Tag Archives: Media

Module 2 – Post 4 (In Praise of Nonsense)

In praise of nonsense is a book written by interdisciplinary artist Ted Hiebert. This book focuses on how art and the construction of identity is often disconnected from truths, history, and location. In particular, it puts into question the remix world of cultural identity by examining the artistic works of willing participants.

In chapter 4 titled ‘Playing Dead’, Hiebert focuses on the Jackson 2Bears remix of Ten Little Indians. This is a remix that I highlighted in module one. Hiebert astutely analysis’s Jackson 2Bears’s work and offers an analysis that distinguishes 2Bears work from simple political commentary or satire. It challenges the notion that individual artistic works, especially media, do not fit within the framework of tribalism.

Entry #8: First Nations Representation in the Media

OISE. (2017, April 11). First Nation Representations in the Media. Retrieved October 13, 2017, from http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/deepeningknowledge/Teacher_Resources/First_Nations_Representation_in_the_Media/index.html

This resource page from the University of Toronto provides links to books, films and videos, podcasts, and websites that center around representations of First Nations people in the media. Having the variety of resource types is important, as the information can appeal to a broader audience and present the ideas in multiple ways. The linked resources come from the voices of both Indigenous peoples such as Wab Kinew or Frank Waln and from organizations such as the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, and are contemporarily relevant. Similar to the course resource of Mary Simon’s interview, many of these resources provide readers and viewers with an opportunity to understand representation from an Indigenous perspective and to broaden their understanding of historical and current storytelling in the media.

Entry #7: MediaSmarts

Mediasmarts. (2017). Common Portrayals of Aboriginal People. Retrieved October 12, 2017, from http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/aboriginal-people/common-portrayals-aboriginal-people

This resource is intended to assist in the critical analysis of common portrayals of Aboriginal people in the media. With resources for parents and teachers, MediaSmarts aims to provide practical and user friendly tools to guide adults in helping youth navigate stereotypes and misconceptions. MediaSmarts contextualizes the issue before providing links to resources that can be used to address the challenge. Tipsheets, blog posts, and lesson plans are just a few of the resource types available to parents and teachers. This resource is useful for understanding how to explore issues such as misrepresentation with students in a way that recognizes the importance of critical thinking and the value of addressing the issues in a way that will allow people to move forward more progressively.

Entry #5 – CBC News – Indigenous

(http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous)

The CBC has an online category on its news website dedicated to news stories that are relevant to Indigenous audience members. This area of the site includes new articles, blog links, videos, radio links, and opinion pieces. This resource is particularly useful for examining contemporary issues involving and affecting Indigenous peoples and communities in various areas of Canada. The same and similar resources are also available in French through the Radio-Canada branch of CBC. Of note is that the news stories are not simply about Indigenous peoples, but rather for Indigenous cultural perspectives, such as a section on hunting and gathering issues that contains an article about pickerel. This website is valuable for examining currently relevant issues and topics, as well as for recognizing how the media can be connected to and support Indigenous worldview.

Entry #2 – Office of the Treaty Commissioner

(http://www.otc.ca/)

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner focuses on building and maintaining bilateral relationships between the Canadian Government and the Federation of Sovereign Indian Nations, as well as between First Nations and non-First Nations peoples in Saskatchewan. Their site offers information and media releases on relevant current events and issues, resources pertaining to the history of treaties in the province, and opportunities to connect with speakers and attend workshops facilitated by the OTC. As the voice of treaty relationships in the province, the OTC provides both up-to-date and historical information about the applications and implementation of the Treaty principles in Saskatchewan.

