after spending 28 horrible hours in a COVID ward of the U of A hospital, we watched my grandpa take his last breath yesterday. I’m not sure how to move on from a thing like this.
the B.C. government be like: don't go to testing centres, stay home if you have any symptoms, no you can't have a rapid test
also the B.C. government: according to our data COVID cases are going down 🥰
men posting on international women’s day be like: today I’m grateful for this woman whom does disproportionate labour which benefits me. I will continue to benefit from it and not change.
drugstore by my place in East Van has a big sign outside that says “RAPID TESTS AVAILABLE” so my bf went in to ask about them and they’re $150 for one pack. So only privileged ppl with disposable income can access them I guess?
Sto:lo announcing horrific details of St Mary’s residential school experience after two years of research which included gathering oral histories. I won’t detail them here, but the histories are extremely graphic and very difficult to hear, one woman here audibly sobbing.
On Friday my dad suddenly passed away. I knew he hadn’t been doing well but I wasn’t ready to say goodbye so soon. The past few days have been difficult beyond words. Hold your loved ones close 🖤
oh no there’s a new place called Dosa World opening across the street from House of Dosas and the adjacent Dosa Factory on Kingsway — these dosa wars are too stressful to witness!
so thrilled to share that
@IndigiNewsMedia
has published our first full translation of a news story in an Indigenous language!
we worked with experts from the Salish School of Spokane to provide this version of
@mikegraemephoto
's story in n̓səl̓xčin̓ ❤️
In Squamish, residents are being hit with a tsunami of manipulative online messages in advance of a critical election.
The municipality has become an “extreme example” of big-money meddling in small-town campaigns.
My latest in
@TheBreachMedia
👇
Many businessmen don't understand journalism. But worse? They don't care to.
When you start seeing journalism as a product to market vs a fundamental arm of democracy then that is a problem.
I’ve been self-quarantining for the past 8 days after testing positive for COVID. I’m triple vaxxed and still got extremely sick (similar to a bad flu). Now I’m finally starting to feel better but have lost my sense of taste and smell.
wrote a piece about today's announcement from shíshálh, where the nation says it has identified 40 shallow graves around the former St. Augustine's residential school.
I always feel like I exit my body while writing these horrific stories. It's surreal.
I always disliked this quote. Yeah I want to tell hard truths and hold institutions to account. But I also want to uplift community. I want to showcase beauty. I want to write about the weird and wonderful. Thinking we should do journalism only to piss other people off is wild.
RCMP is surveilling again at Fairy Creek. It's far from the public eye, so having media on the ground is of crucial importance. Please consider contributing to this fundraiser if you can to support Brandi and Amber's work on the ground documenting this historic land action 👇
This morning, Brandi Morin (
@Songstress28
) and Amber Bracken (
@photobracken
) fly to Victoria, rent a 4x4 and head for the logging roads of
#FairyCreek
.
There’s a new Indigenous youth-led blockade, and an impending RCMP raid?
Help fund their journalism.
wearing some stunning wolf earrings by Gitxsan/Nisga’a artist Jaimie Davis to the National Newspaper Awards tonight! The story we were nominated for was about a Nisga’a totem pole being rematriated from Scotland:
I hate how journalism award posts are always like: "congrats Chad!! You did such a beautiful job writing about how that entire family got murdered ❤️ I hope you have the best time celebrating tonight 💃🎉🥳"
it’s my birthday today and my heart breaks a little every time my phone buzzes because I know my dad would have been calling and texting. He wrote me a letter when I was born that I still have but am not ready to look at. But I keep thinking about it and someday soon I will.
grateful to
@Songstress28
and
@photobracken
for their work documenting the terrifying reality of wildfire evacuations in northern Alberta — a place that's often a news blindspot.
@IndigiNewsMedia
partnered w
@ricochet_en
to fund their reporting trip 👇
newly launched “news” sites with no trained journalists on staff about to write something super wrong and unethical be like: we will tell the stories mainstream media REFUSES to tell
@theCJS
Glad you have come out from your hole. You can explain here - with all your friends reading - why you think its okay to aggressively attack a young female reporter you have never met before as a witch. Perhaps the BC cops (unable to take fentanyl off the street) could then pop
"the media" is one amalgamous body that's out to get you but "the racists" and people doing bad things are just a couple of bad apples in a larger group you guys StOp gEnErALiZiNg
Last night was extremely special and memorable, just like the process of working on this story! Collaborating with
@writermjs
, Marty Clemens and
@thenarwhalca
has been the best experience ever. I learned so much from them. Making this
@NNA_CCJ
my new personality lol
if you asked me about journalism I would defend it until my dying breath but if you asked me on a deeper level I would say "this industry can be pretty embarrassing ngl"
Good journalists will take the time to analyze and understand all viewpoints in a story even if they don’t personally agree. That’s why accountability stories, written well, unveil important truths but still have an undercurrent of respect and fairness.
Anyways I just wanted to talk about it here bc the recent discourse about how it’s not so bad etc is astounding. It’s like rolling the dice and even if you’re triple vaxxed you can still get very sick or infect others who might. So be careful please!!
there’s a community “bulletin board” with permanent plastic display posters on it that was put up as part of the Rize apartment tower on Kingsway and Broadway. One of them is for a fake event. My bf tried putting a real show poster on it and it almost immediately got torn down.
heading out to Sto:lo territories today where the nation will be giving an update on an investigation into missing children and unmarked burials at the former St. Mary’s Residential School, Coqualeetza Industrial Institute, All Hallows School and Coqualeetza Indian Hospital.
every time I tell strangers at parties I’m a journalist it ruins my night via either lectures or mansplaining what’s a good lie I can make up next time so my vibe isn’t harshed
OK so a freaky thing happened to me 🧵:
Yesterday was my birthday. I was feeling pretty down because my dad passed away suddenly last year in February. He always would call and send a card of some kind on my bday so his absence was especially felt.
