Stop the whining and start listening

While the PMO certainly could have handled the exclusivity of this visit with more tact, the outrage shown by traditional corporate media at being excluded suggests we have a long way to go on the road to reconciliation.

Jefferys: Covering indigenous communities is a privilege, not a right

Many of us will someday tell our children about this apparent tipping point in our collective nationhood: when “reconciliation” between indigenous and non-indigenous communities came crashing on to the public radar and the news media and government suddenly grew a conscience. We all want to believe that reconciliation is a process that’s begun to unfold.

Indeed it has, but only just.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent private visit to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation (which straddles the border between Manitoba and Ontario) is indicative of this change, as was the mainstream media appetite to cover it.

But VICE Canada was given exclusive access to the trip in order to generate footage for an original series it is producing on indigenous youth in isolated reserve communities. VICE has produced a number of investigative works, including a documentary on the lack of water in many reserve communities, and a provocative piece showcasing the work of volunteers searching for bodies in Winnipeg’s Red River. As an online publication, one could argue, it has paid its dues.

http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/jefferys-covering-indigenous-communities-is-a-privilege-not-a-right

So while the PMO certainly could have handled the exclusivity of this visit with more tact, the outrage shown by traditional corporate media at being excluded suggests we have a long way to go on the road to reconciliation.

Dipping one’s toe into the indigenous file only when it’s on the boil (right now, obviously) or convenient to do so feels like residual colonial practice. Of course the media are frustrated in losing privileged access to a leader’s visit to a region experiencing abject poverty. However, this region and others are also entitled to their privacy.

In fact, VICE says it pretty much let the community dictate how things would go. “The community of Shoal Lake 40 drove all of the decision-making for this documentary,” said VICE Canada’s Michael Gruzuk. “It would be disrespectful to this community had they not set the terms in how (our visit) unfolded. Ultimately Shoal Lake 40 had final say on everything, not the PMO (or VICE).”