Latest news with #CBCIndigenous
Cision Canada
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
CJF Announces Indigenous Journalism Fellow
TORONTO, April 29, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) announced today that Joy SpearChief-Morris is the recipient of the 2025 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship, established to amplify Indigenous voices and foster better comprehension of Indigenous issues. Says CJF President and CEO Natalie Turvey: "This year, the CJF has strategically reimagined its Indigenous Fellowship program, transitioning from a one-month experience to an immersive four-month placement for a single fellow. This enhanced format reflects the CJF's commitment to providing deeper, more meaningful professional development opportunities that allow Indigenous journalists to fully integrate into newsroom operations and develop richer, more impactful stories. "By extending the fellowship period, the program now offers recipients the time needed to build lasting professional relationships, undertake complex journalistic projects and gain comprehensive experience that will have a more significant impact on their careers and the Canadian media landscape." SpearChief-Morris is an Indigenous Black Canadian journalist and former athlete from Lethbridge, Alta., who specializes in print news and long-form features. "I'm excited about the opportunity to be working with the CBC Indigenous team in Ottawa," she says, "and I'm looking forward to expanding coverage of Indigenous healthcare issues." The story or series resulting from the fellowship experience will be considered for publication or broadcast by CBC News. "This year, Joy SpearChief-Morris will become part of the CBC Indigenous team and have the chance to really integrate into the CBC," says Selection Committee member Meagan Fiddler, a senior producer with CBC Indigenous. "I look forward to working with Joy to really hone her already considerable skills and develop her exciting pitch." SpearChief-Morris will be recognized at the CJF Awards ceremony on June 12 at the Royal York Hotel. For tickets, tables and sponsorship opportunities, see contact information below or visit the CJF Awards page. The CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships jury members are: Duncan McCue (chair), former host of CBC's Cross Country Check Up, now associate professor at Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communication; Meagan Fiddler, senior producer, CBC Indigenous; Eden Fineday, publisher, IndigiNews; Lenard Monkman, reporter with CBC Indigenous and recipient of a 2017 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship; Tanya Talaga, author, journalist and president and CEO of Makwa Creative; and Maggie Wente, Indigenous rights lawyer at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP in Toronto. These fellowship opportunities are made possible thanks to the generous support of Sobeys Inc. CIBC is the presenting sponsor of the 2025 CJF Awards. The 2025 CJF Awards are also supported by Google News Initiative, Labatt Breweries of Canada, McCain Foods, Intact, TD Bank Group, CBC/Radio-Canada, Aritzia, BMO Financial Group, Canada Life, Sobeys, Scotiabank, RBC, FGS Longview Communications, KPMG, Canadian Bankers Association, Canadian Medical Association, Accenture, Aga Khan Development Network, Apple Canada News, Bennett Jones LLP, Blakes, Canadian Women's Foundation, CPP Investments, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Maple Leaf Foods, OLG, Rishi Nolan Strategies, TD Securities, Uber, WSP. In-kind sponsorship is provided by Beehive Design, The Canadian Press, Bespoke Audio Visual, MLSE and Porter Airlines. About The Canadian Journalism Foundation Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism. The foundation runs a prestigious awards and fellowships program featuring an industry gala where news leaders, journalists and corporate Canada gather to celebrate outstanding journalistic achievement and the value of professional journalism. Through monthly J-Talks, a public speakers' series, the CJF facilitates dialogue among journalists, business people, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for media in the digital era. The foundation also fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.
CBC
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
#Skoden documentary explores life of Blackfoot man and the dangers of labels
A documentary premiering at the HotDocs Festival in Toronto this month aims to change the way we look at a controversial social media meme. #Skoden profiles the late Pernell Bad Arm, a fluent Blackfoot language speaker from the Kainai Blood reserve in southern Alberta, who lived most of his adult life unhoused in Lethbridge, Alta. Bad Arm died in a Lethbridge homeless shelter Nov. 27, 2015, at the age of 52. Director Damien Eagle Bear met Bad Arm while working at a shelter in Lethbridge and said he wanted to rewrite the narrative caused by the "#skoden" meme, which features Bad Arm with his arms raised in either a defensive or offensive position. The term "skoden" may not make sense to some, but for many Indigenous people it's a contraction of "let's go, then" and is a battle cry, a motivational speech, and a call to action all at once. "It was a good jumping off point to find out who Pernell really was," Eagle Bear told CBC Indigenous. The image of Bad Arm that's paired with the word skoden is difficult for his family. When some of them talk about it in the documentary, they're brought to tears. The image is not shown in the documentary at the request of the Bad Arm family. They say the image was taken during during one of the darkest times of his life and those that knew him say he was misunderstood. Mark Brave Rock, who met Bad Arm while incarcerated, said he lived with him on the streets of Lethbridge for years. "With Pernell, we stuck together and he became my brother. That's just what happens on the streets," he said. Brave Rock described Bad Arm as a proud person, someone with feelings and a conscience, and shared stories about Bad Arm giving away what little money he had, or whatever he could. "I saw the true charity he had that nobody would see," Brave Rock said. Fond of stuffed animals Amber Jensen, a support worker who worked with Bad Arm in Lethbridge, said Bad Arm loved stuffies and would give stuffed animals to people. Jensen was confused when she was told about the "labels" written in Bad Arm's files by his support system in Lethbridge, like hard to handle or violent. Brave Rock said Bad Arm was labelled because he wasn't afraid to speak up for himself, and when no one listened, Bad Arm would often assert himself further. "We had to survive the way we did," he said. "You're marginalized; they look down on you not only because you're homeless and addicted but you're also Native." Eagle Bear said the underlying message of the documentary is to reconsider the stories we tell about people, "especially those who live on the streets, who struggle with addictions." Jensen said she still thinks of Bad Arm fondly. "He taught me a lot — he doesn't know it and I guess he never will — but we can use those lessons to help other people," she said.
