Aboriginal Voices
Encyclopedia
Aboriginal Voices Radio Network is a Canadian
national radio network with licensed radio stations in nine Canadian metropolitan areas, all which are licensed under the calls of Toronto flagship station CKAV-FM. It airs programming produced primarily by and for Aboriginal people in Canada, featuring music and personalities from around the world.
, playwright, novelist and author Tomson Highway
, filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin
and actress/producer Jennifer Podemski. Other founders and key contributors to creation of the network included project manager and training coordinator Brian Wright-McLeod, Christopher Spence and Andre Morriseau (production and programming), John Matthews and Mark MacLeod
(licencing), Robert Templeton and J. Robert Wood (corporate funding), Elaine Bomberry, David Deleary, Sherman Maness, Nicole Robertson, Minnie Two Shoes and Doug Bingley (strategic advice).
AVR's first station, CFIE-FM in Toronto, was licensed by the CRTC in 2000. CFIE changed its callsign to CKAV in 2006. AVR had previously operated on 106.3 FM (JUMP FM) for a short 6 day period in 1998 during the Aboriginal Voices Festival at Harbourfront Centre
in Toronto.
The network's earliest and largest corporate sponsor is Newcap Broadcasting
.
Some sources have confused the Aboriginal Voices network with the Aboriginal Multimedia Society of Alberta
, which operates a distinct community radio
network in rural northern Alberta
that is not affiliated with Aboriginal Voices.
and diasporic
performers from around the world, including Oceania
, Africa
and Latin America
. Within the last two years more popular main-stream music has been introduced into AVR's playlist. The names below represent a sample of Aboriginal and diasporic artists that have been or are currently being aired. Occasionally, identities and/or song titles are announced on-air by prerecording.
a showcase of Hip hop
artists hosted by emcee Plex (Doug Bedard). The last and only program to be produced for AVR has since been cancelled. {Doug Bedard AKA: Plex, 2009}
), a public radio
talk show that showcases native culture, musicians, storytelling, drumming practices and flute playing. Co-hosts include educator and Herbalist
Judy Bluehorse Skelton (Nez Perce-Chickasaw
-Cherokee), music director Nico Wind (Assiniboine/Ojibway) and storyteller
and song-carrier Judy Trejo among other recordings taken from the Smithsonian's Pulling Down the Clouds CD.
(CKAV-FM-8, 102.5 MHz) and Montreal
(CKAV-FM-10, 106.7 MHz).
On August 20, 2009, the CRTC approved an application by Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio (CHCR) to amend the broadcasting licence for its station in Montreal at 106.3 MHz, a second adjacent frequency to CKAV-FM-10 at 106.7 FM, requiring AVR to find an alternative frequency in the event of any interference with the signal of CKAV-FM-10. As of January 2011, CHCR's station, CKIN-FM
, has signed on at 106.3 MHz. Furthermore, CKIN-FM's sister station, CKDG-FM
, filed an application with the CRTC to relocate that station to 106.7 MHz in May 2010.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
national radio network with licensed radio stations in nine Canadian metropolitan areas, all which are licensed under the calls of Toronto flagship station CKAV-FM. It airs programming produced primarily by and for Aboriginal people in Canada, featuring music and personalities from around the world.
History
AVRN was founded in 1998 by a group of high-profile Aboriginal Canadians, including actor Gary FarmerGary Farmer
- History :Farmer was born in Ohsweken, Ontario into the Cayuga nation and Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy. Farmer attended Syracuse University and Ryerson Polytechnic University, where he studied photography and film production....
, playwright, novelist and author Tomson Highway
Tomson Highway
Tomson Highway, CM is a celebrated Canadian and Cree playwright, novelist, and children's author. He is the author of the plays The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, both of which won him the Dora Mavor Moore Award and the Floyd S...
, filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin
Alanis Obomsawin
Alanis Obomsawin, OC is a Canadian filmmaker of Abenaki descent. Born in New Hampshire, and raised primarily in Quebec, she has produced and directed many National Film Board of Canada documentaries on First Nations culture and history...
and actress/producer Jennifer Podemski. Other founders and key contributors to creation of the network included project manager and training coordinator Brian Wright-McLeod, Christopher Spence and Andre Morriseau (production and programming), John Matthews and Mark MacLeod
Mark MacLeod
Mark MacLeod is a career Canadian non-profit radio developer. He is best known for securing a series of radio licences for the Aboriginal Voices Radio Network in major cities across Canada....
(licencing), Robert Templeton and J. Robert Wood (corporate funding), Elaine Bomberry, David Deleary, Sherman Maness, Nicole Robertson, Minnie Two Shoes and Doug Bingley (strategic advice).
