Re: Application of Aboriginal Voices Radio for a new radio service in Calgary

[Evan Adams: Coast Salish actor and writer, 15-year member of the Association of Canadian TV and Radio Artists (ACTRA), 12-year member of Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA), 3^rd year medical student, past advisory committee member and assessor for the Canada Council for the Arts and the BC Arts Council, member of the Alberta and Canadian Medical Association]

I am a strong supporter of radio as an essential means of communication within and between Native communities. I appreciate the positive role currently played by native radio broadcasters in many nations across Canada. These primarily rural – and this is important – primarily rural and northern broadcasters, provide an irreplaceable voice for many First Nations peoples living in relative isolation.

Yet, one-third to one-half (the Prime Minister’s Office says a half) of all Aboriginal Canadians live in urban centres where native radio is often completely unavailable. One-half of our band lists are mixed-race people, many of whom do not live on-reserve but desire some linkage to their heritage. More and more Aboriginal people, myself included, leave our reserves, our homelands, our cultures and languages and everything we know in pursuit of the dominant cultures’ mandates. We move south to the urban centres in pursuit of work and educational opportunities. I have spent 7 years in post-secondary training, with 3 more to go in order to achieve my goal of being a practicing physician. My point in this is simple: I moved south many years ago. My English is much better; my own language is much worse. The Urban Aboriginal person has few resources in support of their desire to "cross over" into fuller participation in the dominant culture.

Thus far, most of the cultural initiatives for Aboriginal peoples have centred on rural areas. Mistakenly, the Canadian government has seen "Aboriginal" as synonymous with "rural". The Urban Aboriginal is alive and well, and crossing over into the mainstream. In pursuit of our studies and work, we move south and intra-urban. We stop hearing our languages. We are away from the voices of our Elders, and we stop living inside our vivid heritage. I do not see Aboriginal faces. I do not hear Aboriginal voices. Compared to the North, the Urban Indian is culturally bereft.

I grew up speaking English and French in an officially bilingual country. I completely understand and feel the need for protection of the vitality of La Francophonie in predominantly English-speaking Canada. I draw that parallel today. An Anglophone in French-Canada would expect to hear English language and culture somewhere in their day-to-day life. Ditto a Francophone in English-Canada. I am not unreasonable in my desire to hear even an echo of my people in my day-to-day life. Urban Aboriginal radio programming would go a long way to this end.

Recently, I cut pictures out of a Wal-Mart flier because inside was an Aboriginal woman modeling clothes. She wasn’t wearing beads and feathers; she wasn’t derelict nor a depiction of the media-popular "Indian social problem". She seemed an everyday, nice, ordinary person, of obvious Aboriginal descent. It was my reaction to this image that galvanized me to appear today. I am a perfectly ordinary Aboriginal person living in a city, and I never see images of contemporary Aboriginal life. At least, I see it so seldom that when I see it, I feel amazement. This young woman now hangs on my bathroom door as concrete proof of my existence. ACTRA (the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists) recently released their Annual Report stating that people of color represented less than 2% of the roles in radio and television last year (a decline even from the previous year, I might add). Yet Aboriginal people themselves are approximately 3% of the Canadian population. Clearly, Canadian radio and television are failing miserably to represent the cultural diversity, current demographics and the multicultural, pluralistic society that makes today’s Canada so great.

No Aboriginal radio is readily available in this city. Aboriginal representation is once again absent in this field. I still do not hear Aboriginal Voices.

Gary Farmer has been instrumental in the launching of Aboriginal People’s Television Network last year. APTN brings Aboriginal cultural television programming to mainstream and Aboriginal audiences. Gary Farmer has a long, unwavering history of dedicated service to the Aboriginal community. He continues to break ground, and has been unquestionably the leader in Aboriginal media. Gary Farmer’s application for Aboriginal Voices Radio shows foresight, and attempts to fulfill a dire need. The need for Native radio is as great, if not greater, for Aboriginal people living in the midst of these multicultural cauldrons.

The Aboriginal Voices radio service has committed to providing a voice for urban Aboriginal people, and to supporting connections between urban and more rural native communities. They are committed to supporting artists, producers and performers. They are committed to encouraging enterprise, industry, and innovation. They are committed to including diverse voices, especially the energy of youth and the wisdom of Elders. I am committed to supporting their licensing.

Thank you for allowing me time to speak on behalf of this application.