Media coverage of Indigenous issues still has room to improve, says CBC's Connie Walker

Veteran reporter Connie Walker says there needs to be more discussion on how Indigenous people are portrayed in the media.

Walker, a CBC national reporter, will be speaking at the Reconciliation and the Media conference in Saskatoonlater this week.

"I think that there'snowhere more important to have that conversation than in provinces like Saskatchewan where there is this really big Indigenous population, First Nations specifically," shetold CBC Radio'sMorning Edition."There is this history of under-representation in the media, or occasionally misrepresentation."

• Saskatoon hosting Reconciliation and the Media conference Wednesday

"I think it's really important just given the increase of Indigenous issues we're seeing across the board, not just in Saskatchewan," she said.

Truth and Reconciliation

The conference was struck in response to theTruth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which released its final report in December of 2015.

The report was the culmination of years of research, interviews and news coverage regarding theabuse, cultural genocide and trauma suffered by Indigenous children and families as a result of the residential school system.

The report also had 94 calls to action in it, which could better help people understand the cycle of systemic violence Indigenous families had been embroiled inas a result of forced assimilation by the church and Canadian government.

Changes coming

Walker has noticed changes in the last three years but said there is still room for improvement.

"We're hearing from more voices, we're beginning to show a bit of the diversity within the Indigenous community and I think things are changing and getting better.But, especially after stories like Colten Boushie, it's incredibly important for people in Saskatchewan, journalists, to get together and have these conversations," Walker said.

• Who was Colten Boushie?

Walker added the shift to a more digital-based platform has helped improve coverage. Walker said she thinks it was harder to gauge just how well Indigenous-based stories were resonating with an audience through traditional platforms such as radio.

Digital metrics, on the other hand, show that there is an interest among people for Indigenous stories, she added.

She said the number of Indigenous journalists increasing can only help in improving coverage.

"There's a lot of improvement that can be made to help bring more people in the newsrooms and having those voices in newsrooms will be important in terms of providing the proper context for these stories as they come up, and they inevitably will," Walker said.

Using Duncan McCue, host ofCross Country Checkup, as an example, she said McCue brings an Indigenous perspective to a national conversation.

"We don't just need Indigenous voices in Indigenous stories," she said. "We need Indigenous voices in all stories."

Walker said she hopes the conference has a lasting impact.

"Hopefully, again, it will just be the beginning of a conversation that will continue after the conference is over."

The conference's schedule can be viewed here.

The conference will take place Oct. 5 in Saskatoon at the University of Saskatchewan's Marquis Hall. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. CST and the conference will begin at 9 a.m. CST.