12/06/2020
"It’s vital for journalists to understand the history of how Indigenous people have been represented in Canadian media, and the ways in which colonial narratives have been actively supported and reinforced since before Confederation right up to the present," Callison wrote in an email. "These representations create a sedimentation that newer narratives and stories run the risk of repeating if journalists aren’t aware of the ways in which stereotypes persist and endure, even with all this shiny new digital media."
Callison said one of the main mistakes older media outlets make when reporting on Indigenous peoples and communities, is starting with a deficit model and/or "wanting to be the saviour that sheds light on what the Indigenous problem really is." She said perpetuating a victim/deficit-based narrative centers a colonial gaze and reproduces the notion that Indigenous peoples are the problem, not the systems put in place to eradicate Indigenous cultures, lands and lives.
"The other huge error is glossing over the fact that Indigenous people are diverse with different languages, cultures, and historical relationships with colonialism. Yes, there is commonality, but specificity matters just as much as (and sometimes more than) the commonality," Callison added.
Callison said reporters need to recognize Indigenous peoples as the experts to their own situations, rather than calling on researchers, professors or anthropologists to interpret Indigenous histories, environmental conflicts, social challenges, political change, or any other topic.
As associate editor of the tribal affairs desk at High Country News, Ahtone works with a team of mostly Indigenous reporters well versed in media ethics. His assistant editor is non-Indigenous, he said, but a fantastic reporter who has come to learn which spaces are reserved for Indigenous peoples, that she shouldn't be in. This "knowing when to step back" might be counterintuitive for a lot of reporters, he said, but he sees it as a strength — knowing when to delegate stories to people who come from those areas of expertise.
Ahtone also worked with PBS Newshour and has freelanced for well-known media outlets like National Geographic, where he has said might get ten times the amount of page views to other stories, but he puts in ten times the amount of work to describe "what an Indian is" to larger audiences. Ahtone said painting Indigenous people in a negative frame is a way to put the responsibility on those most impacted by colonialism and imperialism.
Painting a person, community or nation in a negative way makes people less inclined to care and makes it seem like people got themselves into their own mess, or might even to be blame for their situation, he said. Like all media, framing and tone impact both the conscious and subconscious mind.
"It's the same thing as thinking about certain countries that we cover around the world," he said. "Which countries does mainstream bother to cover? The ones that have pretty sites and the ones that are security threats. All the rest are like... who the hell knows?"
Indigenous journalists do the job differently, and they always have. That's what Tristan Ahtone, Simon Moya-Smith, Angela Sterritt, Candis Callison and Julian Noisecat told National Observer's Emilee Gilpin when she asked about their experiences in the industry and their predictions for the future o...
