Indigenous Representation on Canadian Television Broadcasting

Introduction

Visual media is a central means by which perceptions of identity and value are influenced on both an individual and national level. The images and ideas presented in television over the course of decades shape our impressions, judgments, and perceived place within our communities and our society. Within television, Indigenous voices, roles, and realities are both neglected and discriminatory, thereby shaping not only national conceptions of Aboriginality, but majorly affecting self-concepts and expression within Aboriginal identities.

The enduring cyclical legacy of dominant forms of media representations of Indigenous peoples have left a gaping absence of positive or often realistic portrayal of Indigenous life from Indigenous perspectives. This lack of authenticity in mainstream media is what Kerstin Knopf (2010) calls the “colonial gaze”, by which the neo-colonial and colonial discourse and ‘gaze’ within mass media has shaped the perceptions of Indigeinity in Canada, and in turn contributed to the en-mass production of colonized minds. Within television specifically, the most prevalent stereotypes of Indigenous peoples are not short in either numbers or propagation, and constitute mainly of any of the following: an alcoholic on welfare, the wise elder, the squaw, the princess, the noble savage, and the warrior . These images of 'Nativeness' are so popular that they have then been observed to act as a test by which non-Native people in turn elect themselves to judge representative media art created by Native people against those on popular sets in order to determine whether a real Native person qualifies as a “real Indian” .

Canadian Federal Standards of Aboriginality

Within Canadian context, there have been half a dozen words used to describe and identify those who were colonized during European settlements; within present day Canada, those who are acknowledged by Canadian government as having belonged to or descended from communities occupying pre-colonial land are rigidly defined by the federal government, as being either Aboriginal (First Nations), Inuit, or Metis.

From here, individuals are described to be twofold: Status or Non-Status Indian. A Status Indian is either registered with the federal government as Aboriginal, proving they meet the requirements outlined in the Indian Act, or are registered to a band which signed a treaty with the Crown. Non Status Indians frequently refer to those who identify themselves as Aboriginal but are not entitled to register as a Status Indian under the Indian Act.

The most umbrella term acknowledged by federal authorities for identifying and describing those who fit Canada’s criteria listed above is simply “Aboriginal” or "Indigenous". This definition dates to the Constitution Act, 1982, in Section 35 (2).

Though there are many intersectional problems interwoven into the Canadian government’s methods of identification of Aboriginal individuals, one of the largest and most overarching issues comes from the need to understand that the colonizers, those in government and power, cannot in turn define the colonized as they see fit, especially when deciding reparations. The colonization of Indigenous communities in Canada separated families, destroyed communities, languages, culture, and ultimately Aboriginal existence within mainstream society.

Government criteria for Aboriginal identity denies the notion that Aboriginal identity must not be determined by those who do not share the history; Aboriginal identity is often self proclaimed, or acknowledged by communities who share a common history or experience.

Indigeinity on Television

Within television, cultural diversity became significant for Canada to construct and maintain itself as a multicultural and inclusive nation. In fact, Canada is the first nation to include multiculturalism into it’s Constitution. Yet, shows aired on Canadian networks can be seen to often maintain a hierarchy of systems put in place by the government which places Aboriginal communities at the bottom, and as threats to modernization and development of the nation. Television media representation of Aboriginal peoples in Canada are often projected through a Eurocentric lens which includes a narrow range of stereotypical portrayals, and whose representations on television, or lack thereof, wishes to diminish or demean Aboriginal peoples as positive additions, contributors, and members of Canadian society today.

The everyday institutional discrimination and abuse that Aboriginal members of society endure cannot be repudiated as issues of the past – as they often are within our mainstream media rhetoric. While Canada has made efforts to softly acknowledge its horrific history with Aboriginal land inhabitants, it paints these histories as such – histories, while denying discrimination against Aboriginal voices and identities today. Because society has been taught to believe that conflicts with Aboriginal communities are issues of the past and not the present, a false understanding that the Aboriginal identities portrayed on screen are in fact accurate and true today may be misconstrued.

Stereotypes

In early representations of Aboriginality on television, widespread series depicted what remain today some of the most prevalent stereotypes of Aboriginal peoples, ranging from alcoholics, welfare dependents, the wise elder, the squaw, the princess, the noble savage, and the warrior . The ease by which the stereotypes were propagated was largely due to widely accepted Eurocentric stereotypes at the time of televisions creation, consequential to actions taken by government leaders to eradicate Aboriginal peoples and put forth particular images. A multi-lateral study completed in 2004 by Canada’s own private broadcasting companies themselves admit that Aboriginal peoples are both under-represented and performed as stereotypic and inaccurate thereby purposely creating a negative image.