Web Travel Stops in Module 1

Weblog for Module 1

Indigital Storytelling

This Australian company has created an augmented reality storytelling platform that brings cultural stories, art, place and objects to life through animation. It describes itself as being like “Pokemon Go but for Indigenous knowledge systems.” When pointed at pre programmed objects (card set, or tshirt), it comes to life and tells its story. This app began on Kickstarter in May and was funded in June. The woman that started the company is of indigenous heritage and employed cultural leaders to assist in the development of the app. The app works anywhere in the world, the internet is not a requirement and at the request of the Senior Traditional Owners the AR experiences are placed based only.

https://www.indigital.net.au/

 

Reel Injun

This film is a well researched look at how the media has influenced the perception of aboriginal people, starting from one of the first films made, to the western genre and beyond by a Canadian Cree filmmaker. It looks through the decades of the 20th century at social justice issues and what the impact of the media had on the issues, outcomes and the perceptions by North Americans, such as Wounded Knee. In the early 70s Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his place to the Academy Awards. When he won for The Godfather she declined on his behalf, citing the treatment of aboriginal people in American films and television, as well as the events at Wounded Knee. There is a phenomenal cast, with interviews with people directly involved with film making, all with great stories. This film is very watchable and in my experience, students really enjoy it as well. https://www.nfb.ca/film/reel_injun/trailer/reel_injun_trailer/

 

Native Princesses

This series on APTN discusses the idea of beauty in Aboriginal cultures and the effect mainstream media has on how indigenous people see themselves. In one episode indigenous actors discuss how difficult it can be to get roles in television and film. One woman speaks about how she doesn’t look ‘native enough’ and even other Aboriginal people comment on her appearance as not being ‘really native’. It also has episodes on cultural appropriation; FNMI fashion designers and missing and murdered indigenous women. One episode about the frequency girls that girls are taken from reserves under the guise of modelling and sold into sex trafficking is particularly disturbing. It brings to light issues that are not discussed openly in mainstream culture, but should be.

http://nativeprincesses.ca/en/about

 

Schooling the World

This film questions the need for all children to attend school, a western approach to ‘modernizing’ cultures around the world. It discusses the detriment that western education has brought to cultures, while trying to “pull people into dependence on the modern centralized economy”. It is a fascinating film that will no doubt cause teachers in particular to rethink their views on the purpose of education.

http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/schooling-the-world-2010/

 

Uncontacted Tribes: The Last Free People on Earth

In 2010 a photo was taken of a man and children in Brazil. It is thought to be one of the last uncontacted tribes on earth. The response to that photo was incredible, with calls for protecting the people and their land. Times has certainly changed when the general public in the western world would have seen a photo like that and thought it was their duty to ‘civilize’ and bring technology to the tribe. This article discusses the choice that uncontacted tribes have made to remain uncontacted. A different way of life is not backwards, or inferior and the rest of the world should respect that.

https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2011/04/01/uncontacted-tribes-the-last-free-people-on-earth/

Teaching the Students (Mod 1 Post 2)

To play off Natalie’s post, I find that Wab Kinew’s videos are informative and popular with students.  Like Natalie says, it’s important to get the right information and I try to find sources of information about Indigenous peoples BY Indigenous peoples. He is a great speaker and tackles issues like residential schools and First Nations stereotypes.  He was also recently within the past 24 hours elected as the leader of the Manitoba New Democrat Party.  There are a lot of great resources out there and not always time to get through them.  Thats why I enjoy posting links to different videos found both by myself and other students for them to watch on their own time.  I find it very rare that they ever just watch the one video but watch multiple videos connected with the original post.  Technology is always a double edged sword.  And in the same way one can get sucked into watching multiple cat fail videos, students can also get sucked into an issue or topic brought up in class using the same technology medium if we provide them the right guidance.

Module Two – Storytelling Distribution Platforms

As part of my travelogue of research on indigenous storytelling, I ventured into a related direction. Our module’s discussion of self-representation in media inspired me to explore distribution. After all, why tell a story if it can’t be shared? For Indigenous storytellers looking to share stories with wider audiences in Canada and internationally, what are the options? Who are potential distribution partners? Are Indigenous players in the arena? Which distributors support film media? Publishing? New media? Who is helping to develop and share spoken, artistic and printed stories and artwork?

I realized that many oral and dance traditions might be captured with screen-based media and fall into the documentary realm. Although sites such as Native Dance contain over 100 videos of footage and hundreds of images, providing a wealth of information on dance traditions from coast to coast in Canada, they do not lead to any dedicated distribution channel. So far, most astounding to me is typing in “Aboriginal Dance” on YouTube, which reveals a plethora of resources, a never-ending sea of videos uploaded by multiple users – so I credit YouTube as a valuable exhibitor, but not a dedicated one.

