Earlier this month, the Native American Journalists Association created what it called 鈥渁 new tool鈥� for newsrooms covering Indigenous communities.
That tool is a bingo card.
Say what?
Indulge me here as I explain what is behind the association鈥檚 purpose, which is very much applicable to Canada, particularly 麻豆传媒映画and the rest of the region. Yes, the bingo card is a real thing. It鈥檚 not, however, filled with numbers, but clich茅s and stereotypes of Indigenous people.
Bingo squares include words such as poverty, addiction, drugs, alcohol and suicide. 鈥淰anishing culture鈥� and 鈥渄ying language鈥� also appear on the board, as does 鈥減oor education鈥� and 鈥渂roken families.鈥� If a reporter has one of these words or phrases in his or her copy, that reporter has to mark that square.
You probably know where this is going 鈥� yes, the more squares a reporter fills, the better chance the reporter scores a bingo. And, according to the association, if a reporter scores a bingo, 鈥渃onsider killing your story and contact a consultant at the Native American Journalists Association for advice on ways to improve your storytelling in Indigenous communities.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a quote I found in a release from the association. It can be attributed to Tristan Ashone, the association鈥檚 vice president.
鈥淏ecause news organizations often refuse to commit time, energy or resources to covering Indigenous communities in real or meaningful ways, coverage is often shallow and formulaic. The bingo board is designed to draw attention to stereotypes and cultural bias reporters employ when framing their stories. It鈥檚 the responsibility of journalists to combat clich茅s in order to ensure that information is accurate, fair and thorough.鈥�
I tell you all this because I鈥檓 about to score a bingo with the sentences I鈥檓 going to write to finish this piece. Such a 鈥渨in,鈥� though, is unavoidable when discussing the topic of homelessness among Indigenous people in 麻豆传媒映画and across the region.
Yesterday, the Metro 麻豆传媒映画agency released a report on the 2017 homeless count that specifically pulled data on Aboriginal peoples. The news is not good. It never has been good in the couple of decades that I鈥檝e followed this topic 鈥� Aboriginal peoples account for one-third (34 per cent) of the homeless in the region, despite representing only 2.5 per cent of the population.
It鈥檚 the highest proportion ever recorded.
In real numbers, that鈥檚 746 people out of 3,605 counted across the region over one 24-hour period in March.
But there鈥檚 likely more, as the report鈥檚 authors concluded: 鈥淚t is important to point out that this count only addressed the most acute form of homelessness 鈥� those individuals in shelters and on the street over one 24-hour period 鈥� and is therefore very conservative in that it fails to take into consideration those individuals who were simply not counted and those who are at-risk of becoming homeless.聽 One can speculate that the actual number of Aboriginal peoples who are homeless or at risk of being homeless is extreme and much higher than actually reported.鈥�
The reasons for homelessness include poverty, addiction, broken families, poor education, intergenerational trauma related to colonization and the residential school system, unemployment, racism 鈥� bingo! 鈥� and a lack of housing, where tenants have access to health care and counselling.
Year after year, the story never changes. When the percentage of homeless people counted on the street was 30 per cent in 2013, I got to the numbers. At the time, he was chairperson of the Aboriginal Homelessness Steering Committee.
He was troubled by the numbers then. That concern hasn鈥檛 diminished in 2017.
鈥淭hose numbers are people, and we鈥檝e got to be able to house them,鈥� said Stewart, an architect and chairperson of the provincial Aboriginal Homelessness Committee, who continues to implore all three levels of government to build and enable more housing. 鈥淲e need more safe, affordable housing, we need social housing, we need a federal government that has the political will to put the National Housing Act back on the table.鈥�
I mentioned the bingo card and he agreed the media focuses too much on negative stories about Indigenous people. But, he said, stories that shine the light on homelessness have to be told because the crisis needs attention.
It鈥檚 just, he added, that this can鈥檛 be the only story told about Aboriginal peoples. Reporters have to look beyond the doom and gloom so often associated to the community. He鈥檚 right, and I heard that loud and clear while reporting and writing a series I did last year called
I like to think, said the white guy, there was some good news in there 鈥� the Metis high school valedictorian going to college, the 麻豆传媒映画police officer from the Namgis First Nation sharing his challenging upbringing to recruits, the Musqueam 鈥渒nowledge keeper鈥� educating students about the ways of Coast Salish people, the three elders who continue to inspire and lead in their communities.
It鈥檚 was refreshing to write these stories.
But today, as the homeless statistics revealed, the news is not good. Tomorrow, Stewart hopes it gets better.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 focus on all the bad news all the time but, for media, it seems like good news doesn鈥檛 sell,鈥� he said as we wrapped up our conversation. 鈥淚t would be nice to have balance. There鈥檚 lots of good stories out there, too.鈥�
That bingo card, it appears, is a work in progress.
@Howellings
