Sovereign Screens: Aboriginal Media on the Canadian West Coast

3. Aboriginal Diversity On-Screen

76 C H A P T E R T H R E E Aboriginal Diversity On-Screen “sharing our stories”: the aboriginal peoples television network—august 2003 I arrive in Vancouver to begin my fieldwork, and the first thing I do is turn on the tv to channel 71, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (aptn). The first image that greets me is an aptn promotional spot in which a sophisticated, professionally dressed Aboriginal woman gazes into the camera declaring, “My grandfather is a traditional man with contemporary ideas. He’s filled with the knowledge of stories that he has heard from the time that he was young. And it’s through these stories that he’s imparted our traditions to me. And although he knew I would not live a traditional life like him, I would keep our Dene stories, values, and beliefs with me wherever I am in the world.” The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network logo appears on-screen with a narrator proclaiming the network’s slogan, “Sharing our stories with all Canadians, aptn.” During the next five days, I am glued to the tv, eagerly watching everything from cooking shows to children’s television programs to life histories of elders to global indigenous documentaries and feature films. I am completely taken in. I see Inuit elders skinning seals in the bush, programs on Native language preservation broadcast in Cree, Maori soap operas, cooking shows featuring Aboriginal cuisine, and dramas addressing urban Aboriginal life. On my first night “in Aboriginal Diversity On-Screen 77 the field” I am delighted to watch aptn’s National News and see the day’s news from Aboriginal perspectives. As I view the programs presented by the world’s first national indigenous broadcaster, it becomes evident to me that the presence of aptn has radically altered the stage for Aboriginal media in Canada. Introduction The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network adds another complex layer to the discussion about Aboriginal visual sovereignty. As a national broadcaster in Canada, APTN is connected to the mainstream Canadian mediascape; at the same time it is a vital institution for representing Aboriginal stories and experiences to all Canadians, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. In fact, the majority of the APTN audience is non-Aboriginal. What are the implications for Aboriginal visual sovereignty when non-Aboriginal audiences watch APTN? Does the witnessing of Aboriginal media by non-Aboriginal audiences strengthen visual sovereignty and recognition of Aboriginal rights? What role does APTN play in Aboriginal media in Canada? In this chapter I analyze the ways in which Aboriginal media intervene in the Canadian national mediascape to impact onscreen representations of Aboriginal people. I address this by exploring the impact of APTN on Aboriginal media production in Canada through the perspective of Aboriginal filmmakers in Vancouver. I examine the implications of having Aboriginal experiences represented within Aboriginal venues, such as APTN, while also examining filmmaker critiques about the limitations of APTN and their desire to see other broadcasters become more inclusive of Aboriginal media. One of the key aspects of Aboriginal media as visual sovereignty is that these media, in stark contrast to the one-dimensional, stereotyped representations of Aboriginal people in mainstream media, reflect the diversity of Aboriginal experiences and perspectives. To illustrate the impact of Aboriginal diversity within Aboriginal media, I explore the 78 Aboriginal Diversity On-Screen representation of mixed-blood and two-spirit perspectives within Aboriginal media. The articulation of the vast array of Aboriginal perspectives and experiences within Aboriginal media enacts visual sovereignty by speaking back against misrepresentation in mainstream media and opening up spaces of inclusion for Aboriginal individuals, including those who identify as mixed-blood or two-spirit, who have experienced marginalization elsewhere. Voice and Visibility For Aboriginal filmmakers in Vancouver there is an urgency to create images, characters, and stories to which Aboriginal audiences can relate. The desire to reflect Aboriginal faces onscreen reveals the way in which mainstream media has rendered Aboriginal people invisible through a lack of representation and perpetuation of stereotypes. Television producer Dorothy Christian explained: “It’s important to give voice. It’s important for Aboriginal people to see themselves reflected on the screen to give them a sense that they exist, that we’re not totally invisible.” Aboriginal media can offer a direct opportunity to counter the persistent mainstream stereotypes of Aboriginal people, as Barb Cranmer (‘NƔmЪis) noted when she declared: “I think there’s this notion...