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tânisi cuzzins,
We live in an era of great unrest and uncertainty.
Much of the world is experiencing turmoil right now: the unrelenting bombings by Israel of the Gaza strip, the political acrimony in the United States, the layoffs in the media here which is affecting thousands of journalists, the cost of living, which is making it increasingly difficult for many to get by.
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Matriarchs at the salmon ceremony at sx̌ʷnítkʷ the sound the water makes at the falls (Kettle Falls). Photo by Mike Graeme
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The many deaths related to the poison drug supply. The number of houseless people, many of whom are Indigenous and suffering residual trauma of a government system that created brutal institutions to strip them of their cultures.
I know I'm incredibly lucky. I have a safe home, with enough food to feed my kids and my partner and I. My two children are healthy, growing up strong and beautiful, connected to Cree teachings.
And in an industry that seems to be shedding jobs by the day, I'm grateful for this work. Yesterday, Vice media informed staff that they will be cutting several hundred positions and no longer publishing on their website, Vice.com
IndigiNews is not immune to the difficulties facing the industry. All three of our full-time reporting positions are paid for by the Local Journalism Initiative, an program of the federal government that is set to expire this year.
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Laura Holland, mother of Jared Lowndes, who was killed by police in 'Cambell River' on July 8, 2021. Photo by Philip McLachlan
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Will it be renewed? I don't know. It seems unlikely that the government would cut it now, given the state of the industry – we are far worse off in 2024 than we were in 2019, when the program first launched.
But politics cannot be ignored. If this becomes an election year, it's possible that a different government could cancel the LJI program altogether.
All I know is that I'm proud of the storytelling we do at IndigiNews. I feel lucky to work with reporters Aaron Hemens, Kayla MacInnis (who is also an associate editor), Amy Romer, Meral Jamal and Jocelyn Shepel.
I feel blessed to be able to work with and learn from Cara McKenna, IndigiNews editor, and an incredibly talented journalist who has over a decade of reporting and editing experience. I know if we lost our LJI funding, she and I together could keep a very bare-bones version of IndigiNews going. But I hope it doesn't come to that.
Regardless of what the future holds – for IndigiNews and other media – today, I give thanks for what we currently have.
kinânskomitinaw (I am grateful for all of you), our readers. hiy hiy for being a part of the IndigiNews community.
Aunty Eden
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Eden Fineday is a nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) and the publisher of IndigiNews. She is a also a mom, a writer and a student of nehiyawewin. She lives with gratitude as an uninvited guest on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), səl̓ ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Peoples and on her traditional territories in Treaty six.
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