KPU welcomes first Indigenous journalist in residence
Robert Jago hopes to write about free speech for First Nations and connect with students during his residency
Freelance journalist and entrepreneur Robert Jago is KPU's first Indigenous journalist in residence. (Submitted)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s first Indigenous Journalist-in-Residence Robert Jago, who is of the Kwantlen First Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe, will be on campus for the spring semester to work on Indigenous journalism projects.
Jago is a freelance journalist and entrepreneur who has written on Indigenous issues for many publications including The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, and The Guardian.
His work at KPU entails a three-month fellowship where he will work on a series of projects, speak to classes on Indigenous issues related to their curriculum, and work with the university on its Indigenization practices.
Jago’s journalism work during his residency will focus on free-speech issues in First Nations. He says he wants to use this opportunity to work on projects that mainstream publications shy away from publishing.
“As soon as there is a dispute between two groups of First Nations people, non-Native journalists back away because they do not want to get involved,” he says. “They think it’s not my place …. And as a consequence, Native people are poorly served by the fifth estate.”
Later this spring semester, Jago, in collaboration with The Runner, will host a symposium on the best practices for non-Indigenous writers to report on Indigenous communities, which will be held at KPU’s Surrey Conference Centre.
He says there aren’t enough Indigenous journalists to cover these issues, so non-Indignous journalists need to be equipped with the tools to serve these communities in a way that is not exploitative.
“[Journalism] is a necessary public service. By not doing it, it is wrapped up in racism — even if it is polite liberal racism, it is still racism to deny access to services to a group of people because of their identity.”
There are many inter-First Nations community free-speech cases, Jago says, which is why he is choosing this as the subject for his work.
“And there’s the case with myself, where I’ve been working to help democratise the Kwantlen First Nation, and that’s subject to a [$60,000] federal lawsuit,” Jago says.
As a member of the Kwantlen First Nation, he hopes to bring his own perspective to the KPU community and is looking forward to interacting with students in classrooms.
Jago adds he is also critically looking at how the institution is representing the Kwantlen name and is working with the university to amend anything he notices.
He has already brought a couple of things to KPU’s attention, including corrections to Indigenous language used in some signage. The university has been incredibly engaged and willing to work with him to rectify any issues, he says.
Jago is grateful to work with KPU’s other Indigenous residents and says it is unique to have an Indigenous resident cohort like this at a post-secondary institution.
“I don’t know of any other school doing this. Normally, if you’re the Native person in a place, you’re the only one there. But now there’s a whole bunch of others, which is an interesting environment to work in.”
