Stories of Justice: Law, Journalism, and Indigenous Perspectives with Duncan McCue

In this episode of Obiter, we speak with journalist and educator Duncan McCue about the intersections of journalism, law, and Indigenous ways of knowing. Duncan shares how his experience living on a Cree trapline as a teenager shaped his identity and his approach to teaching, as captured in his book, The Shoe Boy: A Trapline Memoir. He speaks of his time at law school and how the model of Western legal education and training ultimately strengthened his journalism. Duncan discusses confronting mainstream media approaches to reporting and why he wrote Decolonizing Journalism, a guidebook to introducing reciprocity, respect, and careful relationship-building when reporting in Indigenous communities. We also learn about how he designed Carleton University's Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities to bring journalism training directly to Indigenous learners where they live.  Our conversation ends with Duncan sharing why the next generation of storytellers gives him hope for the future of journalism and the evolving place of Indigenous legal traditions in Canada. Obiter is produced by the Law Commission of Canada and hosted by Shauna Van Praagh. The team for this episode includes producer Brian Peebles, associate producer Mackenzie Claggett, and researcher Diana Ebadi.