Last Updated on February 17, 2026
Lambasting the media has become a popular sport over the past few years, yet it remains exceedingly rare to see anyone confront the ways in which the media shirks its responsibility to Indigenous Peoples.
In Canada, those failures are evident in the media’s ongoing refusal to uphold every person’s right to fair and accurate reporting that respectfully represents Indigenous opinions, perspectives, cultures, needs and rights. They are also reflected in the chronic lack of access Indigenous media face when it comes to adequate funding, training, personnel and editorial space—particularly for content that is free from personal bias, economic interests, institutional agendas and deeply ingrained prejudice.
I say this fully aware that many journalists, editors and publishers would prefer to dismiss these realities outright—as if the media doesn’t carry a sacred responsibility to serve the public, much like doctors are expected to uphold the Hippocratic Oath. Journalism, at its core, is a public trust.
Every journalist has a responsibility to be impeccable in both word and deed. Editors, in turn, must ensure that such standards are upheld, while publishers should be able to guarantee that these injustices are rendered as obsolete as the print press. Media accountability cannot be optional, nor can it be selective.
Public and private foundations, universities and government agencies also have a role to play. Each, in their own capacity, must help cultivate a democratic environment in which true media integrity—grounded in fairness, accuracy and respect—can genuinely thrive.
When I founded IC Magazine in 2004, I took on the daunting task of confronting these problems head-on. I was in over my head, but I have never been one to shy away from a challenge.
In the year leading up to IC’s launch, I spent twelve months examining how Indigenous issues were handled by the media. It quickly became clear that Indigenous Peoples were not merely being ignored or relegated to what Duncan McCue famously described as the “WD4 Rule.” We were—and continue to be—deliberately marginalized and misrepresented.
These dynamics are not unique to Canada. Whether it’s mainstream, independent or alternative media, the pattern is consistent across borders. In other words, the problem is systemic.
IC Magazine was created to serve as a counterbalance to that system, and I believe it has done so with integrity. Despite never securing foundation funds to expand or stabilize our work, we have published more than 3,000 stories addressing the lived realities and challenges that face over 650 Indigenous nations worldwide.
The most important lesson I have learned is this: Indigenous media does not fail because of a lack of talent, rigor or relevance. It fails because it is systematically starved.
When Indigenous journalists are denied resources, when our outlets are treated as hobbies rather than essential democratic institutions, the outcome is not neutrality. It is silence. And that silence carries consequences.
After all, public policy is shaped by what is seen and heard. Court decisions are influenced by dominant narratives. Environmental destruction accelerates when the peoples who have safeguarded the land for millennia are rendered invisible—or worse, portrayed as barriers to progress. Media distortion does not simply misinform. It causes real harm.
And yet, there is reason for cautious optimism. Across the globe, Indigenous journalists, editors and storytellers are reclaiming narrative space, often with little more than determination and community support.
Digital tools have lowered some of these barriers, but technology alone cannot correct structural injustice. Without sustained investment, ethical partnerships and respect for Indigenous editorial sovereignty, inequity will simply reproduce itself on new platforms.
This is the moment when institutions must decide what they truly stand for. Universities cannot continue to extract Indigenous knowledge while ignoring Indigenous media. Foundations cannot claim a commitment to equity while refusing to fund Indigenous-led journalism. Governments cannot speak meaningfully about reconciliation while maintaining media systems that routinely erase Indigenous consent, law and governance.
Media integrity is not an abstract ideal. It is built—or dismantled—through daily decisions: which stories are commissioned, whose voices are trusted, and which truths are deemed inconvenient. For Indigenous Peoples, the right to media is inseparable from the right to self-determination. To control our stories is to assert our humanity, our intelligence and our future.
IC Magazine was never meant to be an exception. It was meant to be proof that when Indigenous Peoples are given space, autonomy and respect, the result is journalism that serves the public at large.
The question is no longer whether Indigenous media matters. That has been demonstrated time and again. The real question is whether the broader media ecosystem is finally prepared to listen—and to change—before yet another generation is taught that Indigenous voices do not count.
There is much work to be done on the long road toward media reconciliation.
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions.
And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to
support independent Indigenous journalism.
Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.
Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
