By Gulay Elif Zaimler
A landmark three-day gathering at the University of British Columbia formed the basis for a new MEDIA INDIGENA podcast series aimed at disrupting crisis-driven climate journalism.
The gathering in October 2025, Beyond Fires & Floods: Indigenous Narratives in an Era of Extremes (BFF) brought together journalists, scholars, and storytellers at the University of British Columbia to highlight Indigenous perspectives on climate change.
The opening public event featured four seasoned storytellers —Judi Kochon (Sahtú), Paul Seesequasis (Willow Cree), Tanya Talaga (Anishinaabe), and Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock)—whose conversation set the stage for the broader aims of the gathering.
Co-convened by Candis Callison (Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia) and Rick Harp, host and producer of MEDIA INDIGENA, the opening night event is one of many to be shared via the MEDIA INDIGENA podcast.
The gathering responded to a gap in mainstream coverage, which often focuses on moments of crisis while overlooking the broader realities impacting Indigenous communities. The event was also anchored in three core questions, including: “What would it mean for our storytelling were we to approach climate change not so much as a problem, but as a symptom? How do Indigenous narratives of climate change intervene, disrupt, and or heal? How can Indigenous imaginaries or narratives help ready us for what’s coming and help us navigate it once it’s here?” Here, “extremes” were understood not only as environmental events, but also as social, political, and economic conditions that influence how climate change is experienced.
“What would it mean for our storytelling were we to approach climate change not so much as a problem, but as a symptom?
Organizers of the Beyond Fires & Floods: Indigenous Narratives in an Era of Extremes (BFF) 2025
“Against a mainstream media environment preoccupied with extreme weather events to the near exclusion of any climate-related context, Indigenous narratives both respect and reflect the specific and profound challenges Indigenous communities face in their responses to and plans for a changing climate,” said Harp.
“Indigenous narratives both respect and reflect the specific and profound challenges Indigenous communities face in their responses to and plans for a changing climate.“
Richard Harp, Host and producer of MEDIA INDIGENA
“They also forefront what legacy newsrooms all but ignore, the colonial conditions, institutions, and infrastructures surrounding these events,” added Callison, in episode 0 of MEDIA INDIGENA’s BFF podcast series.
Showcasing these conversations, the BFF series moves beyond crisis-driven climate coverage to center Indigenous perspectives and connect climate change to deeper historical and structural realities. New episodes will be released during the next few months through the MEDIA INDIGENA BFF podcast, which can be listened to on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favourite programs.
“They also forefront what legacy newsrooms all but ignore, the colonial conditions, institutions, and infrastructures surrounding these events.”
Candis Callison, Professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia
Beyond Fires & Floods is sponsored by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Museum of Anthropology.
