APTN News InFocus

This week on APTN News InFocus, we're celebrating a milestone: 25 years of APTN News.

From mailing tapes to digital transformation and award-winning journalism, APTN has grown into a network of Indigenous reporters telling Indigenous stories on their own terms.

Guest host Karyn Pugliese is joined by Dan David, Bruce Spence, Todd Lamirande and Charmaine Straker, some of the key people who helped build APTN News from the ground up. They share stories from the early days, reflect on major reporting moments and talk about how far Indigenous journalism has come and where it needs to go.

It's a look back and a look ahead, as we honour the voices and stories that shaped APTN News.

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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/

This week on APTN News InFocus we go to the High Arctic, where climate change, sovereignty and survival intersect.

We're featuring the first episode of The Place That Thaws, a six-part podcast from APTN News and Danielle Paradis, recently nominated for a Canadian Association of Journalists award.

Set in Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord, the series shares powerful stories from Inuit adapting to a warming world, where hunting seasons are shrinking and polar bears are staying ashore longer.

With Arctic sovereignty back in the spotlight and wildfires sweeping the country, The Place That Thaws is more relevant than ever.

Find the full series on your favourite podcast platform or listen here: https://www.aptnnews.ca/ourstories/theplacethatthaws/

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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/

This week on APTN News InFocus, guest host Kathleen Martens looks at treaty rights and the Alberta separatist movement.

Matthew Wildcat, an assistant professor and director of Indigenous governance in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, explains why treaty rights could block Alberta's push to leave Canada. He unpacks the province's Sovereignty Act, Bill 54 and what it means for First Nations.

We also hear from Gina Starblanket, associate professor at the University of Victoria and a member of the Star Blanket Cree Nation. She weighs in on how separation challenges treaty law and what history can teach us.

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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/

This week on APTN News InFocus, we're looking ahead to wildfire season and asking if our communities are any better prepared than in years past.

Wildfires are already burning. Forests are going up in flames. People are being forced from their homes.

Guest host Leanne Sanders sits down with Arnold Lazare, interim executive director of the Indigenous Fire Safety Council. He joins us from Kahnawake to talk about what's working and what isn't.

We also hear from Michelle Vandevord, director of Saskatchewan First Nation Emergency Management. She says most communities are ready, but weather remains the wildcard.

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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/

This week on APTN News InFocus we look behind the scenes of debunking a police investigation.

In 2015, Matty Fairman and Tyler Maracle from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory were found dead in the Bay of Quinte. Police said the men drowned after stealing fish and overloading their boat.

Their families never believed it. Now, neither does APTN Investigates reporter Kenneth Jackson.

In the fourth chapter of his series Secrets of the Bay, Jackson challenges the police version of events with a boat that refuses to sink.

Guest host Karyn Pugliese sits down with Jackson to talk about how the story unfolded.

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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/

This week on APTN News InFocus, we break down the results of the April 28 federal election.

The Liberals remain in power and the Conservatives will form the official opposition. The Bloc Québécois lost seats and the NDP dropped to just seven—losing official party status in the process.

Twelve First Nations, Inuit and Métis candidates were elected across party lines. One of them is Mi'kmaw Liberal MP Jaime Battiste, now the most senior Indigenous member in the party. He speaks with APTN National News host Dennis Ward about what's next.

We also take a closer look at what the NDP's losses could mean for Indigenous issues in Parliament. Political scientist Paul Thomas joins us to talk about what's at stake.

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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/

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens checks in as the federal election campaign hits its final stretch.

For more than a month, party leaders have been making promises about prosperity, wealth and good governance—but what's in it for Indigenous Peoples?

Dennis Ward, host of APTN National News, and Jennifer Laewetz, political commentator and panelist on APTN's Truth and Politics panel, return to weigh in.

We also head to Onigaming First Nation in northwestern Ontario. Our Parliament Hill correspondent Karyn Pugliese brings us a story about the community's concerns—and what federal promises mean on the ground.

Recorded Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

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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/

This week on APTN InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores the growing movement for Indigenous data sovereignty.

In a TED Talk, British investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr warns we may already be "living inside the architecture of totalitarianism," referring to the predatory ways big tech companies harvest, use and sell data.

Data holds a lot. It holds stories, histories, languages — all the information that defines who we are and where we come from.

It's also a resource — and like other resources, it can be exploited by corporate and colonial interests.

To unpack what Indigenous data sovereignty means and how it's being put into action, Cierra is joined by Jeff Ward, founder and CEO of Animikii. His Indigenous tech company has launched Niiwin, a platform designed to help communities manage and protect their data on their own terms.

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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/

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens unpacks the latest controversy over Métis identity in Ontario.

The Métis National Council released a report suggesting the existence of seven historic Métis communities in the province—a claim swiftly rejected by the Manitoba Métis Federation, Métis Nation–Saskatchewan, Métis Nation British Columbia and the Chiefs of Ontario.

To make sense of the report, Cierra is joined by Jean Teillet, a retired Métis lawyer, author and the great-grandniece of Louis Riel.

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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/

This week on APTN InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores what Arctic sovereignty really means for Inuit in the North.

As federal leaders call for more military infrastructure - from bases in Iqaluit to new fleets of fighter jets - questions are being raised about who these efforts protect, and at what cost.

Journalist David Pugliese from the Ottawa Citizen joins Bettens to break down Canada's defence strategy and what's driving the push for control in the region. Also, former APTN reporter Danielle Paradis reflects on her 2023 podcast The Place That Thaws, which revisits the forced relocation of Inuit in the 1950s—an earlier attempt by Canada to assert sovereignty.

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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/