AVR's first station, CFIE-FM in Toronto, was licensed by the CRTC in 2000. CFIE changed its callsign to CKAV in 2006. AVR had previously operated on 106.3 FM (JUMP FM) for a short 6 day period in 1998 during the Aboriginal Voices Festival at Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on Toronto, Ontario's waterfront, situated at 235 Queen's Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the federal government to create a waterfront park, it became a non-profit organization in 1991. Funding comes from corporate...
in Toronto.
The network's earliest and largest corporate sponsor is Newcap Broadcasting
Newcap Broadcasting
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited is a major Canadian broadcasting company, majority-owned by Harold R. Steele. Newfoundland Capital is the parent company of Newcap Inc. . It is currently the number two private-sector radio broadcaster in Canada, just behind Astral Media...
.
Some sources have confused the Aboriginal Voices network with the Aboriginal Multimedia Society of Alberta
Aboriginal Multi-Media Society
The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society is an Aboriginal publisher in Canada. AMMSA was established in 1983. AMMSA launched its first publication in March 1983 - simply titled AMMSA...
, which operates a distinct community radio
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
network in rural northern Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
that is not affiliated with Aboriginal Voices.
Station launches
The network has faced technical and logistical problems which have prevented it from launching some of the licensed stations listed below. For some of the stations, the network had applied to the CRTC for extensions five or six times as of the end of 2005. Since then, however, the network has moved forward with most of the approved licenses.Programming
AVR's playlist represents not only an American and Canadian presence but that of indigenousIndigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
and diasporic
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
performers from around the world, including Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Within the last two years more popular main-stream music has been introduced into AVR's playlist. The names below represent a sample of Aboriginal and diasporic artists that have been or are currently being aired. Occasionally, identities and/or song titles are announced on-air by prerecording.
Special programming
Fridays, between 10 PM and midnight ET, featured The Plex Show,a showcase of Hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
artists hosted by emcee Plex (Doug Bedard). The last and only program to be produced for AVR has since been cancelled. {Doug Bedard AKA: Plex, 2009}
Weekend programming
Airplay on Sundays features Wisdom of the Elders with program host Arlie Neskahi (Dine' NavajoNavajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
), a public radio
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
talk show that showcases native culture, musicians, storytelling, drumming practices and flute playing. Co-hosts include educator and Herbalist
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
Judy Bluehorse Skelton (Nez Perce-Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
-Cherokee), music director Nico Wind (Assiniboine/Ojibway) and storyteller
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
and song-carrier Judy Trejo among other recordings taken from the Smithsonian's Pulling Down the Clouds CD.
On air
- CalgaryCalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
- CKAV-FM-3 88.1 MHz - EdmontonEdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
- CKAV-FM-4 89.3 MHz - OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
- CKAV-FM-9 95.7 MHz - TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
- CKAV-FM 106.5 MHz - VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
- CKAV-FM-2, 106.3 MHz
Licensed but not launched
- ReginaRegina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
- 96.1 MHz (approved May 2007, launching 2009) - SaskatoonSaskatoonSaskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
- 102.9 MHz (approved May 2007, launching 2009)
Surrendered licenses
In 2009, the network surrendered its licenses for transmitters in Kitchener, OntarioKitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
(CKAV-FM-8, 102.5 MHz) and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(CKAV-FM-10, 106.7 MHz).
On August 20, 2009, the CRTC approved an application by Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio (CHCR) to amend the broadcasting licence for its station in Montreal at 106.3 MHz, a second adjacent frequency to CKAV-FM-10 at 106.7 FM, requiring AVR to find an alternative frequency in the event of any interference with the signal of CKAV-FM-10. As of January 2011, CHCR's station, CKIN-FM
CKIN-FM
CKIN-FM is a community radio radio station which operates at 106.3 MHz in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-History:On August 20, 2009, Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio Ltd. received Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approval to operate a new multilingual specialty radio station...
, has signed on at 106.3 MHz. Furthermore, CKIN-FM's sister station, CKDG-FM
CKDG-FM
CKDG-FM is a multilingual Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec.Owned and operated by Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio , it broadcasts on 105.1 MHz using a directional antenna with an average effective radiated power of 141 watts and a peak effective radiated power of 224 watts...
, filed an application with the CRTC to relocate that station to 106.7 MHz in May 2010.
External links
- The AVR Radio Network
- Aboriginal Voices Radio
- CKAV history at Canadian Communications FoundationCanadian Communications FoundationThe Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....
- CKAV-2 history at Canadian Communications Foundation
- CKAV-3 history at Canadian Communications Foundation
- CKAV-9 history at Canadian Communications Foundation
- CKAV-10 history at Canadian Communications Foundation