Podcasting protocols & pathways: land acknowledgment in outlining a process for decolonial reflexivity and audio stewardship

As journalists and media-makers in Canada work toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, there has been increased discussion on how to work respectfully with Indigenous communities, stories and knowledge. However, for podcasters and audio journalists, there are still limited resources on guidelines and best practices on working in these contexts. This article describes and considers several resources which foster decolonial frameworks for mediamaking: On-Screen Protocols & Pathways: A Media Production Guide to Working with First Nations, Métis and Inuit Communities, Cultures, Concepts and Stories, published by imagineNATIVE (2019); broader Indigenous methodological frameworks by Margaret Kovach (2021), and Linda Tuhiwai Smith (2021); and a question sheet for critical reflexivity in academic work with Indigenous communities, developed by Dr. Candace Kaleimamoowahinekapu Galla (2021). The authors then discuss their experience working on the Canadian Mountain Podcast — a series that shares mountain-related research from academic and Indigenous perspectives — and the steps the team took to decolonize their methods and work respectfully with different forms of knowledge. Finally, this article looks at the team’s use of developing land acknowledgements and how this practice provided a space for them to reflect on their journalistic practices and adjust their processes as audio stewards to better align with the values of respect, responsibility, consent and reciprocity.