Signups open for media workshops

Exeko and The Eastern Door are teaming up for a series of free media literacy workshops for Indigenous youth that will promote critical thinking skills and empower participants with the fundamentals of journalism.

The workshops will take place on five consecutive Fridays starting from February 20 at The Eastern Door’s offices in Kahnawake, and the deadline to register is coming up fast.

“I think a project like this is a long time coming,” said editor/publisher Steve Bonspiel, noting the rise of fake news and unfounded conspiracy theories in recent years.

Bonspiel’s hope is that the workshops can equip participants to recognize disingenuous or manipulative information while also stoking their interest in journalism by teaching some of its most important tenets and skills.

“We have to cultivate the journalists of tomorrow. Otherwise, where are we going to get them from?” he said. “They have to come from the community, they have to come from allies who understand our communities.”

The Eastern Door was founded in 1992, not long after the Siege of Kanehsatake, because founder Kenneth Deer recognized that outside media were missing the mark in reporting on Kanien’kehá:ka communities. Kahnawake, he concluded, needed its own newspaper.

These days, with messages flooding social media feeds, the need to critically evaluate modern news sources is as great as ever.

“We can see how historically Indigenous history was manipulated by white people and still is manipulated,” said Anne Brel Cloutier, facilitator and mediator for Exeko’s First Nations and Inuit hub. Those who seek to manipulate public opinion might do so for money or for political benefit, but critical thinking can be a shield against this kind of exploitation.

“We see it as intellectual self-defence,” she said. “When we know how to detect lies or fallacies, we become stronger in facing the reality that is all around us.”

Brel Cloutier will be one of Exeko’s facilitators in the workshops, which will explore critical thinking concepts alongside selected principles and strategies that form the bedrock of quality journalism.

Youth who participate will emerge from the series ready to interpret the news and separate fact from fiction – and armed with the confidence to explore opportunities to take part in journalism themselves.

“I hope for the youth to have fun while learning. I think it’s really important that they really discover that critical thinking can be a passionate activity while having fun,” Brel Cloutier said.

Besides Exeko’s facilitators, the planned workshops will be guided by The Eastern Door’s team of editors and reporters whose practical experience will help bring life to the workshops’ philosophical goals.

Bonspiel said journalists have to be ready to question their own biases and pointed to essential aspects of reporting like building relationships and speaking to all sides. He elevated one hallmark of good reporting above all: standing for the truth first and foremost.

“Truth is more powerful than personal relationships, and journalism is more powerful than individual strides to be better. It’s a collective. We’re trying to make the community better. We’re trying to fight for everybody, not just ourselves, and that comes through in our journalism, and hopefully that is going to come through the workshops,” he said.

With sufficient enrollment, the workshops are set to begin on Friday, February 20, and run each Friday until March 20 at the Kahnawake offices of The Eastern Door. Youth 12-29 years old who are interested can contact Anne Brel Cloutier at [email protected] for more information or to register before the February 13 deadline.

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