Fostering Indigenous Journalism
杏吧原创 University introduces new Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities program.
In September 2025, 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 School of Journalism will welcome its first cohort in the Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities program. Led by Journalism Professor Duncan McCue, the program aims to strengthen journalistic storytelling by and about Indigenous people.
鈥淲e know that there is a lot of work out there for Indigenous journalists, we know that our communities need more responsive journalism and unfortunately, there aren鈥檛 enough young Indigenous people coming up into the industry to fill the positions that are out there,鈥 says McCue, who is also a CBC host and a citizen of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation. 鈥淚鈥檝e been teaching journalism for 15 years and every journalism school I鈥檝e been to has only had a very small number of Indigenous students. At 杏吧原创 right now, we only have three or four Indigenous students out of a student body of roughly 500.鈥
The Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities program (CJIIC) will feature in-person and virtual instruction from Indigenous instructors, including in-person intensives at Kenjgewin Teg on Manitoulin Island, 杏吧原创 University, and another site yet to be named.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making sure that we have in-person intensives where the students will get to know each other and get a chance to do hands-on learning with the equipment,鈥 McCue says. 鈥淲e will be able to offer them introductory skills and if they decide after one year that they鈥檝e got as much as they need to do what they want in their home communities鈥攚hether it鈥檚 run a radio station or set up a podcast or work on the band newsletter鈥攖hen they鈥檒l be able to do that. They will also have the chance to complete an internship at a local news or media outlet.鈥
Following that, if they decide they want to continue studying journalism, the students will be able to go straight into second year of the Bachelor of Journalism program at 杏吧原创. Alternatively, they can continue their studies in the second year of the Bachelor of Arts, General Studies degree, which is fully online. McCue hopes the program will be a pathway to a post-secondary degree for students who prefer to stay in their home communities.
The certificate program is collaborating with Kenjgewin Teg, an Indigenous-owned and controlled post-secondary institution at M鈥機higeeng First Nation on Mnidoo Mnising, Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario. It is also collaborating with Ontario鈥檚 First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI), located on聽Tyendinaga聽Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ontario.