In Our Journals

Journals
November 9, 2021

Trine Kvidal-Røvik and Ashley Cordes, “Into the Unknown [Amas Mu Vuordá]? Listening to Indigenous Voices on the Meanings of Disney’s Frozen 2 [Jikŋon 2],” Journal of international and Intercultural Communication, DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2020.1849774.

Kvidal-Røvik and Cordes begin their essay by explaining Disney’s collaboration with Sámi consultants on the film, Frozen 2. This collaboration was an effort to prevent inappropriate and offensive depictions of Indigenous Sámi peoples and culture and resulted in largely positive reactions from Sámi communities. To understand discourses surrounding Frozen 2, Kvidal-Røvik and Cordes listen to and foreground the perspectives of Sámi peoples by drawing on an Indigenous listening methodology. This analysis revealed specific praises the film received from Sámi communities and the opportunities it provided for Sámi peoples. 

 

Leda Cooks and Jennifer A. Zenovich, “On Whose Land Do I/We Learn? Rethinking Ownership and Land Acknowledgment,” Communication Teacher 35 (2021): 222-228.

In this article, Cooks and Zenovich detail a semester-long class activity that aims to promote students’ critical thinking about university land ownership and acknowledgment. Using tribal critical race theory and post-socialist feminism as frameworks for decolonization, students learn about the impact of neoliberalism in higher education. In groups, students apply the theories and concepts discussed in class as they craft statements of commitment that the university might adopt for the purpose of Indigenous land acknowledgment. Statements of commitment that receive positive feedback from Indigenous community members may be circulated to university personnel for consideration.

 

Dominique Montiel Valle, “Unearthing Neoliberal Multiculturalism in News Discourse: Politics of Indigeneity & Ethnic Identity in Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast,” Critical Studies in Media Communication, DOI: 10.1080/15295036.2021.1945119.

In this study, Montiel Valle explores Nicaraguan media representations of Indigeneity during a time of encroachment into Indigenous territories and Indigenous movements seeking self-determination. Four themes were identified from an analysis of 133 Nicaraguan newspaper articles covering the five primary Indigenous communities in the nation. Montiel Valle explains how these themes reproduce neoliberal multiculturalist ideologies, prompting the delegitimization of Indigenous peoples and perspectives.