2011 / 6th Annual University of Regina Graduate Student Research Conference

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https://hdl.handle.net/10294/3259

Creating Community Consciousness: Students Expanding Knowledge & Creativity

Editors:

  • Timothy Maciag
  • Richard Dosselmann
  • Elizabeth Starks

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Browsing 2011 / 6th Annual University of Regina Graduate Student Research Conference by Subject "Aboriginal"

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    Current Constructions: Examining the Representation of the Aboriginal Gangster on CBC Radio
    (University of Regina Graduate Students' Association, 2011-04-02) Grebinski, Leisha
    CBC Radio’s network program The Current produced a special segment on Saskatoon’s changing demographics in September 2010. The spotlight highlighted the city’s rapidly growing Aboriginal population. However, the dominant thread throughout the discussion (re)produced colonial tropes that situated Aboriginal people as disproportionately degenerate, inferior, and criminal (Carter, 1997; Fanon, 1990; Razack, 2002). In this paper I will question The Current’s focus on the “Aboriginal gangster” and its emphasis on the large number of youth being lured into gangs who allegedly have their grip on much of Saskatoon’s inner-city. In addition, I will critically examine racism and the systemic factors that are either overshadowed or completely ignored. Building on a body of literature that problematizes media as a powerful disseminator of knowledge that demonstrates to the public what is “common sense” (Hall,1976; Henry and Tator, 2002; Jiwani,2006), I will ask: What message does The Current sends to the nation regarding Saskatoon’s Aboriginal population? And as a consequence, what image does the Aboriginal population see reflected? When negative representations are produced and (re)produced by mainstream media, the health and well-being of Aboriginal peoples and their communities are adversely affected. As such, this paper will encourage dialogue to challenge and disrupt media discourse that produces and perpetuates the “Aboriginal gangster” stereotype; the latest monolithic depiction of Canada’s imagined Indian (Francis, 1992; Robertson, 2011; Valaskakis, 2005).