Here is a look at some of my key discoveries in the area of distribution:

(1) Indigenous Feature Film Production in Canada: A National and International Perspective

This is a major report published in October 2013, commissioned by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (imagineNATIVE) whose mandate is “to foster and promote the Aboriginal film and media sector.” It was funded by the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Telefilm Canada. The report examines all aspects of Aboriginal feature film production in Canada, including funding and distribution, and makes recommendations for further development. The role of government-supported organizations in recognizing and including Indigenous cultures as part of Canada’s identity and cultural landscape appears to be essential to preservation and growth of this cultural industry sector.

(2) Indigenous Screen Office for Canada

(Almost) hot off the press! Announced on June 12, 2017 at Banff World Media Festival, Canada is about to get a new Indigenous Screen Office tasked with “supporting the development, production and marketing of Indigenous content.” This initiative is the result of a collaboration of key audiovisual industry organizations that include APTN, CBC Radio-Canada, the Canada Media Fund (Supporting and developing the Indigenous screen-based industry in Canada), the Canadian Media Producers Association, the National Film Board of Canada, Telefilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund and VICE Studio Canada. What promising industry leadership!

(3) Isuma Distribution International Inc.

This was the only distributor I could locate so far of its kind. IsumaTV bills itself as “a collaborative multimedia platform for indigenous filmmakers and media organizations.” It is a project of Isuma Distribution International Inc., “Canada’s first media distribution company specializing in Inuit and Aboriginal films,” and works in coalition with a range of partners such as producers and non-profits.

Other major film distributors have been quoted as wishing to see more Indigenous stories, but I was unable to find many dedicated to Indigenous content. One that did stand out is the Winnipeg Film Group, with a dedicated Indigenous Filmmaker Catalogue. Other organizations such as the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition support a range of development and funding activities, but within a network of partnerships.

(4) First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Publishers and Distributors

Turning to print-based media, the University of Toronto Libraries has published a guide of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis publishers and distributors across Canada. Its focus is on Indigenous-owned publishers, and academic and small presses that publish the work of Indigenous authors. According to the site, “particular effort is made to include publishers of Indigenous language materials. More detail is provided on publishers from Central Canada. While an effort has been made to select publishers working in a good way, this guide should not be understood as an endorsement of any publisher or publication.” Started in 2010 and last updated in 2016, contact information is provided to allow for more updates. The site also links to UBC’s Aboriginal Publishers, Distributors & News Media homepage.

(5) 11 Indigenous podcasts for your listening pleasure

Finally, new media outlets. New Journeys, a Canadian-based online Friendship Centre resource, published a list of podcasts in January 2017. Auditory and sometimes visual in nature (when in video format), podcasts provide new channels for content distribution across digital spaces. Cited on the list is Media Indigena, a weekly Indigenous current affairs podcast hosted by Rick Harp, who himself published An Index of Indigenous Podcasts in July 2016.

As with last time, I found many more relevant sites, but those fall slightly outside the scope of this discussion at this time. Now that I have taken an overview in Module One, and explored distribution in Module Two, my next step will be to narrow my focus to a more specific storytelling medium originating in Canada and research the development and implementation or distribution of such works within Canada and abroad.

Module 3: A Little Bit of This and That

Module 3 is here and I cannot believe how fast it has come.  As I continue to look into Indigenous people and their link to Social Media.  I have found a few more site that I fond very interesting.

 

1. ImagineNATIVE

ImagineNATIVE is  Indigenous-run organisation based out of Toronto. This organization presents the world’s largest Indigenous film festival, this year they are focusing on reconciliation, and numerous other activities throughout the year.

ImagineNATIVE is committed to public education, as well as crushing stereotypes that exist.  They want to showcase Indigenous peoples through diverse media presentations from within our communities.  ImagineNAtive also conduct s professional development workshops and panels, public education initiatives, research projects, and curriculum/educators’ packages for secondary schools created from Indigenous pedagogies.

