Introduction to Indigenous media
Our second example of Indigenous resurgence and community-building is the rich history of Aboriginal media in Canada. In the past, ‘mainstream’ media often excluded the voices of Indigenous peoples, and portrayed them in negative ways. Media content, typically generated in urban centres far from the lived realities of Indigenous peoples, also often reflected languages, values and issues foreign to community members.
Our second example of Indigenous resurgence and community-building is the rich history of Aboriginal media in Canada. In the past, ‘mainstream’ media often excluded the voices of Indigenous peoples, and portrayed them in negative ways. Media content, typically generated in urban centres far from the lived realities of Indigenous peoples, also often reflected languages, values and issues foreign to community members.
At the same time, Indigenous peoples have always generated their own radio, newspaper, and TV content. They are also involved in mainstream media. Over time, this work became reflected in the formal recognition of Aboriginal peoples in the 1991 Broadcasting Act and formation of the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network.
The innovation and energy of these storytellers continues today, through the explosion of digital content made possible through new tools like the Internet. The short videos below were created by high school students in Lennox Island, PEI (First Messaging) and Elsipogtog, NB (Global Community). They show some of the ways that youth are creating their own digital media content today.
Video: First Messaging (2011)
