Audio, eBook & Video | “A good storyteller brings hope, hilarity, comfort, inspiration and peace”: Indigenous ways of connecting through books, digital communities and games – Canada, Australia & New Zealand

“We faced pandemics before. […] A good storyteller brings hope, hilarity, comfort, inspiration and peace.” – Dene writer, Richard Van Camp on the Joy of Storytellin , CBC Radio Unreserved, 26 February 2021

It has been almost one year since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic. Its effects are still being determined, but one thing remains true, Indigenous ways of connecting are evolving. This week on Unreserved, how Indigenous people are turning to digital communities, storytelling and culture to feel connected, and get rid of the isolation blues.

Dene writer, Richard Van Camp, has been on a one-book-a-year pace for two decades. His latest book, Gather: Richard Van Camp on the Joy of Storytelling, shares his secrets to great storytelling. During this time of heightened isolation, Van Camp says that storytelling is particularly important right now.

Mataya Gillis [16] started Nipatur̂uq magazine in the middle of a pandemic, to give youth in Beaufort Delta, N.W.T. a platform to share their stories. The third issue is centred around mental health and the challenges youth face.

For Indigenous youth living in the north, it can be hard to access sexual health education at the best of times. That’s why [Ashoka Fellow] Candice Lys, who is Métis, co-founded both FOXY and SMASH, programs designed to help youth express themselves and feel confident.

Candace Scott-Moore, from Chippewa of Kettle & Stony Point First Nation, Ont. and Richard Scott-Moore, from the Yuin Waddi Waddi Nation in Australia, have been together for over a decade. Last January, Candace returned to Canada for work and Richard stayed behind in Australia. They should have reunited months later, but the global pandemic has kept them apart for over a year. Despite the distance, they manage to find a way to stay connected.
Community members from Maniwaki, Que. have been tuning into online cooking classes to learn new recipes and stave off pandemic isolation. The classes are part of a program called The Collective Kitchen, and are taught by chef Justine Deschenes.

Photography game is one of 5 titles featured in imagineNATIVE Festival’s video game spotlight. […]

The big crisis event that’s happening is that like, the equivalent of Godzilla is rocking up every day and destroying the world,” he said. “That’s the force like climate change that’s coming in. And you can’t deny that it exists.

Umurangi Generation is one of five games featured at this year’s Night of the Indigenous Devs at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. | Learn more >>

Photography game screenshot: *Umurangi Generation* (New Zealand)
Learn more and listen to CBC.ca/unreserved >>

Source: Urumangi Generation explores ‘Indigenous resiliency’ and climate change in a cyberpunk setting
URL: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/unreserved-goes-to-the-imaginenative-festival-virtually-1.5765158/urumangi-generation-explores-indigenous-resiliency-and-climate-change-in-a-cyberpunk-setting-1.5765159
Date visited: 19 October 2020

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The books, Who Took My Sister? by Shannon Webb-Campbell and In Case I Go by Angie Abdou, have both sparked conversations of who should be telling Indigenous stories, and when to ask for permission. […]
Often, before authors write about Indigenous culture, community or share personal stories, they consult and collaborate with those they are writing about.
The complexities of publishing Indigenous stories is a hot topic in the publishing world, but what happens when a newly released book is criticized for its content? Emma Rodgers from Second Story Press discusses what publishers can do to avoid having to pull a book from shelves. […]

Source: Longread: Consultation, permission and Indigenous protocol
URL: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/longread-consultation-permission-and-indigenous-protocol-1.4616581
Date visited: 19 October 2020

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE

This week on Unreserved, authors and publishers weigh in on who can tell Indigenous stories | Listen to the full episode>>

Source: Who gets to tell Indigenous stories? CBC Radio · April 15
URL: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/who-gets-to-tell-indigenous-stories-1.4616308
Date visited: 19 October 2020

National Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated across Canada on June 21 each year to honour the history, achievements and culture of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. | Visit CBC.ca/indigenous >>
(Chad Hipolito/file photo/The Canadian Press)

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Image © PARI People’s Archive of Rural India reporting on Covid-19 >>
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The nationwide Covid-19 lockdown that started on March 25 [2020] has triggered distress for millions of ordinary Indians – stranded migrant workers, farmers, sugarcane cutters, Adivasis, Dalits, sanitation workers, construction labourers, cancer patients staying on city pavements, brick kiln labourers, pastoral nomads, and others. While many are on the brink with no work, income or food, several continue to work amid extremely hazardous conditions | Read about them in these PARI reports from across the country >>