Photo by Joel Willick.
Journalists, News Directors and several other media professionals gathered in Saskatoon on Wednesday for a historic conference on building Indigenous relationships with the media.
Every major media outlet in Saskatchewan was represented at the Reconciliation and the Media conference responding to calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Indigenous journalist and one of the organizers of the conference, Betty Ann Adam, says one of the calls to action asked journalists to learn the history of the residential schools.
“The media is full of reporters who didn’t have the benefit of that education when they were in school, so the idea was to open the door and invite everyone to talk about journalism and how we can do better,” she said.
Much of the discussion at the conference focused on the impacts of residential schools and colonization.
“A lot of negative things happening in Canadian society where Indigenous people are concerned can go right back to Indian Residential Schools and Colonization,” said Adam who works as a journalist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
“Those are things Canadians need to understand, so when they see something they think is a stereotype they need to look deeper and understand their role in it. Right now Canadian society is still benefiting from the systems the oppress Indigenous people and people need to educate themselves and the media plays an important role in that,” she said.
While Adam believes the media has come a long way there is still work to be done.
She says journalists need to stretch their thinking to realize Indigenous voices can be found in all stories. Until that day has come, Adam says specialized coverage from outlets like MBC and APTN are needed.
“At this point the media has been so heavily weighted on the colonial perspective, so now you have to just open up and make some room for Indigenous people and that has to be done deliberately,” she said. “We hope in the generations to come that will become normalized, but in the beginning it takes a special effort.”
Over 120 people attended the one-day conference, which featured presentations from Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson and TRC Commissioner Dr. Marie Wilson.