The Way People Want to Talk

Abstract

The nature of mainstream media representation of indigenous peoples in Australia and Canada has compelled many of these groups to negotiate their own kinds of media responses in an effort to gain 'air rights'. Such responses include the world's first Native television network in Canada, and diverse forms of indigenous community radio and television production in Australia. What is emerging is a variety of media forms reflective of indigenous cultural diversity. These responses represent a form of Aboriginal empowerment - effectively a potential subversion of the concept of mass media as an agent of cultural hegemony. From this, we might learn more about the nature of non-indigenous media.