Ultimately, it was actions taken by the government which created the grounds under which the above stereotypes could become realities; the lasting effects that resulted from actions such as the creation of reservations and residential schools, a sadistic lack of resources, stripping of culture, dehumanization and sexual exploitation of communities and individuals, and horrific institutionalized racism originating from government bodies eventually created the stereotypes discussed above, which trickled into Canadian communities. In addition to depictions of alcoholism, dependence on welfare, or images sexy or eroticized women, television tends to place reliance onto war-time warrior representations of Aboriginal peoples, therefor enduringly reinforcing the "social dichotomy of us against them that has persisted since the colonial era".

Since the invention of television, Aboriginal identity has either been discarded from screens altogether, or has been constructed to nourish an ideological Indian, with an array of dehumanizing, humiliating, and romanticizing stereotypes which advance the popular belief that Indigenous cultures are inferior and detrimental to the progression of Western Eurocentric cultures.

Shows of Note

In 1955, Katz and Lazarfields theorized a two step flow of communications, maintaining that powerful or opinionated leaders could elicit an advantageous and positive response to what the leader desired when presented with a relatively passive audience. A two step flow of misrepresentations of Aboriginal identities have continued to be comfortably maintained throughout time, exemplified through the shows listed below who’s original airing dates ranged from the 1980’s to the mid 2000’s, and most of which continue to be played on Canadian networks. Shows of particular note can be viewed on major networks across Canada including but not limited to Spike TV, FOX, NBC, and Warner Brothers.

The Deadliest Warrior

Channel: Spike TV Production: 2009-2011

The Deadliest Warrior is a show which enlists the aid of CGI technology and large sets which are used in order to create re-enactments to determine which warriors or types of peoples would survive if they were to go into combat today. Not only does the Deadliest Warrior portray at multiple points Aboriginal fighters as dangerous, barbaric, and savage, at one point in the series during season three, the show actually depicts whether an Inuit Warrior is more savage than an Australian Aboriginal. Aboriginal roles are neither represented authentically nor played by Aboriginal actors or written or approved by Aboriginal identifying individuals or communities. A video of one particular scene is linked below:

Looney Tunes

Channel: Warner Brothers Production: 1930-1969

Looney Tunes, whose soundtrack perks the ears of many young kids, adults, and seniors alike for it’s widespread broadcasting since the mid 1930’s also portrays racialized depictions of Aboriginal “Indians” as well as violence and exploitation against them by none other than the beloved Bugs Bunny. Some episodes feature the likes of a travelling salesman being kidnapped and harmed by Natives, or Aboriginal peoples being displayed with primitive ‘weapons’, or disrupting ‘civil society’. In addition, to no surprise, all Aboriginal looking characters speak in broken English. Men are portrayed as angry savages, while women are played as ‘unfair’ erotic distractions towards the popular Eurocentric characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KXqYHKdA94

Seinfeld

Channel: NBC Production: 1989-1998

The show Seinfeld follows the never-ending adventures of the New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his crew of friends as they fumble their way through the walks of life. The popular show incorporates an Aboriginal woman for only a fleeting second, yet manages to make her time count. Elaine is having a girls’ night in with some friends. One of her friends, Wynona, is Native American. Seinfeld and Elaine had had a previous argument earlier that day; as an apology, Seinfeld enters the room where Elaine and her girlfriends sit with a large gift: a life-size ‘cigar store Indian’. He proceeds to make the statue dance and talk among other things and fails to see the effects he is making on Wynona, or does not care at all. Seinfeld goes to apologize to Wynona and their relationship continues for a few more scenes just long enough for producers to incorporate a few more racialized jabs. Finally, in the last scene, Seinfeld is asked by Wynona to return a TV guide she lent him as she wants to write a piece on minority representation in media. Seinfeld tells her that she can’t give up something and then expect to take it back, to which Wynona angrily asks him if he’s referring to an “Indian Giver”, to which Seinfeld does not object to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxgVumakYPE

Brief Timeline of Television in Canada

1932: First Television Broadcast in Canada occurs in Montreal, Quebec.

1958: New Broadcasting Act establishes the "Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG)" to regulate all Canadian broadcasting.

1966: Color TV officially arrives in Canada, although color broadcasts from the U.S. have been available since 1953.

1975: First Television Broadcast Available to the North (Primarily Inhabitants are Aboriginal), after the federal government approved an Accelerated Coverage Plan (ACP).

1991: Creation of the Aboriginal Programming Television Network (APTN).

