The Nishiyuu Walk Movement Analysis

The Nishiyuu walk represents another difference in the media coverage of Idle No More, which is the importance and relevance of the movement. Sentiments like Matchewan’s comments on First Nations unity appear throughout Windspeaker publications, in APTN broadcasts, and in the academic literature that discusses Idle No More. Morris (2014) highlights that the movement was focused on improving Canadian Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination (p. 251). She also discusses that this aspect is ignored in mainstream media as critics focus on Idle No More’s lack of organization and failure to accomplish its goals of opposing Bills C-38 and C-45 (p. 249, 255). The Globe and Mail published an article that critiqued Idle No More in this way. Caplan’s …show more content…
As previously mentioned, APTN uniquely emphasizes the voices of the average Indigenous protester and provides a venue for audiences to hear the voices of First Nations individuals. However, APTN’s presentation format greatly resembles a typical mainstream online TV news source. Being a division of CBC, it has the same elements of CBC broadcasts, including production value, social media marketing, and modern accessible website structure. The broadcasts involve on the scene reporters who summarize the key points of an event and provide footage of key moments at these events. Essentially, APTN has the same medium and grammar of a typical mainstream news source (Meyrowitz, 1999, p. 47). The key difference between APTN and other mainstream news broadcasters is in the content and whose voice is articulated, rather than how it is articulated. This emphasis of Indigenous voices challenges the standard presentation of Indigenous peoples by bringing First Nations individuals to the forefront of its …show more content…
An example that highlights these differences is the discussions of round dances – a form of protest that was popular during Idle No More. The following example is The Globe and Mail, and Windspeaker’s coverage of a round dance protest that took place on December 26th, 2012. The protests took place in different places across Canada (one in Vancouver, British Columbia and one in Edmonton, Alberta), but the protests share many similar qualities. The news stories, however, may lead you to think otherwise. Galloway’s (2012b) report of the Boxing Day protest in The Globe and Mail states:
In downtown Vancouver, dozens of supporters disrupted Boxing Day traffic as they marched through the streets in solidarity. Police closed sections of Granville and Georgia Streets and directed traffic as the group wound through the downtown core, banging drums, waving flags, chanting and holding up