Episodes
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On this week’s collected, connected conversations, our three-part pile of political pontifications concludes its campaign—as does our Summer 2024 Series as a whole—with a comparison of activism versus access: in the pursuit of mainstream political influence, is it better to be in the room or out on the streets?
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University
• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama
• Michael Redhead Champagne, a Winnipeg-based community leader, helper, author, and public speaker
• Lisa Monchalin, criminology lecturer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C.
• Trina Roache, assistant professor of journalism at the University of King’s College
• Brett Forester, Ottawa-based reporter with CBC Indigenous
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'rye' by Tea K Pea (CC BY); 'Deep Dive' by James Hammond.
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On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the seventh in our eight-part summer series): the push and pull of performative politics, where we address the question of just how far Indigenous individuals can advance Indigenous interests in a settler-centric system.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University
• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama
• Nick Martin, senior editor with National Geographic
• Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia
• Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'my bloody beating heart' by kitchenromance (CC BY); 'Up & At Em' by James Hammond; 'Level 2' by HoliznaCC0 (CC0).
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Missing episodes?
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On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the sixth in our summer series): a political perusal of the prerogatives of power. The first in our three-part look back at the allure and limits of mainstream political participation, we begin with a Trudeau triple-header, a Liberal dose of discussions about the only federal leader this podcast has ever known.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta’s Department of Drama
• Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia
• Kim TallBear, professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'Harp Miniature' by Vladan Kuzmanović (CC BY SA); 'Last Dance' by Jahzzar (CC BY SA).
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On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fifth in our summer series): the conclusion to our five-part retrospective, Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, wherein we feature a few more settler-centric solutions to settler-made problems, as well as examples of what truly independent Indigenous initiatives look like.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Naiomi Metallic, associate professor of law at Dalhousie University, and Yellowhead Institute advisory board member
• Tim Thompson, First Nations education advocate, and Yellowhead Research Fellow and advisory board member
• Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society
• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama
• Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University
• Terese Mailhot, author and associate professor of English at Purdue University
• Robert Jago, writer, educator, co-founder and director of the Coast Salish History Project
• Danika Billie Littlechild, assistant professor of law and legal studies at Carleton University, and Ethical Space research stream leader at the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership
• Dr. Jeffrey Ansloos, clinical psychologist, associate professor of Indigenous health and social policy at the University of Toronto, and Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies in Indigenous Health and Social Action on Suicide
• Jesse Thistle, author and assistant professor in the department of humanities at York University
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); Design for Dreaming by Lo-Fi Astronaut (CC BY); '02 - ricochets on the lake' by neil|lien (CC BY ND); 'Its A Trap' and 'A Moody Phonecall' by John Bartmann (CC 0); 'spacewalk' by Tea K Pea (CC BY); 'Seasonal Interlude' and 'F block (Outro)' by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY); 'Vibes Phibes' by DaveJf (CC 0).
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On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the fourth in our summer series): part four of Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, ranging from the precarity of charity to the dubious duty to consult.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Michael Redhead Champagne, Winnipeg-based community leader, helper, author, and public speaker
• Lisa Monchalin, criminology lecturer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C.
• Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia
• Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society
• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama
• Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'Reflections' by Kevin Hartnell (CC BY-SA); 'Pangea's Pulse' by Aldous Ichnite' (CC BY); 'Extremely Tik-tok compatible for slow videos' by Lundstroem (CC BY); 'New minimalist VII (Remix)' by Christian H. Soetemann (CC BY ND).
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On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the third in our summer series): our third installment of Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, in which we debunk diagnoses of Indigenous impoverishment peddled by settlers, often to their own benefit. And while some come off as almost comical, others appear downright disturbing.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Q. Anthony Ali, freelance writer, commentator and podcaster
• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama
• Dr. Jeffrey Ansloos, clinical psychologist, associate professor of Indigenous health and social policy at the University of Toronto, and Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies in Indigenous Health and Social Action on Suicide
• Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia
• Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'Rising Heart' by Sro (CC BY-SA); 'Just a Taste' by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY); 'Day Off' by Serat (CC BY).