Aboriginal Programming Television Network (APTN)

In 1991, the The Aboriginal Programming Television Network (APTN) was launched in Canada. The APTN is a Canadian network channel introduced as the first of its kind in the world. Consequence to a lack of representation and inclusion on main-stage Canadian television networks, APTN appears as the main media representative of Aboriginal voices. The program, has since remained on air as the only Aboriginal television network. The APTN is significant as it creates a medium by which Aboriginal visual media makers have a reliable outlet to release their media and to be taken seriously within; a large majority of the programming on the APTN is acquired and licensed from independent Aboriginal producers from within Canada and around the world in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Central as well as South America. Objectively, a standard Canadian channel bundle bought through multi-national companies such as Shaw, TELUS, or Bell contain on average 94-195 channels. The APTN continues to be the only Aboriginal channel in Canada shown on these Networks.

Indigenous Self-Representation

Aboriginal self-created film and television have sparked as a means employed to challenge as well as respond to the dominant forms of representation of Aboriginal peoples on mainstream television and media networks. In the last thirty years, Aboriginal self-representative visual media has progressed significantly. Aboriginal screen-makers have created expressive pieces and claimed their space on the set. The increase in self-representative pieces within visual media over the last thirty years has occurred as a broader movement to cultivate self-determination and autonomy, while reimagining what Canadians view as “Indian”.

Aboriginal visual media directors document “cultural practices, recuperate community narratives, and sustain cultural memory” through their respective and collective media. Video is a form by which Aboriginal cinematographers have negotiated and expressed various cultural and personal identities.

Shows of Note Today

Many of the notable TV shows today encompassing Aboriginal peoples, storylines, ideas, and histories can be found on the APTN website by nature of APTN broadcasting shows with positive representations; as such, they are broadcasted weekly on the APTN network. Several of the shows, however, are also available on Canadian Netflix.

Blackstone:

Synopsis: http://aptn.ca/blackstone/ Available On Netflix

Heartland:

Synopsis: http://aptn.ca/heartland/ Available on Netflix

The Mix

Synopsis: http://aptn.ca/themix/ Broadcasting Saturdays at 11pm ET on APTN

The Red Road

Synopsis: http://aptn.ca/theredroad/ Available on Netflix

Taken

Synopsis: http://aptn.ca/taken/ Broadcasting Thursday at 12:30 pm ET and Fridays at 7:00pm ET on APTN

Mainstream Media Discourse Effects on Indigenous Self Representation

The instigation of Aboriginal self-representation on-screen, both on the APTN and elsewhere, represents immense progress in efforts to combat misrepresentation, exclusion, and discrimination of Aboriginal bodies within television; however, these instances of self-representation depicted onscreen do not act as mere definite replacements of mainstream depictions portrayed on most television sets at home. Aboriginal film and television makers are not simply able to override the images and portrayals of Aboriginality that Canadian networks have broadcasted for decades, nor can they themselves be rid of the influences that come from Hollywood representations of themselves.

Instead, Aboriginal self-representation on screen creates what Gerald McMaster (Plains Cree) calls “borderlands”. Borderlands are symbolic of the cultural dissimilarities and cultural spaces that border between multiple social worlds. The notion of borderlands theory is significant when examining how mainstream and self-representative broadcasting competes, and the various improvisations, compromises, and complexities that arise when Aboriginal self-representations are met with typical Western depictions on-screen.

As a result of Aboriginal communities being at a disadvantage within the social world, and often low in economic capital and cultural capital, the state (being the Canadian government) creates various channels by which Aboriginal communities are able to express themselves. This in and of itself creates a system for which Canada is able to imagine itself as inclusive, adaptive, and equality based while still maintaining ultimate control as to the expressions of Aboriginal self-representation on Canadian television. As stated by Kerstin Knopf (2010), the neocolonial state of Canada strives to promote and fund the creation of Aboriginal media forms, however, this in turn knowingly allows them an almost increased sense of control. As a result of the bordering space between Aboriginal mainstream representations and self-representation in television, Indigenous television creators are in an exceptionally precarious situation. Consequential to requiring both state funding as well as a viable platform for self-representation and expression to broadcast, Aboriginal television makers and crews must adhere to neocolonial influences, thereby weakening the self-determination a show is created to depict.

Instances of the Canadian government withdrawing critical or all funds from Aboriginal media platforms or campaign have occurred, and are often spun as financial deficits on the part of the government. However, instances such as the governments withdrawal of financial support for the Native Communications Program in 1990 occurred in the peak critical moment of the program’s strength and autonomy. Self-representation of Indigeneity within television sets is progressive and significant. However, as noted above, the mainstream images of Nativeness do not simply vanish, and the bordering discrepancies and power hierarchies greatly complicates the journey to self-representation and autonomy over depictions on household screens.