There are only three days left until Urban Nation Discourse’s spring campaign ends on June 18, so this is your last chance to help us continue making the difference we’ve shown we can make. Pay what you can to support people-powered journalism. A small investment from you can mean a big payoff for our community.
I’d ask you to compare our stories to similar ones done by other media — but there aren’t many examples to point to. The Discourse produces singularly unique journalism every time because our stories come straight from community. We don’t do what others do. Instead, we go where you’ve pointed, and we lead the way doing it.
For example, our recent series about fake Indigenous art being sold in three quarters of Vancouver’s souvenir shops embodies The Discourse from start to finish. Our #FakeArt series raised awareness about the problem and quantified its scope, prompting at least four stores to date to promise to stop selling inauthentic Indigenous-themed items, produced without collaboration with Indigenous people.
This series wasn’t the only one that made a difference. Last December, Urban Nation Discourse documented how Cree, as the most common Indigenous mother tongue in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, is being revitalized — and introduced you to the instructors who are helping people reclaim their “stolen heritage.” And when Vancouver city council cut an important reconciliation fund in half, our reporting held them accountable.
Behind these stories were you, our community members. During our community interviews, you told us you wanted us to pursue the topic of fake Indigenous art under the theme of culture, and your votes sparked our investigative series. Your ideas. Our journalism. Real impact.
The fake art, reconciliation funding and Indigenous language stories are just some of the nuggets my colleagues and I found while covering the urban Indigenous beat. There are other gems waiting to be discovered and more impact waiting to be made, but we need the resources to continue doing this — we need you. If you’ve come this far, maybe you’re willing to come a little further.
As a journalist, telling stories is my passion. As a Lower Mainland urban Indigenous person, telling your stories is my responsibility. It’s my obligation. I’m grateful to work with colleagues who feel the same way. If you value our journalism, then please contribute what you can to support us, and encourage others to do the same. [end]
