the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.” A little too representative, claim critics, who allege entities are permitted if not encouraged to join the Congress as tribes with insufficient claims to being tribes. The core concern: recognition. Not just how, but by whom. A concern which came to a head last month at NCAI’s 80th annual convention, when a pair of resolutions pushed to restrict full membership rights to federally-recognized tribes, thereby limiting state-recognized tribes to non-voting associate membership. But is federal recognition the be-all and end-all of what makes a tribe truly tribal? Isn’t outsourcing who you are to outsiders itself oppressive? And why would the approval of a colonial country hellbent on your destruction be of help to anyone? Leading host/producer Rick Harp and Ken Williams (University of Alberta department of drama associate professor) through the nitty-gritty of this divisive debate is fellow MI regular Kim TallBear (U of A Faculty of Native Studies professor). 100% Indigenous owned + operated, MEDIA INDIGENA is 100% audience funded. Learn how you can support our work to keep our content free for all to access. // CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. Edited by Rick Harp and Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas.

This week, yet another ‘mini’ INDIGENA (the fast + furious version of MEDIA INDIGENA), with some world-wide words for our 333rd episode (!!!), recorded the evening of Sunday, November 12th. No doubt sub-consciously inspired by the recent 5-year(ish) anniversary of our deep discussion of the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report—which gave us 12 years to act decisively and radically on carbon emissions to keep life viable for humanity by capping the increase in average world temperatures at a max of 1.5 degrees Celsius—host/producer Rick Harp invited MI regulars Kim TallBear (professor in the University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies) and Candis Callison (Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and Graduate School of Journalism at UBC) to climb atop a cluster of climate stories to discuss how petro-states like Canada are delivering on that 1.5°C mission. ✪ 100% Indigenous owned + operated, MEDIA INDIGENA is 100%-audience-funded. Learn how you can support our work to help keep our podcast free for all to enjoy. ✪ CREDITS: ♫ 'All Your Faustian Bargains,' 'Nowhere to Hide,' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'New Shoes' by HoliznaCC0; 'Lunar Dunes' by Spinning Clocks (CC BY 3.0). ✂ Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.

We wrap up October a titch late with another ‘mini’ INDIGENA (the quick + dirty version of MEDIA INDIGENA), featuring a quartet of tidbits, ranging from a federal security agency’s overt admonishment of Nunavut over ‘covert’ foreign investment in otherwise neglected infrastructure to new highway signs in Saskatchewan overtly delineating its many treaty boundaries to passing motorists. Joining host/producer Rick Harp the early afternoon of Friday, October 27 were Ken Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama) and Trina Roache (assistant professor of journalism at the University of King’s College). CREDITS: 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Lazy Sumday' by Sahy Uhns (CC BY); 'Au coin de la rue' by Marco Raaphorst (CC BY-SA 3.0); 'Weissenborn, Six Trios for Three Bassoons' by Grossman, Ewell, Grainger (CC BY-SA 3.0). Production assistance by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas.

This week: another MINI INDIGENA featuring Kim TallBear (professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta) and Candis Callison (Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC), who joined host/producer Rick Harp Wednesday, October 18 to discuss: where things go from here after a majority of Australians voted to reject the constitutional institution of an Indigenous advisory board known as The Voice the B.C. Supreme Court rejects a resident association's legal challenge against a massive Vancouver housing development project led by the Squamish Nation a new StatsCan report finds those accused of killing Indigenous women and girls are less likely to be charged with first-degree murder than cases involving non-Indigenous victims Twitter's in the shi**er, and its name change is the least of its problems: has it taken #NativeTwitter down with it? CREDITS: 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Strange enough' by HoliznaCC0; 'Racecar Drums' by Daedelus (CC BY); 'Dobro Mashup' by Jason Shaw (CC BY); 'Fater Lee' by Black Ant (CC BY). Production assistance by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas.

MEDIA INDIGENA is back from its summer break with all-new shows, and we kick off with a far-ranging foursome of items, from a historic provincial election in Manitoba to the RCMP opting not to lay charges against a Yellowknife doctor for the unilateral sterilization of an Inuk woman. Joining host/producer Rick Harp for this first 'mini INDIGENA' of the season (recorded Friday, October 6) are two familiar voices, Brock Pitawanakwat (Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at York University) and Ken Williams (assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama). CREDITS: 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); '2.12.05 elevator' by BOPD (CC BY 4.0); 'Montmartre' by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0); 'Music Box Rag' by Heftone Banjo Orchestra (CC BY-SA 4.0)

For the eighth and final installment of our 2023 Summer Series, "Indigenous Journalisms"—our audio book club based on Reckoning: Journalism's Limits and Possibilities—co-author and MEDIA INDIGENA regular Candis Callison and host/producer Rick Harp finish out the series with Anishinaabe journalist, author and speaker Tanya Talaga as they discuss the chapter's conclusion. ✪ Indigenous owned + operated, MEDIA INDIGENA is 100%-audience-funded. Learn how you can support our work to help keep this podcast free for all to enjoy. ✪ // CREDITS: 'Saturn' and 'Find Your Peace' by HoliznaCC0; 'Heart of Acceptance' by John Bartmann. All tracks are CC0 1.0.

For the seventh installment of our 2023 Summer Series, "Indigenous Journalisms"—an 8-part audio book club based on Reckoning: Journalism's Limits and Possibilities—co-author and MEDIA INDIGENA regular Candis Callison and host/producer Rick Harp welcome back Anishinaabe journalist, author and speaker Tanya Talaga to discuss the excerpt 'Sioux Lookout: Training New Journalists.' ✪ Indigenous owned + operated, MEDIA INDIGENA is 100%-audience-funded. Learn how you can support our work to help keep this podcast free for all to enjoy. ✪ // CREDITS: 'Saturn' and 'Find Your Peace' by HoliznaCC0; 'Heart of Acceptance' by John Bartmann. All tracks are CC0 1.0.