Aboriginal media corporations
|Topics:||Media Analysis, 📝 Journalism|
Mainstream media representations of aboriginal people such as native Indians, Eskimos, are negative. There is a deliberate attempt to represent them as ‘savages’,
Aboriginal media corporations
|Topics:||Media Analysis, 📝 Journalism|
Mainstream media representations of aboriginal people such as native Indians, Eskimos, are negative. There is a deliberate attempt to represent them as ‘savages’, or people without any culture. Many sports organizations use these names and cultural artifacts of these people for their clubs. There is a danger that with rapid modernization, the culture and traditions of the native people will be lost (Doxator, 1992). This paper examines three aboriginal media corporations and the methods they use to counter these representations.
Based in Saskatchewan, Canada, Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation is a radio network for the First Nations and Métis community. MBC produces 10 hours of radio content per week in Cree and Dene to integrate and preserve the unique culture of the native people. It has produced several documentaries and programs on the culture and life of these people (MBC, 2017).
Based in Canada, Isuma is an Inuit production company that uses channels such as TV, films, and the internet to support the indigenous people of Canada. Objective of the media production is to enhance and preserve the Inuit language and culture, tell Inuit tales that bring to light the traditions of their people. The organization connects native communities across the world (Isuma Production, 2006).
Based in Nunavut, Canada, Inuit Broadcasting Corporation is a television center that programs and broadcasts all it programs in the Inuktitut language. The shows are directed to preserve Inuit tradition and to provide a platform to exchange culture and communication between different tribes of the Inuit people (IBC, 2017).
The three media groups have taken a mission to preserve and highlight the rich culture of the native people. With modernization and globalization, there is a danger that the old ways and culture would gradually be forgotten. Such organizations attempt to fight the negative image created by mainstream media where natives are portrayed as uncultured people. These native media organizations are not well funded and they do not get sufficient advertising revenue. However, they put up a valiant resistance to the onslaught of popular and rich media firms. For the sake of the future, such native organizations must be encouraged to grow (Valerie, 2010).
- Doxator, D. (1992). Fluffs & Feathers An Exhibit on the Symbols of Indianness, A Resource Guide. Woodland Cultural Centre: Brantford: Ontario.
- IBC, (2017). Inuit Broadcasting Corporation A Window to the Arctic. Inuit Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.nac.nu.ca/about_e.htm
- Isuma Production, (2006). About Isuma Productions. Isuma. Retrieved from https://www.isuma.tv/isuma-productions/more-about-isuma-productions
- MBC, (2017). About MBC. Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.mbcradio.com/index.php/about-mbc/mbc-profile-mission
- Valerie, A. (2010). The New Media Nation; Indigenous Peoples and Global Communication. Berghahn Books
Offered for reference purposes only.