This year a short film called, STOLEN was featured, this piece was written by one of my old students, Kawennahere Jacobs.  The story centers around Sheena, a lost teenager, who is placed in a girl’s home. Seemingly forgotten and yearning for a life of freedom, she runs away, only to be picked up by a dangerous stranger. The directorial debut by actor Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs is a sober commentary of missing Indigenous women.

2. We Can’t Make The Same Mistake Twice

We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice was features at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Directed by celebrated documentarian Alanis Obomsawin, this film documents the events following the filing of a human rights complaint by a group of activists — including the Assembly of First Nations and the Caring Society, led by the heroic and indefatigable Cindy Blackstock.  The federal government was charged with woefully inadequate funding of services for Indigenous children constituted a discriminatory practice.

3.  A Tribe Called Red 

A Tribe Called Red has taken the electronic music community by storm in the last few years.  They blend, hip-hop, reggae and dubstep, with elements of First Nations music, and their music is often referred to as “powwow step”a style of contemporary powwow music for urban First Nations, weaving, singing and drumming into all of their song.

Here is one of their newest singles, STADIUM POW WOW.

4. Telling the Dark Story of Canada’s Residential Schools Through Ballet

Award winning author Joseph Boyden has had his novel The Orenda, transformed in to a ballet performed by The Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Going Home Star is the name of their critically acclaimed original ballet, featuring music from Tanya Tagaq. The moving piece was commissioned with the support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the ballet was  brought the performance to 12 Canadian cities on tour during the spring.

5. Facebook at the North Dakota Pipeline

Many of you may have noticed that some of your freinds on Facebook have updated their statuses and they have “checked in” at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation even though they are not actually there.

 

Indigenous Knowledge and Community

While completing the readings and viewing the videos for this module, I developed a curiosity for Indigenous knowledge and community.  I wondered how media is used within indigenous communities to share and teach their knowledge within their communities and with others around the world.

screen-shot-2016-10-08-at-9-23-22-pmThe first link is to a YouTube video titled “Do You Speak My Language?” created by youth at We’koqma’q Mi’kmaq School in Nova Scotia.  The video is directed and produced by Mi’kmaq youth who interview members of all ages within the community.  The focus questions revolve around learning the Mi’kmaq language, Mi’kmaw.

The second resource is a link to an article titled, ‘As If Indigenous Knowledge and Communities Mattered: Transformative Education in First Nations Communities in Canada,’ written by Jessica Ball.  Media is not so much as considered an important factor in this study, but the findings is of relevance to any indigenous community, is shared via the internet.  The article describes a ‘generative curriculum model’ that was used in a case study completed in collaboration with the Meadow Lake Tribal Council and the University of Victoria.  In the case study, community members were invited to collaboratively teach post-secondary curriculum to help build relevance and connection of European written curricula to the Cree and Dene Aboriginal communities.

The third resource is a link to a media research company called Kwusen Research and Media, which specializes in conducting ‘community-based research on traditional knowledge ad land use,’ used for environmental impact assessments.  They use what they call a ‘participatory approach’ which ’emphasizes community capacity building to engage Indigenous communities in researching their own traditions and land use practices.’  They provide expertise in documenting video, websites, and web-based mapping techniques.  The Community Knowledge Keeper used by Kwusen, is a customized online mapping and data management system which archives support consultation, environmental research, and traditional land use studies for Indigenous communities to share, when faced with land and resource management issues.

screen-shot-2016-10-08-at-11-29-09-pm

An example of work completed by Kwusen is called The Buffalo Hunters with the Mikiswe Cree First Nation.

The fourth resource is an article written by CBC News titled, ‘5 Independent Indigenous Media Sourced To Check Out Online.’  This article discusses how various Indigenous communities across Canada are using media to voice their issues and stories.  Newspapers, websites, radio programs, television stations and magazines have become mainstream within the communities, and with the use of the internet, have become accessible to everyone.

The fifth and final resource is an article titled, ‘Social Media in Remote First Nations Communities.’  The study took place in the Sioux Lookout region of Northwestern Ontario, and explored the link between social networking sites and community resilience.  The evidence of the study suggests of those who lived in the community and were frequent users of social networking sites, created a network of interconnection of information, resources and social activity among each other within the community, as well as in the outlying communities.