In order to understand public attitude towards certain issue, phenomenon or group of people, it would be enough to carefully study the media representations of the subject. Mass communication greatly shapes public opinion, as media are now credible sources of information; at the same time, they are also influenced by the public opinion, due to the fact that journalists and editors normally belong to the community they address in their articles or TV, radio and Internet news. The present paper is intended to examine the newspaper accounts of First Nations People in Canada over the last year. It will also argue that Inuit and Métis people are excessively “victimized” in press, their fate is dramatized and depicted with barely relevant pathos, so they are still treated by journalists as “younger brothers and sisters”, who are making their first steps in this life.
The renowned columnist of the “Toronto Sun”, who dedicated his professional activity to studying and highlighting in press the experiences of Native people, Mark Bonokoski publishes on March, 4, 2009 a story about a Metis man, who committed armed robbery and killed a policeman 29 years ago. The paper is filled with pity and compassion for Craig Alfred Munro, the criminal, as the perpetuator of manslaughter still cannot be released on parole because the panel members believe he does not realize the depth of his transgression. As the journalist suggests, thirty years ago, Munro might have been a socially hazardous heroin addict, but nowadays he is merely a peaceful 58-year-old with poor health, who doesn’t wish to die in confinement. Although the author does not express resentment openly, he implies that the National Parole Board purposefully gathered the arguments and evidence, which would work against Munro and “weaken” him as an applicant. In particular, it is noted that the board has been carefully collecting the letters and complaints from the victim’s family and colleagues for all these years and that another institution, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, proved that the suicide of Canadian police officer Adamson was a direct result of the incident, in which Munro murdered Michael Sweet. As the article is overloaded with details, one can assume that the author intentionally directs the reader’s attention to the industriousness with which the entities of judicial and executive power have been trying to keep Munro, the Metis man, behind the bars.
Cassandra Szklarski, the “Toronto Star” journalist, in her article entitled “Aboriginal awards host uses star power to inspire” writes about the Inuit actor Adam Beach, who seeks to help the members of the Eskasoni community avoid suicide. The article provides an extensive account of the destructive social phenomena faced in the northern areas: many of Inuit adolescents are addicted to drugs and alcohol and the communities are suffering the suicide epidemics: “They had 14 suicide attempts last month and, since my involvement, it’s been good, everybody’s talking about their issues. But that cycle, it’s doing to take at least 10 years (to break), so I’ll probably be doing it for 10 years. Our kids are looking for commitment” (Szklarski, 2009, par.8). As one can assume, the article focuses on the deterioration of the settlements and towns inhabited by the Native people, whose children are lacking clear goals in their life and constructive role models to follow.
The piece of news by K.Yakabuski published in “Globe and Mail” and entitled “Hydro-Quebec a slow learner on native rights” narrates about the years of fight between the companies seeking to capitalize on the natural resources of the northern territories and aboriginal population, the Inuit and Metis, who are radically opposed to the construction of hydro stations. The Uashuannuat are depicted as a unique ethnic group, which has pride and dignity and intends to protect them. At the same time, they are severely oppressed by corporate structures that have enough money to fund PR campaigns and receive public support for their expansion plans. The government, in turn, is also disposed against the First Nations People: “Instead of treating aboriginals as potential partners – with a voice, and even an equity stake in resource projects – governments still see them as problems to be managed” (Yakabuski, 2009, par.11). Aboriginal populations are also depicted as barely capable of defending their rights, as they remain dependent upon the led by governments. However, the positive aspect of the article is emphasis on the power and competence of the community leaders, which is missing in the previous paper, yet such references actually make the article a constructive discussion of the temporary problem rather than long-term crisis and suppression.
The series of life stories and experiences Metis and Inuit people prepared by Bonokoski for the “Toronto Sun” deserve special attention, as they provide a plenty of information about the media image of the First Nations People. In his article “Victim of the Streets”, Bonokoski describes the life of an average Metis woman Catherine Beaver, who failed to integrate into society. As a young adult, she began to lead a street life, abused drugs, earned her living through prostitution and consequently found out she had HIV. She also had experience of interacting with the penitentiary system, as she served a sentence for shooting. Further, she successfully completed addiction treatment and is nowadays a volunteer for aboriginal outreach services. Although the ending of the story is rather encouraging and optimistic, the author obviously focuses in his article on the “gloomy” period of the woman’s life by revealing all aspects of her deviance and marginalization. It is also implied that there are thousands “catherine beavers”, First Nations women who are going a slippery path in their life, and they are supported but not entitled due to the fact that social work with such people is based predominantly upon the internal outreach initiatives rather than governmental programs. Therefore, one of the main ideas of the article is that First Nations People are left to struggle with community problems without any substantial external support.
The article “A career of ‘busting down barriers” by the same author discusses the career success of aboriginal people. The lives of the heroes and heroines are similar, as all of them went through institutional discrimination, combated poverty but finally became competent professionals in law, economics and other areas and managed to seize their place under the sun. The overall initiative of awarding prominent Native people with high professional performance might appear to be empowering to the First Nations population. However, Bonoski’s account of their lives shows that these reputable minority Canadians were trying hard to achieve their goals not “for the sake of” (family, community, close people), but “in opposition to” (stereotypes discrimination and barriers). Thus, they have been protesting against the hostile “white middle-class society” throughout their life and thus preventing the true unity of the Canadian people.
The article entitled “Aboriginal wish list” addresses the problem of scarce financing of education, health care and social services for First Nation children. The paper is composed on the opinions of experts who suggest their ideas of what aboriginal children need nowadays, but does not suggest any steps of solving the problems. Therefore, the contributors seem to be asking government and non-government organizations for a favor; moreover, due to the fact that their suggestions are not properly organized and some experts are not consistent with the others, the wish list appears to a long enumeration of requirements and requests set by the representatives of the First Nations population.
As one can conclude, newspaper representations of the First Nations People are quite informative in terms of the troubles faced by the minority group, but lack strong images of community leaders, activists and descriptions of effective government-sponsored programs, aimed at facilitating the integration of citizens with Inuit and Metis background.
Works cited
- Bonokoski, M. “Victim of the streets”. The Toronto Sun, 2008.
- Bonokoski, M. “A career of ‘busting down barriers”. The Toronto Sun, 2008.
- Bonokoski, M. “Killer still blames cops”. The Toronto Sun, 2009.
- Yakabuski, K. “Hydro-Quebec a slow learner on native rights”. Globe and Mail, 2009.
- Szklarski, C. “Aboriginal awards host uses star power to inspire”. The Toronto Star, 2009.
- The Toronto Sun. “Aboriginal wish list”. 2008.