Media and Reconciliation

Sept. 3, 2020: TVO – An updated edition of  “Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers” by Carmen Robertson, a Scots-Lakota professor who currently holds a Canada Research Chair in North American Indigenous Visual and Material Culture at Carleton University. Her research centres on contemporary Indigenous arts and on constructions of Indigeneity in popular culture. The new edition will be published by University  of Manitoba Press.

Robertson sees positive developments in how mainstream media portrays Indigenous issues and people although she believes the Indigenous lens is still clouded by a failure to understand the Indigenous world view – especially the Indigenous relationship to the land that does not recognize the concept of individual property. The new edition will be updated and include new material on Idle No More and well as a discussion on genocide the not so startling conclusion of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Sept. 10, 2020: Toronto Star – Increasing arrests of Indigenous journalists including:

• Karl Dockstader at Land Back Lane Haudenosaunee occupation regarding a housing development near Caledonia
• Courtney Skye, Yellowhead Institute researcher and Ryerson Fellow arrested as well
• Award-winning journalist Justin Brake was arrested and charged with criminal and civil contempt and criminal mischief while covering a protest at Muskrat Falls in Newfoundland, Four years later all charges were dismissed
• At the Wet’suwet’en protests in BC
  • Jerome Turner, an award winning Gixstan journalist had shotguns and sniper guns aimed at him
  • Amber Bracken, an award-winning photo-journalist was pushed back and warned to stay away
  • Jesse Winter, an award-winning photojournalist was detained by police
• Melissa Cox, American documentary filmmaker, was arrested documenting the conflict nearby on un-ceded Gitxsan territory

Sept. 4^th marked the 25^th anniversary of the Ipperwash tragedy where Dudley George, an unarmed Indigenous man was killed by an OPP sniper. While occupying land promised by the federal government to the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.

There were no journalists present when George was killed.

Brent Jolly, the President of the Canadian Association of Journalists, condemned the arrest of Karl Dockstader stating: “The OPP are well aware that journalists have an established constitutional right to be present and cover matters of public interest.,” he said, “Attempting to prevent a properly credentialed journalist from documenting a moment of contentious action is impermissible in a country like Canada. Journalism should never be silenced.”