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On this week’s collected, connected conversations (the second in our summer series): part two of Why Canada Needs Natives Needy, our comprehensive look at the systematic incapacitation of Indigenous peoples, and how Canada’s overt efforts at social disintegration have fostered generations of individual displacement and disconnection.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Kim TallBear, professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience & Society
• Taté Walker, award-winning Lakota storyteller and community organizer
• Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia
• Trina Roache, assistant professor of journalism at the University of King’s College
• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'Addiction' by Beat Mekanik (CC BY); 'Hope .mp3' by Vikrant Chettri' (CC BY ND); 'Stale Cookies Still Taste Pretty Good' by Purrple Cat (CC BY SA).
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The MEDIA INDIGENA 2024 Summer Series—our classic compendia of collected, connected conversations drawn from our voluminous eight-year archive—begins with the first in a five-part compilation, 'Why Canada Needs Natives Needy,' a wide-ranging rundown of all the ways this country has produced and perpetuates Indigenous dependency. And here in round one, we review its roots, entanglements which stretch back to the country’s very creation.
Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):
• Naiomi Metallic, associate professor of law at Dalhousie University, and Yellowhead Institute advisory board member
• Tim Thompson, First Nations education advocate, and Yellowhead Research Fellow and advisory board member
• Adele Perry, distinguished professor with the University of Manitoba department of history and women's and gender studies, and director of the Centre for Human Rights Research at U of M
• Ken Williams, playwright and associate professor with the University of Alberta department of drama
• Robert Jago, writer, educator, co-founder and director of the Coast Salish History Project
• Danika Billie Littlechild, assistant professor of law and legal studies at Carleton University, and Ethical Space research stream leader at the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership
• Patrice Mousseau, former broadcast journalist and Satya Organics owner/creator
// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes ‘Expanding Cycle’ and ‘Up + Up (reprise/arise)’ by Correspondence (CC BY); 'A Little Serious Scrape' by Liborio Conti; 'Atmo' by Michett (CC BY); 'Coat of Arms (Farther Away)' by Isle of Pine (CC BY ND).
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On this week’s round table—the last all-new episode before our summer series launches—the second half of our special live on location look at Indigenous-led genomics. Recorded at the Global Indigenous Leadership in Genomics Symposium at UBC back in May, part one brought us the basics of genomics, how it differs from genetics, and how Indigenous genomics compare to those of the mainstream. This time around, we hear from SING Australia's Amanda Richards-Satour (Adnyamathanha and Barngarla Community Engagement Coordinator with the Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics) and SING Aotearoa's Phillip Wilcox (associate professor of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago.
Also on hand, MI regulars Kim TallBear (University of Alberta Native Studies professor, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience and Society, and SING Canada co-founder) and Candis Callison, associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC.
📄 TRANSCRIPT: https://mediaindigena.com/why-indigenous-led-genomics-matters-part-ii-ep-349/
♥ Renewed gratitude to UBC's School for Public Policy and Global Affairs, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, and SING Canada, for making this event possible. 🖒
☆ 100% Indigenous owned + operated, our podcast is 100% audience-funded. Learn how you can support our work to help keep our content free for everyone. ☆
// CREDITS: ‘Frequency Unknown’ by Aldous Ichnite (CC BY); our intro/xtro music is ‘nesting’ by Birocratic.
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What is genomics? In what ways might Indigenous genomics differ from its mainstream counterpart? And why is it important they be Indigenous-led? Answers to those questions and more on this special edition of MEDIA INDIGENA, recorded live on location at the Global Indigenous Leadership in Genomics Symposium, hosted this past May at the University of British Columbia.
Joining Rick Harp for the first half of this two-part conversation were MI regular (and SING Canada co-founder) Kim TallBear, as well as Warren Cardinal-McTeague, UBC Assistant Professor of Forest and Conservation Sciences and SING faculty member.
Much gratitude to UBC's School for Public Policy and Global Affairs, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, and SING Canada, for making this event possible.
📄 TRANSCRIPT: https://mediaindigena.com/why-indigenous-led-genomics-matters-part-i-ep-348/
// CREDITS: 'Yacht Commander' by Midnight Commando (CC BY 4.0); our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
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This week: our return to the realm of IZ, the personification of critical Indigenous studies as imagined by MEDIA INDIGENA regular Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor of Native Studies), a character she embodied in her keynote at “Of the Land and Water: Indigenous Sexualities, Genders and Ways of Being,” hosted earlier this year in Whitehorse by the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning.
And in this back half of the adventures of IZ (missed the first half? catch it here), we hear her thoughts about a pair of close encounters: the first, “IZ Speaks Back,” a virtual date with a tiny troop of technophiles hoping to hear some extraterrestrial intel ; the other, “IZ Confesses,” a slick if surreal soirée celebrating racial diversity in science.
