Photo: INCA delegates to the 2023 Indigenous Journalists Association conference, held in Winnipeg Aug 10-12. Left to right: Darla Ponace, Patricia Elliott, Doris Wesaquate, Felicia Dewar, Will Yuzicapi, Shannon Avison, Lindell Haywahe, Deanna Kaiswatum, Memory McLeod.
INCA projects honoured by Indigenous Journalists Association
Two community-based INCA projects received honourable mention awards from the Indigenous Journalists Association at their annual awards banquet in Winnipeg.
‘Justice Stories,’ created by INCA 100 students, was recognized in the Radio/Podcast Best Feature Story student division.
“The project was a big challenge that the students really put their hearts into,” said course instructor Patricia Elliott. “We’re so please to see their work receive recognition from Indigenous journalists across Turtle Island.”
In partnership with the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan, students conducted interviews and research on justice issues from Indigenous perspectives, which was published as part of the Know Justice podcast series for Indigenous Storytelling Month.
The podcast featured interviews with Elder Archie Weenie, the late Harold Johnson, arrested land defender Coady Jipol, prisoner advocate Angel Whitford, and Congress of Aboriginal Peoples Vice-Chief Kim Beaudin.
The team behind pîkiskwêwin, a community-based language project facilitated by INCA, received honourable mention in the Best Multimedia Project category.
“Our producers are learning their languages by working with fluent speakers and developing technical skills to record and produce stories in Indigenous languages,” explained project facilitator Shannon Avison.
Twenty language keepers have contributed to pîkiskwêwin, which debuted online in spring 2022 with a mission “to honour, educate, equip and empower Indigenous language teachers and learners toward making our Indigenous languages thrive.”
The Indigenous Journalists Association‘s membership includes journalists, editors and publishers working in Indigenous media. It was formerly called the Native American Journalists Association, until members voted for the new name at the Winnipeg conference.
CFNU is an Indigenous-led radio station and podcast lab that began as a student project at the University of Regina in 1994 and has since expanded to streaming content online, fostering community engagement and showcasing Indigenous culture.
