IN PART TWO OF our podcast with outgoing APTN CEO Jean La Rose, he tells our Bill Roberts how challenging it has been to try and serve the more than 50(!) Aboriginal language communities in Canada.
He talks about how covering some very sensitive topics bubbling up from within Indigenous communities is a very difficult line for APTN to walk. Even popular shows like Mohawk Girls and Blackstone address, and display, taboo subject matter which some viewers would rather not see and has “caused some dissention” at first because they might be subjects people don’t want to address – but how deft producers can turn that into a positive.
La Rose also demonstrates how APTN isn’t just about addressing the challenges facing Indigenous communities in Canada, but celebrating their successes, too.
Speaking of successes, did you know when APTN launched, there were a total of six Indigenous TV producers in Canada – and now there are well over 100 who have benefitted from the work and exposure APTN provided – and who have gone on to work for the likes of the CBC and Netflix.
All this and more is found in part II of our podcast with La Rose.
Click here for part I, published last week.
Cartt.ca’s Bill Roberts met with La Rose, who will retire as APTN CEO at the end of the year, in Ottawa the day after APTN and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation hosted a special ceremony honouring the many children who died in residential schools Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.