Making space once again for Kim’s other worldly explorations, host/producer Rick Harp along with audio producer and MI editor, Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas.
CREDITS: ♬ ‘Futuristic Sci-fi Arpeggio,’ ‘Nebula Soundscape’ and ‘Space Journey Through Nebulae and Galaxy’ by UNIVERSFIELD (CC BY-SA 4.0); ‘Shit September’ by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY 4.0); ‘Your Choice’ by Audio Hero via ZapSplat.com; ‘at the whale game’ by Jean Toba (CC BY-SA 4.0); our program intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
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In this back half of our longer-than-expected mini INDIGENA, host/producer Rick Harp picks up where he left off (drinking deeply of coffee, commodity fetishism and character actor Wallace Shawn) with Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor in the Faculty of Native Studies and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience and Society) and Candis Callison (UBC Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs), as they discuss:
Two men swapped at birth—one Indigenous, one not—receive apology from province a Dutch designer's appropriation of a Navajo word as her company's name sparks fashion flap a B.C. politico decries advisory on provincial website noting that many Indigenous peoples "may not identify with" the term 'British Columbians'
CREDITS: ♬ 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0). Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.
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For our latest mini INDIGENA (the sweet + sour version of MEDIA INDIGENA), we yank on the global supply chain linking locals in Campbell River, B.C. to the opening of what’s only the second “Indigenous-operated, licensed Starbucks store” in Canada. And just like last time—when our MINI went long on what we meant to be just our opening topic—our content cup once again runneth over, as we eat up an entire episode exploring the ethics of commodity-based commerce as carried out by Indigenous participants at each end of the colossal coffee trade.
Joining fairly-caffeinated host/producer Rick Harp the afternoon of Wednesday, April 3rd were coffee companions Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor in the Faculty of Native Studies and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience and Society) and Candis Callison (UBC Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs).
CREDITS: 𝅘𝅥𝅯 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Dust and Conclusions' by BIIANSU (via ZapSplat.com)
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This week: building upon last episode's commanding talk by MI's own Kim TallBear, in which she highlighted the insatiable settler drive to consume all things Indigenous—including so-called ‘identity’ claims staked by individuals—host/producer Rick Harp discusses her insights with fellow roundtable regulars Ken Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama) and Brock Pitawanakwat (associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University), a conversation peppered with a rundown of just the latest litany of colonial cosplayers making headlines.
CREDITS: 'An Autumn' by BIIANSU (via Zapsplat.com); our intro/extro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. Edited by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas and Rick Harp.
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On this week’s program: a plethora of pretendianism! So much, in fact, it’s going to take two whole episodes to fit it all in. And here in part one, we take our deepest dive yet into the ultimate underpinnings of pretendianism—the political imperatives of whiteness. Driving the insatiable settler urge to possess every last thing, fueling the desire to assume and consume imagined Indigenous 'identities.' Indeed, such self-serving self-Indigenization is very much a byproduct of the colonial imagination, a contorted construct which privileges the individual over the collective, the racial over the relational, and possession over peoplehood.
So says podcast regular Kim TallBear, who, by the end of this episode, so thoroughly unpacks the problematic formulation and foundation of so-called Indigenous "identity"—a hyper-individualized right to resources invoked in isolation from those it performatively pantomimes—you may never want to use the term again. A talk she delivered last month in Ottawa, it took place at a two-day symposium convened by the Wabano Centre—an Indigenous Centre for Excellence in Health Service based in the national capital region. One of four core presenters at the event, Kim shared the stage with Drew Hayden Taylor, Brenda Macdougall and Pam Palmater, with MI's Rick Harp as emcee/moderator for the event.
CREDITS: 'One more day in orbit' by Aldous Ichnite (CC BY); 'Horror background atmosphere for horror and mystical' by Universfield (CC BY); 'Goshen's Lonely' by Gagmesharkoff (CC BY). Our intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
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This week: 'Close Encounters of the Colonial Kind,' the title of a talk given by our very own Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor of Native Studies) at “Of the Land and Water: Indigenous Sexualities, Genders and Ways of Being,” hosted earlier this year in Whitehorse, YK by the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning.
Although rooted in her by-now familiar terrains of sexuality and science, Kim’s monologue was a bit of a departure from what we’re used to here on the podcast: delivered in the fictionalized voice of ‘IZ,’ she’s the personification of an Indigenous-driven movement of ‘unapologetic intellectual promiscuity,’ or what IZ herself calls “critical polydisciplinamorous engagement.”
