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Brandi Morin, an award-winning national journalist, shared her MMIWG story and expressed her desire to inspire young Indigenous women to change the stereotype.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n She re-shared her story in Fall 2020 in the Guardian, out of the U.K. when she saw the RCMP\u2019s failure to put out an amber alert for 14-year-old Molly Martin, a member of We\u2019koqma\u2019q First Nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing all these different types of work, and I may not have been here today because I could have been them, and they could have been me. I wanted them to see those little girls in me, so maybe their perceptions, stereotypes or racial bias can start to change,\u201d Morin says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After learning MMIWG receive less than two per cent of Canadian news coverage during a virtual event with the Journalists for Human Rights in December 2020, Morin was shocked. What the United Nations called a national crisis was getting very little media coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morin says the relationship between the media and Indigenous peoples is damaged just as it is damaged between Canada and Indigenous peoples. \u201cThere is a lot of healing to do. There is going to be a need for learning and coming together, and it\u2019s not going to happen in the traditional ways the media operates,\u201d says Morin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She recommends that journalists spend a week or two in the community, building relationships from the ground up to tell stories authentically and to step away from the stereotypical labels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHumanize the story. Get to know the person from their family and friends. Remember they are someone\u2019s daughter, sister or mother. Put a face to the story, don\u2019t even refer to the stereotypical labels. They\u2019re more than a stat,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, journalists also need to consider the context in which they portray the victim and their families when writing stories on MMIWG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Native American Journalist Association has created a media guide for reporters and editors to learn about Indigenous nations\u2019 and communities.
Committed to increase the representation of Indigenous journalists in mainstream media, NAJA also encourages both tribal media and mainstream to \u201cattain the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe New York Times published an article on October 20, 2019, called Drawn From Poverty: Art Was Supposed to Save Canada\u2019s Inuit. It Hasn\u2019t which received negative backlash for glorifying trauma. The article inaccurately portrayed Inuit communities and negative cliches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NAJA called on the New York Times to provide an audit on the article because it fueled negative stereotypes and cliches on Inuit people, making it harmful to Indigenous communities and readers.
Francine Compton, a member of Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nations and President of NAJA, used an Indigenous reporting bingo card NAJA created to visualize stereotypes used in media and crossed out boxes for those used in the New York Times article on Inuit communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInstead of glorifying trauma and focusing on the negative stereotypes she says reporters should focus on humanizing their stories, and educating instead of sensationalizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is a story? A story contains details, and when you read a story, you learn something. You learn about an issue or place. When I think of a story, I think of novels. They can take you to a place. And that is what is missing those details,\u201d Compton says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Racial reckoning in newsrooms erupted in 2020 as mainstream media promised to diversify their newsrooms and hire BIPOC reporters. However, hiring BIPOC reporters is not enough, says Jamie Monastyrski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Jamie Monastyrski, a Couchiching First Nation citizen, teaches Reporting in Indigenous Communities in Humber College\u2019s Bachelor of Journalism program.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to have a better representation of indigenous voices, true indigenous voices, that write our own stories. We have sovereignty over our own stories. I always encourage young Indigenous students to get involved in media to write their own stories, whether it\u2019s poetry, journalism or film.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monastyrski, a Couchiching First Nation resident, teaches Reporting in Indigenous Communities in the Humber College\u2019s Journalism program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monastyrski has held various roles in marketing, media and worked with multiple Indigenous organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations. He also facilitated numerous workshops for non-Indigenous journalists and journalism students on better reporting in Indigenous communities, emphasizing accuracy. He says throughout his journalism career, he saw a lack of Indigenous voices and people in the newsroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monastyrski says he is pleased that Humber has made it mandatory for journalism students in the degree program to take his class because it will be the first time many learn about the history between Canada and Indigenous people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI learned that students who are taking this class are learning the basics of who Indigenous people in Canada are, what our issues are and our priorities and our history. This is the first time they\u2019re learning,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are opening the minds of not just young people in Canada, but journalists who will be reporting on these issues,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He says he hopes more institutions and journalism schools will implement mandatory reporting in Indigenous community courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the lack of representation missing Indigenous women receive in mainstream media, some Indigenous