It’s time for accurate Indigenous representation in media – The Queen’s Journal

September 26, 2025

Too often, Indigenous characters are missing or trapped in media’s stereotypes.

For a long time, I’ve noticed a divide between how my Indigenous identities exist in the real world and how they‘re portrayed in mainstream media, which shows Indigenous characters sporadically at best, while reducing them to basic stereotypes during their limited appearances. By restricting Indigenous people to stereotypical roles and narratives, the mainstream media effectively denies them the right to participate in popular entertainment spaces like non-Indigenous audiences do.

The absence of Indigenous characters in most media is telling enough, while at the same time, we lack Indigenous characters whose identity isn’t their defining trait. Instead of being fully realized characters with varied stories, flaws, and personalities, Indigenous characters tend to be relegated to the realm of stereotype.

Read More: https://www.queensjournal.ca/its-time-for-accurate-indigenous-representation-in-media/