Anishinaabe CBC Thunder Bay executive producer says Indigenous narrative embraced in journalism

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY — Fort William citizen and CBC Thunder Bay executive producer Michael Dick highlighted the significance of residential school issues to kick off the Gaagaagi Indigenous Media Speakers series on Jan. 15.

“I talked a bit about the residential schools, about whether people were Indigenous or non-Indigenous [and] how profoundly it has affected them,” Dick says. “And how it’s sort of raised their consciousness, whether they are in public or whether they are consuming media or whether they are just living their everyday lives. The questions were more about, I would say, a larger discussion about how society is really embracing Indigenous journalism right now.”

Dick appreciated the turnout for his Gaagaagi presentation, which was hosted by Journalists for Human Rights in association with the Thunder Bay Public Library at the library’s Brodie Community Hub.

“It went well — there was a good crowd of people obviously engaged in Indigenous journalism,” Dick says. “I was encouraged to see the crowd was not all Indigenous people. There was a large non-Indigenous group here eager to learn, from law students to the public. It’s an interesting subject; it’s a very passionate subject for a lot of people.”

Dick spoke about his education and career path, which included two years in Japan before he returned home to work as the executive producer at CBC Thunder Bay.

“It’s the best decision I’ve made in my life,” Dick says. “As an Indigenous person who walks a very fine line, I can tell you that my job is an awesome job because I help shape the coverage, help shape the content and help shape the narrative of our city. CBC Thunder Bay covers an area the size of France from Thunder Bay; we go to the Manitoba border up to Fort Severn to about Wawa with about a staff of 10-12 people.”

Dick notes that there is an increased media presence from the national media in Thunder Bay.

“Any time you get the spotlight on you negatively it always concerns people,” Dick says. “Our job in the CBC is to provide the facts, accurate and balanced, and present them to the public and let them decide.”

Long Lake #58’s Sterling Finlayson says Dick’s presentation was “very informational.”

“He has a keen sense for telling a story,” Finlayson says. “His storytelling is very descriptive.”

Finlayson also appreciated the opportunity for the audience to ask Dick questions after his presentation.

“People have a certain curiosity when it comes to telling a story, because everyone has a story to tell,” Finlayson says. “And I believe everyone is entitled to that story.”

John Akweniiostha Hodson, director of the Maamaawisiiwin Education Research Centre in Thunder Bay, says Dick’s presentation was a “fascinating look at CBC journalism in the territory.”

“I’m pleased to see someone that is Anishinaabe working in a position like that and has an opportunity to shape, and I agree with him, the stories that are out there at a very critical time in terms of Indigenous people in Canada,” Hodson says. “[Thunder Bay] is really a microcosm of what is going on all across the country.”

The Gaagaagi series features four speakers and three Journalists for Human Rights Workshop sessions from January to March at the Brodie Community Hub. Information about the series is posted online. The next session is a workshop on Media and Human Rights on Jan. 29 and the next speaker is Willow Fiddler, video journalist with APTN and Sandy Lake citizen in Nishnawbe Aski Nation, on Feb. 12.