Defund Defined (ep 283)

02/15/22 • 72 min

MEDIA INDIGENA : Indigenous current affairs

How should we speak of safety in society? How ought we to understand and manage the origins of risk? And in doing so, where might we position police’s role in producing either? Depending on who you talk to, “experiences may vary.” Now a new report out of Atlantic Canada’s largest urban centre proposes much less of a role for police in the larger justice equation—in some respects, no role at all. Prepared for no less than the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners, the report puts meat on the bones of the contentious concept of defunding.

Joining host/producer Rick Harp this week: activist, artist and scholar El Jones, Assistant Professor of Political and Canadian Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, and one of the lead authors of Defunding the Police: Defining the Way Forward for HRM [Halifax Regional Municipality]. Also at the table this episode, Trina Roache, the Rogers Chair in Journalism at the University of King’s College.

// CREDITS: Our opening/closing theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

// CREDITS: Our opening/closing theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Previous Episode

Ottawa Overwhelmed (ep 282)

This week: the occupation of Ottawa. And as truckers and others continue to crash Canada's capital and beyond, it’s striking (if not surprising) to watch how these protests have been handled—or not—providing a stark contrast to the often paramilitarized approach taken to Indigenous-led direct actions. Remember the outcry over critical infrastructure, said to be under siege by extremist Indian insurgents? Perspective is everything it seems, and amidst multiple cities' ongoing troubles with truckers, our Indigenous roundtable shares theirs. Joining host/producer Rick Harp this week are Ken Williams (assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama) and Kim TallBear (professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta), a conversation we recorded the afternoon of February 8, 2022.

// CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.

Next Episode

How Ukrainian land defenders get to be brave and heroic to Canadian media yet Indigenous defenders don’t (ep 284)

On our latest 'MINI INDIGENA,' special guest Michael Redhead Champagne (Ininew helper, host, speaker & author) joins roundtable regulars Kim TallBear (University of Alberta Native Studies professor) and host/producer Rick Harp to discuss:

i) Is it only propaganda when others do it? The blocking of RT (Russia Today) in some Western countries;

ii) How Ukrainian land defenders get to be brave and heroic to Canadian media yet Indigenous defenders don’t;

iii) Helper, organizer, advocate, rebel—a look at the roles we each can play in movement-building;

iv) A sneak peek of We Need Everyone, Michael's forthcoming book that seeks to “empowers kids to find their gifts & use them to strengthen community.”

>> CREDITS: 'Absorb' by James Hammond (CC BY-SA 3.0)