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The Board of Directors of the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, and the management and staff of Windspeaker Media, publisher of Windspeaker.com, send congratulations to staff reporter Shari Narine. She is the winner of the 2021-2022 Amnesty International Canada Media Award in the Local/Alternative Media category.
The Amnesty International Canada Media Awards recognize excellence in human rights reporting by Canada-based journalists and Canadian journalists working abroad.
Narine won for her article Indigenous women still live in fear 50 years after the murder of Helen Betty Osborne, published in Windspeaker.com Nov. 12, 2021.
The article reminds readers of the horrendous murder of an Indigenous woman in The Pas, Man. on Nov. 13, 1971, the long struggle to punish the perpetrators, and the longer path to some justice from the community who shielded them, the police who investigated and a justice system that would come into disrepute.
But more than that, the article recounts the terror that swept into the lives of Indigenous women beyond The Pas, who came to know, and know even to this day, that they can be “killed with impunity”. Fifty years later, that terror has been embedded over generations of Indigenous women and girls, who continue to live in a state of “guarded consideration” each day.
“Even today, our women continue to live in a world that undervalues their lives,” said Bert Crowfoot, publisher and CEO of Windspeaker.com.
“I’m so proud of the contributions that Shari makes to Windspeaker.com. She works to elevate the understanding of important issues for our readers through many, many thoughtful and thought-provoking stories produced over the year,” said Deb Steel, Windspeaker.com news director and editor. “I’m so grateful that the esteemed jury for the Amnesty International Canada Media Awards was able to get a glimpse of her efforts through this one story and chose to celebrate her excellent work.”
Windspeaker Media also takes this time to congratulate one of the freelance reporters who contributed to Windspeaker.com in 2021. Odette Auger received honourable mention in the Local/Alternative Media category for her article titled No room for racism in the workplace, says heavy equipment operator, published June 3, 2021.
Auger’s article tells the story of Douglas Sinclair, who challenged the racist taunt levelled at him in front of his co-workers by his supervisor in a work camp in a remote area of Ontario. It was an act of courage and a lesson for all to respond to racism when faced with it, stamping it out as it rears up. This story not only resonated with the Amnesty International Canada jury, but with many thousands of Windspeaker.com readers when it was published.
“I’m so proud, and want to congratulate two very talented individuals, Shari and Odette, on their 2021-2022 Amnesty International Canada Media Awards accomplishment, with Shari on a first place and Odette on a runner-up award,” said Crowfoot. “It is so important to be able to tell our stories from our perspective.”
The full list of winners of the Amnesty International Canada Media Awards can be found here . The recipients will be celebrated in a ceremony held virtually on Oct. 12.