An adaptation of her 2023 Substack post / 2021 essay by the same name, Kim’s keynote so aroused our curiosity we had to have her flesh out the body of thought behind it. In the first of this two-part discussion, she walks MI host/producer Rick Harp and MI audio editor Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas through ‘IZ Speaks Back’ and ‘IZ Confesses,’ which together make up the first half of her talk.
CREDITS: ♬ 'A Moment' by Mr Smith (CC BY 4.0); 'Cryin' in my Beer' by Jason Shaw (CC BY 4.0); 'As Time Passes' (via ZapSplat.com); a sample of 'Staying’s Worse Than Leaving' by Sunny Sweeney; our program intro/xtro theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. SFX: 'Deep Space Vibrations Ambience Loop' by rhodesmas; 'Ambient space 4' by DylanTheFish.
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On this week’s Indigenous round table: legal limbo? Did the Supreme Court's recent rejection of Quebec’s constitutional challenge to Bill C-92 really cement the self-determination of Indigenous peoples on child welfare? Or did it seal in the status quo, one where the feds still hold all the cards and all the funds?
A ruling described as “very beautiful” by one leader, hailed as paving “the road… for the transfer of authority” by another, such celebrations risk missing the core point of C-92’s critics: that it was always a half measure, keeping full authority and jurisdiction in the grips of the Canadian government. Making the supreme hype about the Supreme Court’s ruling all the more puzzling.
Now that the pixie dust has settled, MEDIA INDIGENA regulars Brock Pitawanakwat (associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University) and Ken Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama) joined host/producer Rick Harp to try and decipher where things now stand after the ruling, drawing on the perspective of well-known child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society.
// CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic. Other music (i.e., bridges to and from Cindy Blackstock interview) sourced from Zapsplat.com.
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This episode, another ‘mini’ INDIGENA (the easy-peasy version of MEDIA INDIGENA)—one where the first item went way longer than anyone expected! Joining host/producer Rick Harp on Tuesday, February 6th were Kim TallBear (University of Alberta professor in the Faculty of Native Studies) and Candis Callison (UBC Associate Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs), as they discuss the multiple Indigenous actors within Mni Sóta Makoce who helped drive the process of reimagining Minnesota’s contested state flag, the pushback, and the possible perils of engaging and enabling settler symbolism.
CREDITS: 𝅘𝅥𝅯 'All Your Faustian Bargains' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Guatemala - Panama March' by Heftone Banjo Orchestra (CC BY 4.0). 🕬 SFX 'Hockey fanfare' by jobro.
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For our first mini INDIGENA of 2024, Candis Callison (associate professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and Graduate School of Journalism at UBC) and Kenneth T. Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama), joined host/producer Rick Harp this Friday, January 19th to discuss:
Norway to pay Sámi reindeer herders millions for violating their human rights How Canada led efforts to weaken original UN Indigenous rights declaration Why the Yellowhead Institute no longer tracks Canada's fulfilment of the TRC Calls to Action The Canadian Space Agency seeks Indigenous internsCREDITS: 'All Your Faustian Bargains' and 'Love Is Chemical' by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0); 'Brass Burrough' by Cagey House (CC BY); 'Free Tutti Church Organ (F 008)' by Lobo Loco (CC BY).
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For our final episode of 2023, a live audience recording from the spring, when we took part in the ICA 2023 Pre-conference, “20 Years of Podcasting: Mapping the Contours of Podcast Studies,” hosted May 24th and 25th at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Entitled, “Independent Indigenous podcasting as knowledge production,” this four-person roundtable was a rare opportunity to bring folks together in one place—Rick Harp, Brock Pitawanakwat, Kim TallBear—along with Candis Callison, who joined us remotely. Here’s the essence of our event:
"Curious about podcasts as academic avenues, our discussion will explore both pragmatic and conceptual outcomes of independent Indigenous podcasting as a form of knowledge production, for both media and the academy… There is much overlap on [MI’s] roundtable between media-makers and academics, many of whom are regularly asked for media commentary on current Indigenous topics. Several of us work(ed) within Indigenous and mainstream print and broadcast media. We will explore how producing for a primarily Indigenous audience compares to addressing a mass audience."
// CREDITS: Our theme is 'nesting' by birocratic.
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