News Framing of Indigenous Politics in Canada Representation in the Era of Reconciliation

This book explores the news media’s coverage of Indigenous-settler reconciliation following the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Using a comparative case study research design, the book examines news coverage of three significant Indigenous rights issues and events during the post-TRC era. The findings presented demonstrate that in the post-TRC era, the Canadian news media continue to produce systemic patterns in coverage which reject, marginalize and erase the territorial rights and claims of Indigenous Peoples. The author concludes that rather than helping to move the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and settlers forward along a path of reconciliation, power-sharing, and the resurgence of land-based self-determination, the news media are continuing to construct discourses and representations that work against the political objectives of Indigenous Peoples and reinforce settler colonial power relationships in Canada.

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Indigenous Peoples, Settler Colonialism and the Politics of Reconciliation: A Framework for Studying Media Representations within the Era of Reconciliation.- Chapter 3: News Media Coverage of Indigenous Politics in Canada.- Chapter 4: Methodological Approach and Methods.- Chapter 5: “A Vietnam-Like Quagmire”: Media Framing of Indigenous Opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline.- Chapter 6: “Reconciliation is Dead”: News Coverage of the Wet'suwet'en Land Defense.- Chapter 7: “A True Milestone on the Road to Reconciliation”: Examining Media Framing of the Indigenous Languages Act.- Chapter 8: Rejecting, Marginalizing and Erasing Indigenous Rights: Understanding News Media Framing in the Era of Reconciliation.- Chapter 9: Conclusion.

Brian Budd is a researcher and consultant based in Toronto, Canada.