Abstract

This research-creation thesis explores how climate change reporting in Indigenous communities can be improved by integrating elements of conciliatory journalism. This involves the active use of conciliatory journalism principles, as well as visual and reconciliation journalism, and then reflective observation on the reporting undertaken in an Indigenous community. This work draws inspiration from Hautakangas & Ahva (2018) and Salas & Stevens (2021).

The project involved travel to Inukjuak, a community in Nunavik, Quebec, to carry out these observations. Inukjuak is located roughly 1500 km north of Montreal and is a community only accessible by boat or plane. The team for the trip involved three other people: Journalism professor Aphrodite Salas, the team leader; undergraduate student Luca Caruso-Moro (who also works at CTV Montreal), and undergraduate student Virginie Ann (who at the time worked at Canadian Press). The research-creation components involve the collaborative creation of a short documentary “Innavik: Leading the Way to a Clean Energy Future”; a video explaining Inukjuak’s past titled “Simeone Nalukturuk, in his own words” (edited by Luca Caruso-Moro); a text piece (written by Virginie Ann); and the production of a conciliatory-informed photography portfolio (which I created). The written component of this thesis involves a reflection on the reporting notes taken in the field, as well as a reflection on the documentary creation process. The discussion is an autoethnographic analysis of the process behind reporting a piece of conciliatory-informed journalism in the community of Inukjuak. It also looks at the challenges behind creating this piece of visual journalism in the editing room. The goal is to robustly explain how a conciliatory-informed approach was employed both in the field and during the journalism creation process.

The documentary and photography centres on the self-determination of the community to overcome the challenges of building a run-of-river hydroelectric project in the Arctic to reduce or eliminate their reliance on diesel fuel imports.