Abstract
BackgroundDrinking water insecurity and related health outcomes often disproportionately impact Indigenous communities internationally. Understanding media coverage of these water-related issues can provide insight into the ways in which public perceptions are shaped, with potential implications for decision-making and action. This study aimed to examine the extent, range, and nature of newspaper coverage of drinking water security in Canadian Indigenous communities.MethodsUsing ProQuest database, we systematically searched for and screened newspaper articles published from 2000 to 2015 from Canadian newspapers: Windspeaker, Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and National Post. We conducted descriptive quantitative analysis and thematic qualitative analysis on relevant articles to characterize framing and trends in coverage.ResultsA total of 1382 articles were returned in the search, of which 256 articles were identified as relevant. There was limited coverage of water challenges for Canadian Indigenous communities, especially for Métis (5%) and Inuit (3%) communities. Most stories focused on government responses to water-related issues, and less often covered preventative measures such as source water protection. Overall, Indigenous peoples were quoted the most often. Double-standards of water quality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, along with conflict and cooperation efforts between stakeholders were emphasized in many articles.ConclusionLimited media coverage could undermine public and stakeholder interest in addressing water-related issues faced by many Canadian Indigenous communities.
Highlights
Drinking water insecurity and related health outcomes often disproportionately impact Indigenous communities internationally
When our results are compared to other studies, our results suggest limited coverage compared to nonIndigenous water challenges; for example, while we found 131 articles in The Globe and Mail and the National Post over 16 years spanning First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities across the country, news coverage of the Walkerton water crisis was covered in 652 news stories in the same newspapers over two years [44]
This finding may be explained by the lack of publically available and accessible data on boil water advisories experienced by Inuit and Métis communities compared to First Nations communities, where boil water advisories are compiled and provided on a monthly basis on Health Canada’s website [75]
Summary
Drinking water insecurity and related health outcomes often disproportionately impact Indigenous communities internationally. For Indigenous peoples in Canada, safe drinking water often remains a challenge, despite federal, provincial, and territorial efforts to address water issues [3,4,5,6]. For. Lam et al BMC Public Health (2017) 17:282 example, in the Northwest Territories where Indigenous peoples represent 48% of the population, resource development and climate change place pressures on water resources [9]. As of September 30, 2015, there were 138 drinking water advisories in effect in 94 First Nation communities across Canada [17]. Despite the Government commissioned assessment and approximately $3 billion invested in water and wastewater since 2006 [21], the challenge persists, with progress reports indicating that, despite improvements, 19% of First Nation water systems are still considered “high risk” [22]
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