U of R student receives Vanier Scholarship to explore the media's role in reconciliation in Canada

Merelda Fiddler-Potter, a University of Regina doctoral student in the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS), has been awarded a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship valued at $150,000 over three years.

“As a university community, we are committed to facing the difficult truths of our colonial past in order to work towards reconciliation,” says Kathy McNutt, Interim Vice-President (Research) and Fiddler-Potter's thesis advisor at the University of Regina. “Merelda’s research is the type of scholarship needed right now to support nationwide reconciliation efforts, and to position Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and in higher learning.”

Fiddler-Potter’s research will explore the media’s role in helping Canadians learn the truth of past and present colonial policies and the impact on Indigenous people. She will also gain insight on how the media can compel people into action in order to keep reconciliation high on the public agenda.

“My work as a journalist and as an academic has been to change the negative portrayal of Indigenous people,” says Fiddler-Potter. “We need to both learn and share our unique local histories, in order to build on the media’s first draft of our shared Canadian history, and reclaim our culture and traditions to share with our communities.”

The 2015 release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report was an excellent first step in shedding light on some of the truths about Canada’s colonial history. However, Fiddler-Potter believes that more information regarding treaties, reserves, systemic violence, present-day racism, land apprehensions, and the sixties scoop needs to be shared and discussed.

“The media play an important part in telling peoples’ stories, in swaying public opinion, and can be a valuable tool for driving the policy agenda,” says Fiddler-Potter. “However, if news stories lack Indigenous voices and truths about Indigenous history, then it is much harder for the public and policymakers to fully understand the contemporary issues Indigenous people face.”

Working with Indigenous elders, media consumers and policy-makers, and using media content analysis NVivo software, Fiddler-Potter will analyze both mass and social media to determine how current news stories are framed, and how Canadians interpret Indigenous policy issues as a result. She will also explore the role of media elitism in the dissemination of Indigenous histories, and the need for Indigenous leaders in both education and media institutions.

“To work towards reconciliation, it is imperative that a new understanding of truth in storytelling be developed—one that is respective of Indigenous knowledge, traditional teachings, and communities,” says Doug Moen, JSGS executive director. “Merelda’s research is important in ensuring that media understand how these stories need to be constructed in order to achieve this.”

In addition to her doctoral studies, Fiddler-Potter is a sessional lecturer at First Nations University of Canada, a federated college of the University of Regina.  She was also the Dallas W. Smythe Chair in the Department of Journalism at the University of Regina, where she developed a course on Reconciliation and the Role of the Journalist, for students. Prior to entering academia, Fiddler-Potter was a current affairs producer and reporter for CBC Saskatchewan, and was recognized nationally by the Radio Television Digital News Association of Canada for her work with Saskatchewan’s Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Fiddler-Potter has a Masters of Arts in Canadian Plains Studies and a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Communications, both from the University of Regina.

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program was launched in 2008 by the Government of Canada, to strengthen the country’s ability to attract and retain world-class doctoral students and establish Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and higher learning.  Fiddler-Potter joins Sophie Duranceau (2015) and Kazi Mamun (2012) as U of R graduate student recipients of the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

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About the University of Regina

The University of Regina—with campuses located on Treaty 4 and Treaty 6 territories, the ancestral lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Lakota and Nakoda nations and the homeland of the Métis—is a comprehensive, mid-sized university that traces its roots back to the creation of Regina College in 1911. Today, more than 15,000 students study within the University's 10 faculties, 25 academic departments/schools, 18 research centres and institutes, and three federated colleges (Campion College, First Nations University of Canada, and Luther College). The University of Regina has an established reputation for excellence and innovative programs that lead to undergraduate, master, and doctoral degrees.

About the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy

Located on both Treaty 4 and Treaty 6 territories and the Homeland of the Métis, the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS) is joint collaboration between the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan. As one of Canada’s leading policy schools, the JSGS educates graduate students and public servants interested in and devoted to advancing public value. The school offers four professional graduate programs, two research-based programs – Master’s and PhD in Public Policy – and a number of executive education options.

JSGS faculty members are highly engaged in teaching, research, and writing that have an impact on issues affecting Canadians and the global community. Working with colleagues in the public service and industry, they enrich the evidence base on which policymakers can draw in order to develop policies and programs that positively impact the needs of Canadians.

 

For more information, contact:

Everett Dorma
University Advancement & Communications
Phone: 306-337-8451 
Cell: 306-565-8608
Email: everett.dorma@uregina.ca

Erica Schindel, Communications and Marketing Specialist
Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy
University of Saskatchewan campus
Phone: 306-966-2663
Email: erica.schindel@usask.ca