Award-winning investigative journalist inspires ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs to explore new forms of journalism
Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award winner Connie Walker spoke about her experiences covering Indigenous communities in Canada
Award-winning investigative journalist inspires ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs to explore new forms of journalism
On Feb. 24, the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film hosted Connie Walker, a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist. Walker’s lecture, “Truth Before Reconciliation,” filled the seats of Shideler Hall with Miami ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs, local community members, and staff from the Myaamia Center.
Walker was a familiar name to much of the audience. The standing room only event, which included an overflow crowd of more than 200, listened attentively as she discussed her rise through the journalistic ranks of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), leading to the creation of her hit podcast, “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s.”
Walker explained that she first became interested in the press during the 12th grade after watching the coverage of the Pamela George case. George of the Sakimay First Nation was killed in April 1995, and media coverage at the time was extremely biased.
“Prior to watching coverage of the case, I hadn’t truly considered journalism,” Walker said. The imbalance motivated her to represent Indigenous people in the media, so she began working as an intern for the CBC.
Ten years after the Pamela George case, Walker again witnessed her impressions of media imbalance and felt the need to do something about it. In 2005, Amber Redman and Alicia Ross, young and upstanding members of their communities, both went missing from Saskatchewan and Ontario, respectively. The only difference between these cases was that Redman was Indigenous and Ross was white, but it was Ross who made national headlines while Redman barely got even local coverage.
At the CBC, Walker tried to pitch a story about Redman’s disappearance, but it was dismissed as “another poor Indian story.” Walker used to coach Redman in volleyball, and she knew more had to be done to get fair and equal media coverage for Indigenous people.
Over the next few years, huge strides were made to make this a reality. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was created by the Canadian government through the Indian Residential Schools Settlement to provide survivors and their families a chance to share their experiences at the Indian Residential Schools, a boarding school system for Indigenous children. The commission uncovered the truth about the many human rights violations at the schools and broadened coverage for these communities.
In 2015, as lead reporter of the CBC’s Indigenous reporting unit, Walker covered an event at the TRC which made national headlines. Then, in 2021, child remains were found at the site of various residential schools. This shocking discovery inspired many people to share their experiences at the residential schools on social media. Almost all revealed abuse and violations of human rights.
It was through these posts that Walker learned her father had been abused by a priest at St. Michael’s, an Indigenous residential school her family had been forced to attend for generations.
Award-winning investigative journalist Connie Walker
discusses her background in her lecture, "Truth
Before Reconciliation."
“My family is not unique,” Walker said. “Every Indigenous family in Canada has a story similar to mine.”
Soon after, Walker created the hit podcast, “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s,” in which she talked with family members and other St. Michael survivors from the surrounding community. Through the testimonies and records that she and her team uncovered, Walker was able to expose the names of many of the alleged abusers, leading to new steps toward potential prosecution. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely for such cases to go through before both the accusers and the accused die.
Ultimately, Walker said that her goal is to acknowledge the trauma to begin the healing process. “You can’t outrun trauma,” she told the audience. “You must face it head on, to expose it, to shine a light on it.”
Although they represented a variety of majors, many ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs attending the lecture had been introduced to Walker’s podcasts in Joe Sampson’s Journalism 101, a Miami Plan course. Walker had spoken to his ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs as part of her visit to campus.
“When I listened to ‘Stolen,’ it stuck with me,” said Austin Smith, a Finance major with a Journalism minor.
Alana Smallwood, who has a double major in Political Science and Journalism, said she hopes to become an investigative journalist like Walker. “I want to focus on foster care,” Smallwood said. “The personal impact of Walker’s story was powerful.”
Walker learned something at Miami as well. Touched by the time she spent with the Myaamia Center, she said, “I am continuously learning about how many Indigenous experiences have been shared throughout different communities.”
The lecture was sponsored by the Department of Media, Journalism & Film, the Department of Global and Intercultural Studies, the Western College Legacy Seminar Series, Honors College, and the Myaamia Center. It was funded by the Diana Stark Journalism Speaker Fund.