Decolonizing Journalism: A Guide to Reporting in Indigenous Communities

by Duncan McCue

Recent events including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the discovery of mass graves at the sites of former residential schools have brought increased coverage of Indigenous Peoples to Canada's mainstream media outlets. However, there is no guide for current and aspiring journalists to building respectful and reciprocal relationships with Indigenous people and communities when researching and sharing their stories. Written by a leading Indigenous journalist, Duncan McCue, specifically for journalism students in Canada, Decolonizing Journalism delivers practical, up-to-date advice in a guidebook-like text that students will use throughout their studies and careers. Readers will learn how to develop a critical consciousness when engaging with and reporting on Indigenous communities, and will draw insights into the histories, processes, and obstacles central to decolonizing journalism from exclusive interviews with 9 leading Indigenous journalists.

Genres: Nonfiction, Journalism, Indigenous

232 pages, Paperback

Published January 6, 2023

About the author

Award-winning journalist Duncan McCue is the host of CBC Radio One Cross Country Checkup. McCue was a reporter for CBC News in Vancouver for over 15 years. Now based in Toronto, his news and current affairs pieces continue to be featured on CBC's flagship news show, The National.

McCue's work has garnered several RTNDA and Jack Webster Awards. He was part of a CBC Aboriginal investigation into missing and murdered Indigenous women that won numerous honours including the Hillman Award for Investigative Journalism.

McCue has spent years teaching journalism at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism and was recognized by the Canadian Ethnic Media Association with an Innovation Award for developing curriculum on Indigenous issues. He's also an author: his book The Shoe Boy: A Trapline Memoir recounts a season he spent in a hunting camp with a Cree family in northern Quebec as a teenager.

He was awarded a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University in 2011, where he created an online guide for journalists called Reporting in Indigenous Communities (riic.ca). Before becoming a journalist, McCue studied English at the University of King's College, then Law at UBC. He was called to the bar in British Columbia in 1998.

McCue is Anishinaabe, a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation in southern Ontario, and proud father of two children.

Reviews

[Sam Maciag · Rating 5 out of 5]

A crucial read for current and aspiring journalists.

[Keili Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for journalists covering Turtle Island, even for those who have been practicing journalism for a long time. Duncan McCue has created an invaluable resource (and makes sure to include further reading, resources and credits many Indigenous journalists). I hope journalism schools use Decolonizing Journalism in their classes and encourage aspiring journalists to engage with the material and Indigenous peoples.

I only wish I'd had this book sooner.

[Gabrielle Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent text for reporters about the nuances of reporting on and engaging with Indigenous Communities in Canada. It's well-written and doesn't feel unnecessarily long!

Read for the author's Reporting In Indigenous Communities class at Carleton University.