Open Letter from IndigiNews Aunties to “Canadian” Media: Enough is Enough

It’s our responsibility to hold accountable the industry we are part of

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Content Warning: For our Indigenous Cuzzins, this Open Letter contains content around racism that perpetuates harm against Indigenous Peoples. Please read this letter with care for your spirits and wellbeing. Canadian Media

Dear Canadian Press and CBC, 

Normally at IndigiNews when other media outlets in the industry are misbehaving on Indigenous lands Kelsie Kilawna, Cultural Editor and Senior Aunty will privately email them to offer wisdom around the problematic behaviour and offer solutions. It’s what we call a ‘calling in,’ rather than a ‘calling out.’ However, in the recent case of CBC Edmonton publishing a racist story with an equally egregious headline, we decided to use an Open Letter to address it.

Simply because, Canadian Press and CBC, you all know better.

For years, there have been loud and public conversations around how media has endorsed and perpetuated the violence against Indigenous people. Mainstream media has engaged in propaganda that has been used to normalize the genocide that this country capitalizes on. 

This headline serves as another reminder that major players in the journalism industry have not been listening, nor have they grown. It reminds us that our humanity is not valued as Indigenous people. This piece is beyond ignorance – it is racism.

With this article, the CP, and all other platforms that have republished it, have endorsed white supremacy, catered to white fragility, and co-signed our genocide. Each outlet that has picked up this Canadian Press story, republishing it and sharing it on their social media is complicit, including CBC Edmonton.

This is a screenshot of the problematic tweet and headline, shared by other big-name outlets as well. Screenshot from Twitter

Because you are directly impacting the safety of our children by amplifying the message that we are always at fault for our own deaths – even when murdered – as both Indigenous women and industry colleagues, it is our responsibility to hold you accountable for the danger you put our people in. 

You did this with Tina Fontaine, Colten Boushie, and numerous others, and as Indigenous mothers, Aunties, and kin we stand here in solidarity with our people to say enough is enough. 

The Aunty Council at IndigiNews is calling for an immediate retraction and public apology. You don’t owe IndigiNews anything but you do owe it to our Indigenous kin — who are also an audience you claim to serve as public journalistic institutions. Your ignorance is a part of our ongoing genocide and we are calling it out here and now. 

With the fire of Indigenous love,

IndigiNews Aunty Council

Author

IndigiNews Staff

We live in a media ecosystem that thrives on misinformation. Big Tech and AI companies are consuming the work of real human beings and Canadian news has been banned on Facebook and Instagram.

Eden Fineday

And yet, I have hope for journalism because of the work we’re doing at IndigiNews.

At IndigiNews, we embody tâpwêwin — the Cree value of integrity and responsibility in truth-telling. We are committed to our independent, Indigenous-led newsroom rooted in community, accountability, and relationality. We believe storytelling is a sacred fire that connects our pasts, presents, and futures through the storytellers in our Storytelling Lodge. IndigiNews creates space for Indigenous journalists, storytellers, Knowledge Keepers, and communities to gather, learn, and share stories that matter.

As a registered charity, we are building a fire that allows our work not just to ignite but to thrive. Rather than relying on advertising or corporate acquisition, IndigiNews is sustained by people like you who believe Indigenous stories are important for the future of our communities.

Your support is making a real difference.

Our community of supporters, our Firekeepers, make it possible to grow our newsroom, publish award-winning journalism, train emerging Indigenous journalists through initiatives like the ReFocus Photojournalism Fellowship, and publish trustworthy stories that serve our communities across the country. Every story we publish helps fill in gaps left by mainstream media and ensures Indigenous perspectives are represented with care, accuracy and respect.

But there is still more work to do.

As the media landscape becomes more and more uncertain, community support is as necessary and essential as it’s ever been. Every new Firekeeper helps protect the independence of our newsroom and strengthens journalism that is accountable to our many and varied communities over corporations.

That’s why we’re inviting you to become a Firekeeper.

Firekeepers tend to and protect the sacred fire. Your monthly contributions directly support IndigiNews’s Storytelling Lodge, helps sustain our independent, Indigenous-led newsroom, and ensures future generations of Indigenous storytellers have the resources they need to do the work.

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If you believe Indigenous stories matter, if you value independent journalism, and if you want to help build a strong future for Indigenous media, we invite you to join our circle of Firekeepers today.

Together, we can keep the fire burning.

— Eden Fineday, Publisher, IndigiNews

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