Aboriginal representations in the Canadian news media: A socio-semiotic analysis of the media representation of Aboriginals in the Caledonia land dispute and of its relevance for the understanding of the identity of this group in Canadian society

This thesis addresses the issue of aboriginal representations in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Canadian Television (CTV) news coverage of the Caledonia land dispute. The theoretical framework derives from the scholarly work done in the field of media and minority studies. The methodology that will be used to address the issue of aboriginal representations in the media is a socio-semiotic analysis of news clips generated by the CBC and CTV. The medium of television was selected for analysis because of its reliance on sound and image to convey meaning, which allows for a visual and a conventional textual analysis of how the aboriginal identity is represented by the media coverage of aboriginal land claim disputes. The results of this study suggest a possible biased representation of the aboriginal identity, one which is primarily based on their status as a minority within Canada. Aboriginal Representations in the Media 1 Chapter One: Introduction Aboriginal Representations in the Media 2 Introduction Contemporary manifestations of racism often are overlooked in favour of defining racism as an issue of our past (Cottle, 2000, p.3). North America has come a long way from days when racism was overtly displayed and condoned; however, different forms of prejudice still occur in society. Modern racism exists within Canada in various manifestations, but generally it does not consist of overt derogatory comments or blatant intolerance (Cottle, 2000). Racism today often occurs "systematically rather than intentionally" (Fleras and Kunz, 2001, p.80). It is engrained in daily discourses and routine practices that place precedence on Eurocentric ideologies, which often overlook minority perspectives and marginalize opinions that do not reinforce dominant ideologies. Systematic acts of racism are often categorized as "new racism" (Barker, 1981) and work within a framework that suggests "minorities are not biologically inferior, but different" (Cottle, 2000, p.3). Within a society as diverse as Canada, the notion of "being different" should ideally not be reflected in negative opposition to the majority. However, as Fleras and Kunz (2001) suggest, the concept of difference often lends to the marginalization of minorities because it isnot illustrated through "a framework that can engage diversity as different yet equal" (p. 3). One of the ways in which minorities are marginalized in society is through media discourse (Cottle, 2000, p.3). Media content can contain covert acts of discrimination, (whether they be intentional or not), which foster the creation or maintenance of erroneous perceptions of minority groups (Hall 1997; Cottle 2000, van Dijk 1988). Examples of "new racism" within the media include the selective coverage of news events, misquoting minorities, presenting minority comments Aboriginal Representations in the Media 3 out of context and the reinforcement of minority stereotypes through "seemingly legitimate ideologies and attitudes" (van Dijk, 2000, p.34). In the corpus of this thesis, the concept of "new racism" is defined as any instance wherein the inaccurate representation of a minority occurs as a result of the news coverage favoring the majority perspective without legitimate justification, the use of stereotypes to facilitate or generalize news narratives, and the omission of the minority perspective when covering issues that impact the identity and livelihood of minority groups. In recent years, with the development of mass media communication, the news media have become a critical site of cultural reference (Cottle, 2000). As Henry and Tator (2002) state, "The media are one of the most powerful institutions in a democratic society because they help transmit its central cultural images, ideas, and symbols, as well as a nation's narratives and myths" (p.4). Since the media help to define national norms, they present a key site of inquiry into issues that revolve around the concept of new racism and the misrepresentation of minorities. Within Canada, one area of inquiry regarding the misrepresentation of minorities is through the current representation of Aboriginal peoples (Fleras and Kunz, 2001). Canadian Aboriginals represent a small but significant percentage of Canada's population. Having endured years of appropriation attempts by the government, Canada's Aboriginal population now encounters numerous social issues that deserve the country's attention and support. The topics that place Aboriginals on the nightly news are policing issues and land disputes (Statistic Canada, 2004) \ which are relevant Aboriginal issues but should not exist as the primary topics of Aboriginal media coverage. Land claims and 1 In a recent survey done by the Statistics Canada (2004) it showed that the public recall of Aboriginal issues in the news was most predominately linked