MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

This week.. Politician contrition: an Alberta MLA walks back some sweeping off-hand comments about Aboriginal voter behaviour in his riding; A flyer full of ire: anonymous posters at an Atlantic university proclaim Indigenous people to be the overwhelming "beneficiaries," not the "victims" of European culture. Debunking denial: We take a deep dive into the playbook of White 'Denialism.' Brock Pitawanakwat, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, return to the roundtable. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week: Beyak Booted—A Canadian senator's website gets her kicked out of the Conservative Party for controversial content about Indigenous people. Speech impediment—Why would the Nova Scotia government push a school board to re-word its territorial acknowledgement? Under-'PrEP-ed'—Did Indigenous health advocates in BC drop the ball when it came to promoting a drug that helps prevent HIV? // At this week's roundtable are Brock Pitawanakwat, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Ken Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta's department of drama. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

This week: #NativeTwitter—more than just a hashtag? Can its influence be felt off-line? Or is it simply a case of tweeting to the choir? Seal for sale—Facebook reverses its refusal of seal-skin-related items on its platform. Split-shooter—a British Columbia court rules that a U.S.-based Indigenous man can legally hunt in Canada because his people's territory pre-dates the border. Back at the roundtable are Ken Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta's department of Drama, and Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studiesat the University of Alberta. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

The second of our two-part look back and look ahead on the year almost behind us and the 12 months to come. What is, or what could be, their Indigenous significance? Back at our special four-member roundtable are Ken Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta's department of drama, Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Brock Pitawanakwat, assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

What made 2017 a year of Indigenous significance? What might be in store for 2018? This week's show assembles the fulsome foursome for this year-end exercise, one that will take two episodes to manage. Joining host Rick Harp for all this heavy lifting are Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta's department of drama, fellow U of A scholar Kim TallBear (associate professor of Native Studies), and Brock Pitawanakwat, assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury. // Our theme is nesting by birocratic.

Vote vice: we scrutinize the story of a Saskatchewan First Nation politician accused of buying votes with drugs, and muse over how media framing of stories about Indigenous corruption compares to coverage of mainstream political shenanigans; Harm reduction on the rez: we explore the promise of a public health approach to drug addiction; 'Hawks hoax: will an online prank about the name of Washington's football team score with its intended audience? Back at the table this week: Brock Pitawanakwat, assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta's department of drama.

Monumental fight: US President Trump announces he'll significantly shrink the boundaries of two protected areas in the state of Utah, despite their deep significance to multiple tribes. Urban plot: How Indigenous women in one California city hope to use a non-profit land trust to re-take territory, one piece at a time. Getting reproductive rights reductively wrong? A politician hoping to lead Saskatchewan's governing party flat out claims "First Nations don't believe in abortion." Back at the roundtable are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Terese Mailhot, author and Tecumseh Postdoctoral Fellow at Purdue University.

Make BC 'Site C' free: A new summary of research into the mega-hydro project produces a flood of arguments against its completion. Will British Columbia's coalition government listen? Home is where the hurt is: Rules preventing non-Indigenous people from residing on the Kahnawake reserve are now being challenged in court by some of its Mohawk members. Absent audience: Canada's auditor general claims politicians are basically ignoring his reports on indigenous issues. Returning are Brock Pitawanakwat, assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Sudbury, and Ken Williams, assistant professor with the University of Alberta's department of drama. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

1. We pore over a poll showing Native Americans who live in "majority-Native areas" in the U.S. face greater mistreatment than anyone else. 2. Pro-development = anti-Indian, or the other way around? We mine recent media narratives that declare environmentalists and First Nations at odds over resource extraction. 3. Breaking the boys club: we discuss musician and poet Joy Harjo speaking out on her struggles as a female Indigenous artist in male-dominated circles. At the roundtable this week are Kim TallBear, associate professor of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Terese Mailhot, writer and Tecumseh Postdoctoral Fellow in English at Purdue University.

This week, an extended conversation with Sarah de Leeuw, co-author of the recent paper, Turning a new page: cultural safety, critical creative literary interventions, truth and reconciliation, and the crisis of child welfare. Written with Margo Greenwood, the paper was produced as part of their work at the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, where Sarah is a Research Associate, Margo the Academic Lead. Over the course of this discussion, we explore de Leeuw and Greenwood's argument that the ongoing crisis of Indigenous child apprehensions must be viewed in their historical and cultural contexts. That is, as an extension of long-standing violent discourses that validate the 'rights' of settler-colonial state powers like Canada to intervene into the lives of Indigenous families and communities with impunity. // Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.