Kyle Napier, University of Alberta, knapier@ualberta.ca
Meg Wilcox, Mount Royal University and the University of Glasgow, mwilcox@mtroyal.ca
ABSTRACT:
Alongside land, water, and data stewardship are forms of media stewardship. In today’s era of ubiquitously digitized information and recordings, some information which is shared can be understood as sensitive, secret, or sacred. When stewarding such knowledges of Indigenous communities, it is critical for media-makers to consider the roles of consent, protocol, reattribution, rematriation, and redistribution when conducting media with, by and for Indigenous communities. These aspects of best conduct are further related to maintaining ongoing relationships with Indigenous communities, as well as
respecting Indigenous self-determination regarding the intellectual property of mediated works.
Over the past four years, Kyle Napier and Meg Wilcox have connected this theory to their audio-making practice, serving as senior producers for the Canadian Mountain Podcast. This series is created with a team of undergraduate student producers, and engages researchers and Indigenous communities in what’s colonially referred to as Canada — with a focus on the country’s mountain ecosystems. Each season, the team continues to reflect on their work, refine their practices, and reconsider their role as they take steps toward decolonizing their media practice. This has, in turn, influenced every step of the production process, from developing q-lines to conducting interviews to audio editing and revisions. It has also significantly shaped the team, and how they view themselves as audio makers, storytellers, and people.
In this presentation, Kyle and Meg explore best practices in working with Indigenous communities to produce audio stories, both from existing literature and from their practical experience.
BIOS:
Kyle Napier is Dene/nêhiyaw Métis from Northwest Territory Métis Nation. He is the co-chair of Native Land Digital, a sessional instructor at the University of Victoria, NorQuest College, and Mount Royal University, and a guest instructor with Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. He also develops language resources, conducts research, provides consultation, and designs collaborative media. He is a doctoral student at the University of Alberta in Educational Policy Studies — Indigenous Peoples Education. He remains passionate about Indigenous language reclamation, and is a learner of the Indigenous languages of his ancestry — which include both Dene Dedlıne Yatı and sakâw-nêhiyawêwin.
Meg Wilcox is an associate professor in Journalism and Digital Media at Mount Royal University and co-director of the Community Podcast Initiative. Prior to teaching, she spent nearly a decade travelling Canada as a reporter, producer, and host, and her podcasting work has won national and international
awards. Currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Glasgow, Meg’s research looks at ways where podcasting can help underserved communities and individuals tell their stories in ways that reflect their communities, their values, and their lived experience. Her first book, The New Journalist’s Guide to
Freelancing, is out now through Broadview Press.
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