Tag Archives: Indigenous Peoples

Uvagut TV Breaks Ground as Canada’s First Inuit-Language TV Channel

From a media release:

At 12:01 a.m. Monday, January 18, Nunavut Independent Television (NITV) makes history when it launches Canada’s first all-Inuit Inuktut TV channel.

Uvagut TV (“Our” TV) will broadcast 168 hours a week of Inuit-produced culture, arts, movies and information programming available nationally to more than 610,000* Shaw Direct customers as well as Arctic Co-ops Cable subscribers in Nunavut and NWT. Other satellite and cable systems will be added over the months ahead. Viewers around the world can stream Uvagut TV online 24/7 at uvagut.tv
(* Subscriber count current as of November 30, 2020)

Breaking ground as the first Indigenous–language channel and, with APTN, only the second Indigenous television service among 762 broadcasting in Canada, Uvagut TV increases total Indigenous-language television programming available to Canadian audiences by 500%.

Uvagut TV builds on the hard work of countless people over the past four decades who dreamed it was possible to deliver Inuktut television to Inuit audiences to preserve, promote and revitalize Inuit culture and language. The team behind Uvagut TV represented Canada at the 2019 Venice Biennale of Art, presenting the Inuit-language film One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk to mark the 2019 United Nations Year of Indigenous Languages.

“For me, Uvagut TV is a dream come true – to see Inuit culture and to hear our language full time on TV,” says Lucy Tulugarjuk, NITV Chair and Executive Director, and director of the Inuit-language children’s film, Tia and Piujuq. “As our elders pass away, we are fighting against time to keep Inuit culture and language alive for our children and grandchildren. TV in Inuktut all day every day is a powerful way to keep a living language for future generations.”

Filmmaker Dr. Zacharias Kunuk O.C., NITV co-founder and Head of Isuma, welcomes the historic breakthrough. “We’ve been independent from day one and after 35 years we finally have our own channel,” he says. “Our ancestors survived by the strength of their wits and their community. These new ways of storytelling can help Inuit survive for another thousand years. People who turn on Uvagut TV any time of day or night will see our own stories in our own language.”

Uvugat TV broadcasts five hours every day of Inuktut children’s programs including Inuit Broadcasting Corporation’s award-winning Takuginai series and programs by Inuvialuit Communications Society; shows by Isuma, Arnait Video, Artcirq, Kingulliit and Taqqut Productions; award-winning Inuktut movies like Atanarjuat The Fast Runner; classic series, documentaries and new programs like Silakut Live From the Floe Edge and Tunnganarnik broadcasting live from Nunavut communities and the remote arctic wilderness. Uvagut TV also will include live coverage of the upcoming Nunavut Impact Review Board Public Hearings into the controversial Baffinland Iron Mine Phase 2 expansion, bringing vital transparent coverage of this issue live to Inuit, national and global audiences.

About Uvagut TV & NITV
Uvagut TV is Canada’s first 24/7 Inuktut television channel created by Nunavut Independent Television Network (NITV) and IsumaTV with programs from Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and other Inuit independent producers hosted on www.isuma.tv. NITV is an Inuit-owned and controlled non-profit Northern Online Distributor and Eligible Broadcaster. Founded in 1991 in Igloolik, Nunavut, as a training centre for Inuit community filmmaking, NITV is dedicated to the enhancement and preservation of Inuktut and Inuit culture through the creation and exhibition of Inuit video art linking Nunavut communities through Internet television channels and local access internet-TV, media training and digital literacy initiatives, and the production and distribution of Inuktut video, film, and now broadcast television.

Uvagut TV gratefully acknowledges launch support provided by the Indigenous Screen Office.

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Link: APTN celebrates 20 years of representing Indigenous peoples

From Melissa Hank of Postmedia:

Link: APTN celebrates 20 years of representing Indigenous peoples
“We always knew that there needed to be a network that represented us, a network that was true to who we were and that allowed us to learn the technical skills to tell our stories. Now we could actually see ourselves and hear our stories.” Continue reading.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

NFB and APTN enter into partnership to strengthen role of Indigenous Peoples and creators in the Canadian audiovisual industry

From a media release:

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and APTN announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will pool the organizations’ efforts and expertise in implementing protocols, programs, training and other initiatives aimed at strengthening relations with Indigenous Peoples and creators. The MOU will have a lasting and positive impact on the Canadian production and distribution landscape and ensure these initiatives are more rapidly implemented. The agreement is the result of actions recently taken by each organization, particularly a three-year plan released by the NFB last June, entitled Redefining the NFB’s Relationship with Indigenous Peoples (2017–2020), and the implementation of the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

“The NFB and APTN have a long history of working together. This MOU reflects our shared desire to build on what has already been achieved and ensures that the voices of Indigenous Peoples and creators can be heard in communities across the country. In doing so, we hope to help build a lasting legacy to hand down to current and future generations.” – Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the NFB

“APTN is proud to partner with the NFB by being part of a series of initiatives aimed at increasing the contribution and recognition of Indigenous Peoples and cultures to the Canadian film and television industry, in alignment with Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations. As the world’s first national Indigenous broadcaster promoting Indigenous talent for almost two decades, we look forward to sharing our journeys, our cultures and our stories with one of the key players in the Canadian media-production landscape.” – Jean La Rose, Chief Executive Officer, APTN

“The Government of Canada is delighted that the National Film Board of Canada is once again working together with APTN. This partnership, which is essential to reconciliation, will help diversify Indigenous productions and make the works of these artists even more accessible to Canadians.” – The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

The partnership will primarily allow the organizations to:

  • pool their expertise to develop protocols regarding the access and use of archival materials in the NFB’s Indigenous collection and find ways to make this material more accessible to media artists;
  • develop production projects that make use of NFB documentary archival materials (stock footage, film clips and complete films) in new works that contextualize the content from an Indigenous viewpoint, thus taking a new critical and historical perspective;
  • help make the NFB’s Indigenous collections accessible through distribution, and work jointly through screenings similar to NFB’s Aabiziingwashi (Wide Awake) tour;
  • jointly develop internal protocols and best practices for the production and distribution of documentaries, animation and interactive/immersive works by Indigenous creators;
  • develop and implement hiring strategies grounded in best practices for onboarding, integrating, retaining and providing professional training to Indigenous employees;
  • develop and implement cultural competency training for NFB staff regarding Indigenous issues;
  • share audience-data analysis and research on reaching audiences.

 

Image of Jean La Rose (left) and Claude Joli-Cœur (right) courtesy of Doug Little.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail