Protests are a familiar sight across the country and journalists are often there documenting what unfolds. But what happens when police ignore their credentials?

On this episode of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines growing concerns around press freedom in Canada. Photojournalist Amber Bracken shares her arrest on Wet'suwet'en territory while covering an RCMP raid.

The episode also features Indigenous journalist Brandi Morin, who reflects on reporting from the front lines and the risks journalists face.

Sonya Fatah of the Canada Press Freedom Project breaks down national trends, while independent journalist Rachel Gilmore speaks about harassment and threats tied to her reporting.

From reporting on the ground to backlash online, we're taking a look at the state of press freedom today in Canada.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On Feb. 26, APTN News hosted a panel examining Métis identity and the ongoing controversy surrounding the Métis Nation of Ontario. The discussion also explored modern treaties and self-government agreements.

Host Dennis Ward was joined in studio by Scott McLeod, Lake Huron regional chief for the Anishinabek Nation, Celeste Pedri-Spade, an associate professor at McGill University and Will Goodon, minister of identity protection and inter-Indigenous relations with the Manitoba Metis Federation.

On this episode of APTN News InFocus, we bring you that full panel discussion.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

Every winter, the Canadian Armed Forces runs Operation Nanook-Nunalivut, a military training exercise focused on Arctic defence.

This year's operation was the largest to date. Up to 1,300 members were deployed across Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, alongside allies from the United States, Belgium, France and Denmark.

The exercise has been running for nearly 20 years. But with rising geopolitical tensions, it is taking on new meaning.

APTN video journalist Charlotte Morrit-Jacobs travelled to the training camp in Edzo, about 100 kilometres west of Yellowknife, for a two-part report from the ground.

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Morrit-Jacobs about what she saw at Operation Nanook and how the Canadian Armed Forces are preparing for the North.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

Canada is wrapping up its Indian Day School digitization project.

Since 2022, Library and Archives Canada has digitized more than six million records from 699 Indian day schools that operated between the 1860s and 2000. An estimated 200,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children attended.

On this edition of APTN News InFocus host Cierra Bettens speaks with Beth Greenhorn, a manager with the Day School Project, about how the records were digitized and how they may support survivors. Jackson Pind, author of Students by Day and a professor at Trent University, also joins the podcast to discuss the importance of the project and share what kind of stories the records tell.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

APTN Investigates is going behind the scenes of its latest documentary, War on the Land.

Reported by APTN Investigates journalist Kenneth Jackson, the story focuses on a former explosives plant in Nobel, Ont., about 250 kilometres north of Toronto. The factory helped supply two world wars. But decades after closing in 1985, contamination concerns remain.

Shawanaga First Nation is now calling on the prime minister to ensure the site is cleaned up.

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Jackson about how he uncovered the story and whether the land can ever be reclaimed.

War on the Land is available now at aptnnews.ca.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

British Columbia has ended its drug decriminalization pilot program.

Launched in January 2023, the exemption allowed adults to carry small amounts of certain illicit drugs in an effort to reduce stigma and address the toxic drug crisis. But on Jan. 31, the province let the pilot expire, saying it did not deliver the results hoped for.

The move has sparked mixed reaction. Some, including Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, call it a setback for harm reduction. Others, like Haisla Nation member and outreach worker James Harry, say the crisis on the ground has only worsened.

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Vancouver-based video journalist Tina House and Harry about what led to the decision and what it means for communities moving forward.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

Indigenous activism has long shaped Minneapolis.

In 1968, the American Indian Movement was founded there, marking a turning point in the fight for Indigenous rights.

More than 50 years later, AIM members are back on the streets, responding to fears of racial profiling and unlawful detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores how Minneapolis' history of Indigenous activism connects to today's Native-led response to ICE.

She is joined by Heather Bruegl, a public historian, activist and a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.

Clip courtesy Minnesota Historical Society | Storied 1968: American Indian Movement – Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLh3gw0kVhQ

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

It has been ten years since the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that Canada discriminated against First Nations children on reserve by underfunding child welfare services.

Yet children and families are still waiting for the system to be fixed.

There are now plans in place to end the discrimination.

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Indigenous Services Canada Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society about why the proposed plans to end discrimination in First Nations child welfare has taken so long and what needs to happen next.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens honours the life and legacy of Dan David, the father of APTN.

David, a Mohawk journalist, spent 45 years transforming how Indigenous stories are told in Canada and around the world. From reporting for CBC and producing for TVOntario and VISION TV, to rebuilding newsrooms in South Africa, his work set the foundation for Indigenous journalism. In 2000, he co-launched InVision News, now APTN National News.

On January 12, David passed into the spirit world at the age of 73 after living with cancer. To reflect on his life and impact, Cierra is joined by two of his close friends and former colleagues: APTN producer Bruce Spence and Nation-to-Nation host and senior online reporter Karyn Pugliese. Together, they share his vision for Indigenous media and the mark he leaves behind.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

APTN's true crime documentary series Taken is back after a seven-year hiatus.

The series first put a national spotlight on the case of Tanya Nepinak, a 31-year-old mother who went missing in Winnipeg in 2011.

Nearly a decade after Taken aired her story, Manitoba announced plans to search the Brady landfill for her remains, renewing calls for justice from her family.

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at the legacy of Taken and its impact on cases involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people.

She is joined by Dinae Robinson, head of content at Eagle Vision and an executive producer of Taken, for a preview of the newly launched fifth season.

• • •

APTN National News, our stories told our way.

Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca

Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/