FRAMING AND AFFIRMING THE DOMINANCE NARRATIVE
ON CULTURAL HEGEMONY AND MAINSTREAM PRINT MEDIA TREATMENT OF TWO MOMENTOUS SUPREME COURT INDIGENOUS ENTITLEMENT DECISIONS*
Abstract
Abstract
Through a systematic content analysis of mainstream print media treatment
of two Supreme Court rulings on Indigenous treaty entitlements,
this research examines attributes of the coverage afforded to Indigenous
and non-Indigenous voices. Our findings demonstrate that, with respect
to narrative power, non-Indigenous interests and perspectives were predominantly
represented by mainstream print media. Non-Indigenous
voices were given priority and garnered more lines of direct quotation.
Further, the qualitative analysis demonstrates that the mainstream print
media coverage emphasised concerns about Indigenous Peoples’ abilities
to manage resources competently and responsibly, while centering
on the potential implications of Indigenous sovereignty over their territory
and resources for dominant class non-Indigenous economic interests.
Lastly, this research argues, through the conceptual/theoretical
lens of “cultural hegemony” and “cognitive imperialism,” that mainstream
print media function to legitimate the dominance of settler ideology
and economic interests, through the conscious representation of
Indigenous treaty rights as antithetical to Eurocentric interests and the
predominant social order. We argue that the data show a systemic bias,
which functions as a key mechanism for the domination, control and
suppression of Indigenous Peoples.
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