BREAKING: Tseshaht leadership says there are at minimum 67 children who never made it home from the Alberni Indian Residential School, after completing the first phase of an investigation of the site.
A protest against a divisive “comedy” trio quickly escalated this week, as women whose loved ones’ remains were found on serial killer Robert Pickton’s farm faced off against supporters of the Danger Cats
I looked into what happened for
@IndigiNewsMedia
powerful of
@AngelaSterritt
to have a moment of appreciation/noise in contrast to a moment of silence because “we’ve been silenced for too long.” A beautiful celebration for her new book, Unbroken
It's a small thing but it made me feel less lonely and it made me remember that people we love are never truly gone from our lives. It doesn't make it less sad or hard but a little bit less lonely maybe ♥️
sitting in a historic Edinburgh pub preparing to go see the Nisga’a totem that’s being housed in the National Museum of Scotland which is just up the street. It’s been there for almost 100 years. Next month, the pole will be brought home to the nation.
I have no memory of ever receiving this card and idk when he would have given it to me! It has a picture of his dog on the outside and inside there's a note that just says "hope you enjoy this Amazon gift card! Happy birthday, Dad."
there are some very powerful figures in media who have coasted on mediocrity over the years but now that the industry is becoming increasingly sensitive to nuance and bigger-picture analysis the cracks are starting to show
good morning Twitter, I’m going to erase my tweets about the copy-paste incident in order to let due process take its course. I will update when I learn how it’s going to be dealt with but as of right now the story in question is still up.
I'm still reading it but I must say the tone with which these CBC pretendian stories are written just feels so hateful and personal like this isn't a neutral reporting voice
The story myself +
@writermjs
have been working on for weeks is out in the world today. With me reporting from Edinburgh and him from Nisga'a, we told the story of how the Wilps Ni’isjoohl memorial pole made it home for
@IndigiNewsMedia
x
@thenarwhalca
♥️
the monument in memory of children lost in residential schools, carved by Stan Hunt, has arrived at Canada Place after making its way across the Island
Good morning everyone!
@IndigiNewsMedia
is once again looking for pitches related to water 🌊 as part of an ongoing series — first person, photo essays, investigations, news. Open to all but especially welcoming pitches from Indigenous writers (you don't need to be a journalist)
the fact that people are using words like “heartbreaking” to describe one location of a massive chain coffee shop closing is wild to me, y’all need to go touch grass
attended a candlelight vigil in Vancouver for the four MMIW in Winnipeg — there was a lot of anger at police and how they have failed families in both cities. And not listened to recommendations from the inquiry. I will be sharing a story probably tomorrow.
found the McKenna Cross in Donagh, Ireland, which dates back to the 12th century and was apparently hidden from the English for a while before being put up again. McKennas used to stand under it’s shadow when being inaugurated as chieftains of the clan so I obviously did that!
so annoying in sex and the city when carrie gets a job writing for vogue for $4.50/word and then fully has a breakdown when they simply edit her article
Also I’m stressing about long term side effects. Idk why people act like catching this is no big deal bc it is and you don’t know how it will affect you!! I also learned recently that migraine sufferers may be at risk for worse symptoms which checks out in my case.
somehow I feel like its the most Vancouver thing ever. Let’s put up some fake bulletin boards so it looks like we like local art but immediately rip down any real event posters cuz they interrupt our efforts to gentrify the neighbourhood with million-dollar trashcan apartments
I love how I somehow find my way into the Webster awards every year even though I’ve never been nominated. But this year is the most special because I’m here with
@Eden_Fine_Day
@legally_cree
@ShaluMehta32
who are all finalists with
@IndigiNewsMedia
and Discourse 💖
tomorrow morning I will be one of the reporters travelling to Maskwacis to witness Pope Francis visit the former Ermineskin residential “school” and address survivors and leaders. I’ll do my best to record this historical moment in a good way
drove from Port Alberni to Nanaimo in a wild random blizzard in the dark! Now about to take a ferry home. Despite the long day I’m so glad I decided to attend this historic event at Tseshaht in person. Me and
@JulieHChadwick
are working on a story.
This isn’t wrong but also when are we going to stop expecting that any industry is here to love us back and when are we going to collectively take back control of our own identities and self-worth?
So many amazing Canadian journalists have had their hearts shattered by this industry. Extra heartbreaking because I’ve never met a group of humans who care more about their work
can someone explain to me what foods Sasquatch eats, like does he eat salmon? Deer? Is he a vegetarian? This is really bothering me for some reason lol
A new Amnesty International report details ‘intimidation and harassment’ of Wet’suwet’en people by RCMP protecting the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
Latest by myself and
@meral_jamal
for
@IndigiNewsMedia
👇
throwback to 8 years ago when I briefly became a video journalist but could not hack the lifestyle and heavy camera and returned to my print dungeon where I belong
the way that 'the media' is spoken of as an amalgamous force with one specific agenda in some of my university classes makes my head spin, it's like nothing has caught up to the way media actually operates in a modern sense
I stand by my outrage but I’m doing this partly because I know it has been escalated, partly because I didn’t sleep last night and I feel horrible and don’t want to be checking Twitter all day. Thank you to everyone who reached out to support I appreciate you.
apparently Emily Carr students are staging a walk out today after the university announced a 30% (more than $5K) increase in tuition fees for international students for 2023
one time I used the term 'nut graf' in a creative non-fiction workshop thinking that it was common writing lingo, but then quickly realized no one uses that outside of newsrooms and regretted everything
an investigation I've been working on for like a month is going to come out later today so no one make any plans for tonight OK? I expect you all to be waiting at your computers to read it!