For two of the eight modules, students must post an article analysis of a media topic addressing the module’s focus for that week. The total length of the media watch is 1 ½ - 2 pages. You can use the header format, single spaced, or remove the headers and provide an essay style format, double-spaced. The article analysis reviews a media topic distributed through any online form of media (scholarly work, newspapers, government releases, social media posts or blogs). The analysis explores how the media topic can better be understood by bringing in a colonial context. This means, providing information on how Canada’s colonial past through colonization, residential school experiences, or government acts and policies has impacted the topic discussed. The analysis should include scholarly work to support their opinion, how Canada’s colonial history impacted the topic, and the critical questions for discussion. Scholarly work is considered original research, government reports or fact sheets, and organizations identifying statistics or research on the topic (example: Canadian Diabetes Association).

Colonial Legacy and Media Representation: The Case of Indigenous People and the OxyContin Crisis in Canada Name of Student Course Name of Professor University Date Colonial Legacy and Media Representation: The Case of Indigenous People and the OxyContin Crisis in Canada Many Canadian media present Indigenous people in the framework of colonial ideas, prejudices, and judgment. This essay analyzes how these prejudices are portrayed about the OxyContin crisis coverage, focusing on historical colonization and its effect on the media. In this way, the essay demonstrates that Indigenous communities are still being marginalized and discriminated against due to systemic issues within the media. Nelson et al. (2016) present a comprehensive breakdown of media discourses on OxyContin withdrawal in Canada and reveal the Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal binary opposition. The study showed that the media rarely addressed substance use in First Nations communities concerning pain management needs; instead, the press provided generalized messages that reinforced hopelessness and victimization perceptions. This misrepresentation is a continuation of colonialism where Indigenous Peoples have been portrayed in a negative way for the imperialism of the colonial project. Indigenous people of Canada suffered from the colonial past of the nation, having social and economic adverse effects on their health; these concerns are observed in the discourses of media. Policies of colonialism have, therefore, well-established structural injustice and social violence, which have resulted in a gap in the well-being of the Aboriginal and the non-Aboriginal individuals of Canada. Media plays a crucial role in influencing public perceptions because the mainstream media produces false representations of Indigenous people (Morton...