Muskrat Magazine is a slickly produced Canadian online-only magazine focusing on indigenous arts and culture. Thus far, Muskrat has published seven thematic issues. Themes of past issues include “Food”, “Reconciliation”, and “Resistance”. The theme of the current issue is “Indigenous Arts Education”. This issue includes includes features on Indigenous Filmmakers at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Indigenous Group of Seven.
Tag Archives: Indigenous media
2.1. ICMI: Indigenous Culture Media Innovations
Indigenous Culture Media Innovations provides training to young indigenous peoples interested in pursuing careers in media broadcasting. ICMI is based in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, Quebec, and there is also an office in Ottawa. ICMI offers a number of programs, the most involved of which appears to be the Indigenous Interactive Multimedia Program, which is an Arts program that includes training in graphic design, video production, digital video editing, web design, motion graphics, as well as programs focusing on indigenous culture and arts. Program instructors include indigenous screenwriters, filmmakers, camera operators, and multimedia artists. A minimum of a Grade 10 education is required to attend the program.
Separatism and Bubble Gum Pop in Xinjiang
Music has been my bridge for friendship with Chinese people and the proximity of the music shop to the local “Nationalities University” has exposed me to traditional music from Xinjiang. I am constantly amazed at the skill and beauty of the traditional music. The article, From Resistance to Adaptation: Uyghur Popular Music and Changing Attitudes among Uyghur Youth, focuses on how Uighur popular music has changed from the grinding heavy metal of the 90s separatist movement championed by Askar to the fluffy love songs of Arken both minkaohan (educated in Chinese) living in Beijing. I have heard neither of these artists and the article is a little out of date but outlines how the central government has manipulated the media to silence protest and homogenize the Uighur people. The article was published before the eruption of violence and protests in July of 2009 but it concludes a change in Uighur youth ideology from separatism and isolation of the Uighur nation to one of working within the current system to heighten the status of Uighurs in modern China.
Learning Language Online Miromaa
While surfing around I found a site created by the Miromaa Aboriginal and Technology Centre to aid in educating people about a number of native aboriginal dialects in Australia.
This website is a great example of how the web can help aboriginal groups save and share their languages. It includes many blended resources such as a Youtube channel, saved voice clips and educational based resources to help learners and teachers alike. The site is very well designed and pulls your into it. I found myself spending more than a few minutes there and really felt engaged. The site does a great job in connecting people to the material and encouraging them to learn more.
1.2: Indigenous Rights Radio/Cultural Survival
Indigenous Rights Radio is a media outreach initiative created by the organization Cultural Survival. Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples rights and self-determination. The premise of Indigenous Rights Radio is to use community radio to inform indigenous communities around the globe of their rights. While the majority of the programming is in English and Spanish, the site has produced programming in 24 languages and has been broadcast over 1079 community radio stations. Most of the radio programming seems to be in the form of very short public service announcements created to inform and educate indigenous peoples on an array of topics including land rights, language rights, education rights, and rights to self-determination. The Resources section of the web page includes useful toolkits to assist local educators teach indigenous peoples about their specific rights. Examples of toolkits include “Protecting Your Community Against Mining Companies and Other Extractive Industries: A Guide for Community Organizers” and “Frequently Asked Questions About the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.
Module 3 | Post 2 New Fire CBC program
This is from the new program on CBC Radio One. This program is described on the website as follows:
From remote reserves to bustling big cities, join Urban Native Girl Lisa Charleyboy as she brings you to the surprising heart of the conversations important to Aboriginal youth. Drop in as they reveal the complexities, challenges and contradictions of what it means to be young and Indigenous today.
The program plays on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 am and on Thursday evenings at 7:30. I heard the episode this week and it fits very well with Module 3 and with the videos we watched last week. The title is “What happens when you leave home?” The link to this episode is at http://www.cbc.ca/radio/newfire/what-happens-when-you-leave-home-1.3138068.
This resource is a link that I will share with my own students as it is an accessible and weekly contact and link to current issues and youth in indigenous communities in Canada (and from where ever their travels may take them).
The Eyes of Children
Saturday, June 20, 2015
The Eyes of Children — life at a residential school Christmastime at a residential school in British Columbia in 1962.
The search parameters that lead me to this film were “Marshall McLuhan First Nations,” and McLuhan just happened to be on the same page as this unrelated video. I was looking for some ideas about the interaction between wellness at school, technology and First Nations. Instead I found a half hour documentary in the CBC archives that sent shivers up my spine. I have started thinking about how so much mainstream media on FN people exists and what a project it would be to “answer” it all, to shine a new (old?) light on it. Here is a media project that could go on for a long time – confronting media images like Nanook or this film with new FN-generated media. Not directly related to my topic of wellness, but perhaps this an indirect way of healing?
Try watching the opening shots of the documentary which depict the priest greeting the students, then follow it up immediately with this fact sheet on the Kamloops Indian Residential School where the film was shot . . .
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital+Archives/ID/2568294042/
http://irsr.ca/kamloops-residential-school/
Module 2 | Post 5 Video Game “Kisima Innitchua” (Never Alone)
This is a video game from the website Games for Change. The mission statement for this group is “Catalyzing Social Impact Through Digital Games”. One of their feature games for education is Kisima Innitchua or Never Alone. The background for the game provided on the site reads “We paired world class game makers with Alaska Native storytellers and elders to create a game which delves deeply into the traditional lore of the Iñupiat people to present an experience like no other.” Interesting development in the creation of online media that brings awareness to and is built in collaboration with indigenous cultures. Is this technology adapted to fit the storytelling culture of the community or the storytelling culture adapted to fit in a popular culture of video gaming and entertainment?
Module 2 | Post 2 List of interesting films
In the second article for week 2 by Faye Ginsberg (, there is a reference to Sak Kunuk. In a search for his work, I came across this list of film works that were collected as part of Travelling with the Ancients exhibition of video by indigenous directors. The Museum of Modern Art in New York is the leader or host of this show but I could not find a reference to the films on their site. I have started a list below references of the videos I have found. Please add any that you find as well. It would be interesting to have a list of videos from this course.
Link to Museum of Modern Art Film Exhibition document:
http://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/7295/releases/MOMA_1994_0081_53.pdf?2010
References:
Ginsberg, F. (2002). Screen Memories: Resignifying the traditional in indigenous media. In F. Ginsberg, L. Abu-Lughod, & B. Larkin (Eds.), Media worlds: Anthropology on new terrain. (pp.39-57) Berkeley: University of California Press.
List of films found:
- Tuqliaq (Ice blocks). http://www.isuma.tv/en/isuma-productions/tugaliaq-ice-blocks
- A Dancing People. http://aifg.arizona.edu/film/dancing-people-yupiit-yuraryarait
- Quilliq (oil lamp). https://www.isuma.tv/arnaitvideo/qulliq-oil-lamp