CBC
15-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Indigenous advocates concerned over Pierre Poilievre's record
Indigenous advocates and leaders say they are concerned about Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre's track record on issues affecting Indigenous people. From UNDRIP to resource development, CBC Indigenous takes a look at Polievre's policies and controversies.
CBC
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Dene teacher shares tools she developed to empower 2-spirit youth in the classroom
Tanzy Janvier struggled to embrace her two-spirit identity as a child going to Catholic school. Now a Grade 8 teacher in Saskatoon, she's helping other teachers support 2SLGBTQ+ youth in the classroom so that they don't struggle as she once did. Janvier, who is Dene and originally from La Loche, Sask., founded an organization called Indigenous Teachers for Two-Spirit Youth where she shares knowledge and experiences with fellow educators and tools that they may use in the classroom to help their students, from elementary to high school. She presented a workshop called Empowering Two-Spirit Youth: Decolonizing Education with Indigenous Teachers for Two-Spirit Youth at the Think Indigenous conference last week in Regina. "School is the very first place where students start to explore the identity amongst their peers and if they don't have those safety nets to be able to do that, once they're done school and in adulthood they don't know who they are and how that impacts them so much," said Janvier. Janvier said teachers are trying to find ways on how best to support diverse students. She said some teachers already feel overwhelmed with how to teach Indigenous content and 2SLGBTQ+ content, so when you combine the two, that can be even more overwhelming. "We're some of the most marginalized groups and have some of the most unfortunate statistics when it comes to attendance and suicide rates," said Janvier. "It's really important that we focus on them so that they know that they're safe and feel included." In October 2023, Saskatchewan passed Bill 137, also known as the "Parents' Bill of Rights" which requires parental consent for students under 16 to use preferred names and pronouns at school, and invokes the notwithstanding clause to override certain sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Janvier said there was no consultation with Indigenous communities on the bill, and it has caused more harm to two-spirit youth. CBC Indigenous asked the Ministry of Education if it consulted Indigenous people in the creation of the bill. In a written statement, the ministry said it heard from concerned parents and guardians across the province regarding sexual health education, including many parents and guardians of school-aged children. Janiver said things like Bill 137 prevent two-spirit youth from having a chance to be able to safely explore who they are and that puts them at risk when they do leave the safety of the school and their community. "We have to think about the next seven generations ahead of us, so the legacy that I am hoping for is that when a two-spirit or Indigenous queer youth enters a school, they know exactly who they are and it is reflected to them as well," said Janvier. Madelaine Enns, who is Métis and lives in Saskatoon, leads the workshops with Janvier. She said she is just coming to understand herself as a two-spirit person. Enns said sometimes schools aren't the safest spaces, even for 2SLBGTQ+ teachers. "If I'm feeling uncomfortable going into schools and not feeling like I can be myself, I can only imagine what it's like for students," said Enns.
CBC
05-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Carney distances himself from late father's views of some Indigenous people, residential schools
'I love my father, but I don't share those views,' Liberal leader says Warning: this story contains outdated language and discusses physical and sexual abuse at residential schools. Liberal Leader Mark Carney distanced himself Saturday from comments his late father made 60 years ago as an educator that were dismissive of some Indigenous people, and his subsequent defence of residential schools in the later years of his life. "I love my father, but I don't share those views, to be absolutely clear," Carney said at a campaign event in Oakville, Ont. He was responding to a CBC Indigenous story that explored comments made by his father, Catholic educator Robert J. Carney, who died in 2009. During a 1965 CBC Radio interview, the elder Carney spoke of a program at an Indian day school in Fort Smith, N.W.T., where he was principal, for "culturally retarded children." He defined such a child as one "from a Native background who, for various reasons, has not been in regular attendance in school," or a student with a non-English-speaking background who is behind in their studies. His views reflected the assimilationist attitudes commonplace in Canadian society at the time, particularly among educators, historian Jackson Pind told CBC Indigenous. WATCH | Mark Carney objects to late father's past comments: In a 2019 settlement, the federal government acknowledged the Indian day school system divided children from their families, denied them their heritage and subjected many to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Carney's father went on to hold various positions before becoming a university professor. In a 1991 church-commissioned study, he interviewed 240 former residential school students, eventually reporting allegations of extreme physical abuse and 15 alleged instances of sexual abuse at eight western Arctic residential schools. He acknowledged the abuse in his report, saying these students had been "scarred." But in later comments he stressed a number of the interviewees had had positive experiences and the work of educators "cannot be viewed as being wholly destructive or ill-intended." He later criticized Indigenous-led studies highlighting the negative effects of these schools as one-sided andimbalanced. Schools caused 'fundamental damage' On Saturday, Mark Carney said residential schools and Indian day schools are a "long, painful part of our history." He said he and the country has learned of the "fundamental damage of residential schools and day schools to those who attended them [and] those who were their descendants." Advancing truth and reconciliation, he explained, was a core element in his brief tenure as prime minister prior to the election call. He said it would continue if his party is re-elected. "That is a fundamentally and deeply-held personal commitment of mine." Historians say it's unclear if Robert Carney's views evolved after the report from the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was released. In 2006, the government reached a settlement with residential school students. Carney died three years later.
