Indigenous Screen Cultures in Canada

Book excerpt: Indigenous media challenges the power of the state, erodes communication monopolies, and illuminates government threats to Indigenous cultural, social, economic, and political sovereignty. Its effectiveness in these areas, however, is hampered by government control of broadcast frequencies, licensing, and legal limitations over content and ownership. Indigenous Screen Cultures in Canada explores key questions surrounding the power and suppression of Indigenous narrative and representation in contemporary Indigenous media. Focussing primarily on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, the authors also examine Indigenous language broadcasting in radio, television, and film; Aboriginal journalism practices; audience creation within and beyond Indigenous communities; the roles of program scheduling and content acquisition policies in the decolonization process; the roles of digital video technologies and co-production agreements in Indigenous filmmaking; and the emergence of Aboriginal cyber-communities.