families have turned to social media platforms to share the messages of their loved ones\u2019 disappearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carolyn Deford has been looking for her mother since Oct. 25, 1991, and is still looking for answers. She has been fighting to keep her mother in the public eye and has dedicated herself to helping others find answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deford, a member of the Coast Salish tribe from Tacoma, Washington, has been looking for her mother since she was 25. She created a Facebook page in 2017, hoping that someone has seen her mother. What she received instead was a flood of messages from families seeking similar answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deford later created an Instagram page called, Missing and Murdered Natives (MMNA), which gained more than 20,000 followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The page\u2019s original purpose was to display pictures and posters of missing Indigenous women and girls, but Deford soon realized the need to include stories of missing Indigenous men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI expanded to include all folks instead of just our women because it was breaking my heart to tell grandmas or aunties who are trying to find their sons that our page wasn\u2019t the right one for them,\u201d says Deford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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On October 25, 1991, Leona Kinsey, of the Puyallup Tribe, vanished from La Grande, Oregon. Her daughter, Carolyn Deford, has dedicated her life to finding answers for families missing their loved ones. Courtesy Carolyn Deford.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Despite Deford\u2019s efforts to get answers for her missing mother, she says the media failed to do their part by providing coverage. And when they did, the story lacked what Deford says were vital details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A journalist once reached out asking her to be a part of a story for National Day of Awareness For Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She agreed because she wanted to represent families missing loved ones and inform the community on this issue. But in the end, her story got cut and never made it on air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t even breathe. I didn\u2019t expect to get the wind knocked out of me by that phone call,\u201d she says. \u201cNo wonder families don\u2019t want to talk to media.\u201d
Deford says the media needs to realize these are sacred stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWhat belongings we have left of theirs are our sacred items. But when there are none, all we have is our memories. And I don\u2019t think many journalists realize that,\u201d says Deford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The need to tell stories the right way when reporting on MMIWG is the very reason Shayla Oulette Stonechild, founder of the Matriarch Movement, started her non-profit organization.
Stonechild, a member of Plains Cree and M\u00e9tis from the Muscowpetung Saulteaux First Nation, APTN TV host and yoga instructor, saw Indigenous women as leaders, elders, and the backbone of their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut due to her stance on mainstream media glorifying the trauma and reporting through a colonial lens on MMIWG, she saw a need to represent Indigenous women authentically.
From there, the Matriarch Movement was born. It is a platform focused on amplifying Indigenous voices through story, meditation, movement and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s reclaiming our stories and telling them for ourselves too. I feel like our stories have always been told through a colonial lens, and I just don\u2019t think that\u2019s authentic,\u201d says Stonechild.
In November 2020, Stonechild interviewed 11 Indigenous women to get greater insight into how she can do better at sharing stories on MMIWG and refrain from making the same mistakes as mainstream media.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTo Stonechild, the word Matriarch means a woman who is powerful and embodies the wisdom she had experienced, whether good or bad. She believes it\u2019s a title that has to be earned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI asked them questions like \u2018how do you reclaim your power\u2019 and \u2018why do you do work that you do\u2019 and \u2018why do you think Indigenous representation is important\u2019,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matriarch Movement also helps facilitate wellness workshops for BIPOC women across Canada, including yoga and mediation. Each week focuses on a theme relating to physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another form of shifting the narrative, Stonechild has partnered with The Brand is Female podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the series she will be interviewing Indigenous women and reframing how their stories are told to capture the power and resilience of Indigenous women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stonechild says newsrooms not only benefit from training on how to report in Indigenous communities but all vulnerable communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery organization or business should be put through an anti-racism training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you haven\u2019t already, I\u2019m going to be questioning why not. With everything that happened with George Floyd, I think that put pressure on businesses and organizations to do the work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stonechild advocates hiring BIPOC people to facilitate your training. \u201cYou can\u2019t have a white person doing anti-racism training because they don\u2019t have that experience,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stonechild says newsrooms have attempted to do better in diversifying their newsrooms, but says it can\u2019t just stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, you do have representation, but what are you doing now? Where is the inclusivity? Where is the action behind your words or your rebranding? It has to be more than just a one-off type deal,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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