to the coverage of policing issues and land claim disputes. Other (lesser recalled) news items included, Ipperwash and Fisheries (Statistics Canada, 2004). Aboriginal Representations in the Media 4 policing issues do not represent concerns that are considered by Aboriginals to be of the utmost importance, when compared to issues of health care and education (Statistics Canada, 2004). Recently when the United Nations applied their Human Development Index to Aboriginal communities in Canada, they ranked 68 out of 174 nations; Canada ranks 8 (Assembly of First Nations, 2006). Many of the social conditions faced by Aboriginal people within Canadian society are comparable to the realities of a less developed country; however, public empathy and awareness of Aboriginal issues remains insufficient (Pohl, 2000, p. 3). As noted by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (2006): "Most Canadians still give low priority to the issues of importance to Aboriginal people". The lack of public recognition of these concerns raises issues regarding the quality and quantity of the media coverage that is provided about Aboriginals. Media treatment of Aboriginal events is significant because "without accurate knowledge it is all too easy for negative stereotypes and simple ignorance to strangle communication" between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 2006). In this thesis, the question of quality will be addressed through an analysis of how the news media represents the Aboriginal identity. In order to approach the issue of how Aboriginals are represented by the news media, I have chosen to focus on the Canadian BroadcastingC orporation (CBC) and Canadian Television (CTV) news coverage of the Caledonia dispute. Caledonia is a small town in southwestern Ontario that is currently the location of an ongoing land claim 2 A survey done of First Nations people living on and off reserves showed that land claims ranked as the lowest issue that Aboriginals felt needed to be recognized by the federal government (Statistics Canada, 2004). The issues that ranked as the most important to be recognized by the federal government were Health Care, Education and Aboriginal Rights (Statistics Canada, 2004). Aboriginal Representations in the Media 5 protest. Caledonia is home to an Aboriginal group known as the Mohawk Six Nations. Under the Haldimand Treaty of 1784 the British Crown designated Caledonia, as well as the surrounding area, as being rightfully owned by the Mohawk Six Nations group that resided there long before British settlement (Fenwick, 2006). In the decades to follow, the land was sold or traded for various items and monetary amounts (Fenwick, 2006). Today, the history of the Haldimand treaty and the ownership of this area of land are highly disputed. According to members of the Six Nations Grand River reserve, this land is rightfully owned by the Mohawks. According to others, including members of parliament and some non-Aboriginal members of the community, the land is no longer owned by the Six Nations people. The authenticity of the Haldimand treaty, the actions of the Six Nation peoples, the citizens who purchased the land in good faith, and the previous decisions of the federal government remain at the heart of this land dispute in Caledonia (Fenwick, 2006). The televised coverage of this event began on CBC news, March 20, 2006. As with many land disputes, the origins of the conflict began long before the media warranted the story newsworthy and will likely continue long after the news media has stopped reporting on the event. Televised exposureof the Caledonia dispute did not return to CBC news programming until April 20, 2006. CTV news programming acknowledged the Caledonia dispute for the first time on April 20, 2006. The focus of this thesis will be the first full week of televised coverage of the Caledonia land dispute 3 The clip ran 02:1 lmin. Broadcast Date: March 22, 2006. Program: CBC News. Network: CBC. 4 CBC and CTV provided the majority of its Caledonia coverage from April 20, 2006 April 25, 2006. From April 26, 2006, onward, the event received significantly less media attention. It went from being mentioned daily, to being mentioned every other day, to being mentioned twice a week, to being mentioned twice a month; within a four-month period. Caledonia remains an ongoing current event and still receives news coverage on the odd occasion when progress in the land claim is deemed newsworthy by news editors. This information has been gathered using CBC and CTV online news archives; see reference list for further details. Aboriginal Representations in the Media 6 provided by CBC and CTV evening news programs. In reviewing how Aboriginals are represented by the CBC and CTV, this paper will address the issue of minority representations in some of the Canadian news media, with a specific focus on Aboriginal representations. The topic of minority representations is part of the cultural studies discipline and addresses the portrayals of minority groups in the media. Previous scholarly work within the topic of