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BROUGHT TO YOU BY OCEAN WARRIORS
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IndigiNews is grateful for our sponsors. Become one.
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tânisi cuzzins,
I've got two exciting announcements for you this week. The first is that I've started a video broadcast for IndigiNews on TikTok! Every Sunday I'll be giving a summary of the stories we published in the past week at IndigiNews . ☺️
Videos will be available on TikTok and YouTube. You'll see a link to my videos in all future newsletters.
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My second exciting announcement is that the rest of this newsletter is written by illustrious IndigiNews reporter Aaron Hemens! More from Aaron below.
hiy hiy,
Aunty Eden
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Sponsored by: Ocean Warriors
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Ocean Warriors: Mission Ready TV Series on APTN
A 13-episode documentary series that follows four First Nations who have joined forces to form Canada’s only Indigenous Coastal Nations Coast Guard Auxiliary. These highly trained Indigenous men and women are willing to put their lives on the line at sea for any emergency in their territory along British Columbia’s rugged coastline.
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Dear IndigiNews readers,
When the opportunity to write for the IndigiNews newsletter presented itself, I jumped at the chance, because I figured it would be a nice way to engage with our readers in a more personal and informal way.
I’d like to provide you with a window into who I am and what I’ve got on the go as a reporter at IndigiNews, and share my thoughts on the stories that I write.
So, who am I? I am Aaron Hemens and I’ve been a journalist with IndigiNews for nearly two years now. You may have seen my byline or my photographs in stories on our site over the last couple of years.
My time as a storyteller for IndigiNews has been the most rewarding experience in my career as a journalist, which began in 2019. And on a more personal note, as a non-Indigenous person, being with IndigiNews has been life-changing. The places I’ve gone, the people I’ve met, the friends I’ve made and the stories I’ve had the privilege of telling while at IndigiNews have all contributed to a paradigm shift that is ongoing.
I spent much of 2023 covering the federally-owned Trans Mountain pipeline’s expansion project’s development in Secwepemcúl̓ecw. I formed deep bonds with Secwépemc and other Indigenous land defenders who opposed the project – the majority of whom are strong, courageous women; caretakers of the land.
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Brandi Morin, Aaron Hemens and Geordie onsite at Pípsell. Photo by Brandi Morin
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Forming these relationships, sitting in court covering their cases, and hearing of how Trans Mountain and “Canada” continues to infringe upon Secwépemc sovereignty, and Indigenous title to the land was an eye-opening experience.
Colonialism is not a thing of the past – it is an ongoing process that continues every day within systems set up to accommodate the ongoing theft and decimation of land. I can truly say everything I’ve reported on over the past year has changed me forever and I remain more dedicated than ever to sharing the truth and decolonizing my reporting practice..
2023 ended with Brandi Morin, Geordie Day and I documenting a group of land defenders breaching the Trans Mountain development at the sacred Secwépemc site of Pípsell. It was an intense few weekends and certainly felt like the culmination of my year-long coverage of Trans Mountain.
The new year has been off to a bit of a slow start editorially. I’m still recovering from the aftermath of Trans Mountain. But I can assure you that I’ve got some other big stories in the works.
One of them is a feature story about how urban sprawl and development in the City of kiʔlawnaʔ (“Kelowna”) is bleeding further in the Central Okanagan Valley in syilx homelands, threatening a natural wildlife corridor.
I’ve been piecing this story together since late November. There are a few loose ends that still need to be tied upstory, but it’s nearly done. I’m excited to get it out into the world.
This year, I’m looking forward to producing more stories that spark discourse around the need to protect the land, and the importance of Indigenous land stewardship and Indigenous knowledge systems and practices.
Thank you for reading this newsletter. I look forward to the next one – hopefully by then, I’ll have some more stories for you to read!
Yours,
Aaron
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Aaron Hemens is a photographer, journalist and visitor in unceded syilx territory. He is Filipino on his mom’s side, and has both French and British roots on his dad’s.
As a settler, he is committed to learning and unlearning in his role as an Okanagan Storyteller, and to accurately and respectfully tell stories of Indigenous peoples throughout the region. Aaron’s work is supported in part by the Local Journalism Initiative in partnership with The Discourse and APTN.
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