Introduction
Mainstream media has a negative depiction of Indigenous persons, portraying them as being primitive, violent, passive as well and devious. Portrayals like these are common in TV programs, movies, and literature (Carlson et al., 2017). This work, therefore, attempts to look at how mainstream and Native media outlets portray Indigenous news.
Global News
The first news article under analysis is Global News. The article published in this media outlet reports how the Canadian Federal Government is spending $39.4 million to support Native languages (Blake, 2022). The funding is to be given to communities, governments, and organizations that will help maintain the Native language. Further, one of the causes of the loss of Indigenous languages is the use of residential schools to kill these languages. Through this grant, Canada aims to enhance its communities’ diversity. In addition, the article is a news story, where the author reports new information to the audience, which is the government’s support of the Native language. The tone is formal since the author only focuses on officials to report the story. More specifically, its formality is shown since the author does not use resident views of the First Nation. The article’s topic also makes it appear formal, as it summarizes the information in the report.
In this CBC article, William Gaywish is a Rolling River First Nation father who started a healing group for men in his community (Kemp, 2022). In the past, he lived in Winnipeg but traveled back to Manitoba to find himself. Gaywish established the men’s group that would assist fathers in healing from their complications. These fathers aim to create a compelling future for their families. In other words, the group seeks to cut the effects of intergenerational trauma so their children can live everyday lives. The article further affirms that the conference assisted the men in establishing an action plan to heal. As a narrative of experience, the article addresses the occurrences and events happening to the Native people. The tone used in the report is a supportive and motivating one.
CTV News
The third article published in CTV News tells the story of an Indigenous mother awarded $150,000 after her children were snatched from her (Steacy, 2022). The tribunal unearthed that the mother’s treatment was discriminatory, including months of no contact with her kids. The woman had initially filled out her complaint in 2017. The article depicts what most indigenous mothers face while dealing with the child welfare system. Her children were also reported to be harmed while in care, such as in 2017, one of her children attempted suicide. The story type is a narrative feature as the report is long, depicting the life of the Indigenous mother from 2017 to 2022 when she finally received her compensation. The story further has an emotional tone. Steacy (2022) described the woman’s struggles in 2017 when she filed a complaint. Nevertheless, the news article appears to be indirectly addressing the issue; Whereas, from the topic, there is no name or accreditation given to the mother.
APTN reports
The news article published in APTN reports the re-opening of a sawmill within the Cree nation that had been out of service since 2012. The Cree government hopes to utilize the sawmill to counter the housing problems experienced in nine Cree communities and employment challenges, as the mill will add 30 more full-time jobs. The report is taking a news story format, presenting new information to the masses. Secondly, the article also uses a feature story to illustrate the experience of Natives in the Cree community. The tone is uplifting, as the article tends to motivate the readers on the progress happening in the Cree nation. Furthermore, the tone is cooperative, as the author shows many agreements between people from the Cree nation and the Canadian government.
Conclusion
There is a difference between how the mainstream media and Native outlet depicts their information. The mainstream media outlets only focus on words from top officials while neglecting the views of the average Native population. Nonetheless, APTN focuses on the littlest details of the Cree nation, including illustrating the opinions of locals in the territory.
References
Blake, E. (2022). Ottawa to invest $39.4M to support Indigenous languages in northern territories. Global News. Web.
Carlson, B. L., Jones, L. V., Harris, M., Quezada, N., & Frazer, R. (2017). Trauma, shared recognition and indigenous resistance on social media. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 21.
Fennario, T. (2022). Cree Nation looks to add jobs, address housing shortage with sawmill opening. APTN. Web.
Kemp, C. (2022). How this man plans to help other fathers in his Manitoba First Nation heal from trauma. CBC. Web.
Steacy, L. (2022). “Unprecedented”: B.C. Human Rights Tribunal awards Indigenous mom $150K in discrimination case. CTV News. Web.