Leim Joe in New Zealand Episode 2

Working as a researcher's assistant at the CSC

This episode is all about my time working with the Centre for Sound Communities. Throughout this entire journey I have gotten lots of new skills that I didn’t have before. In the podcast, I have shared what I have learned, such as exploring different cultures, singing, dancing and even learning the “djembes” drum instrument. I also spoke about the media skills that I developed, this includes filming, using cameras professionally and knowing how to interview people.  This episode shows how working with great people has really helped me become a confident, and a creative person. It also covers the importance of students being involved in research reaction projects. Finally and importantly, the podcast talks on how all these experiences will stay with me in my daily life and future.

Sharing stories - Researcher assistants of the MITACS program

This episode of Sound Stories features a discussion with three Mitacs Globalink interns at the Centre for Sound Communities: Mariia Chyrva, from Ukraine, Hou Lingxiao, from China, and Mateus Alves da Silva, from Brazil. The interns detail their professional development and the significant cultural research they have undertaken during their current time inside The Centre for Sound Communities. Beyond technical proficiency, the episode focuses on the interns' deep engagement with local cultures on Cape Breton Island, also known as Unama’ki. They describe their meaningful interactions with members of the Mi’kmaq community and the local Ukrainian diaspora. Ultimately, the interns reflect on how this experience has allowed them to grow as media creators and connect with a deeper understanding of culture and community. They express a shared commitment to carrying these lessons into their future work, aiming to contribute actively to the preservation of cultural heritage both at home and beyond.

Working to present the Transatlantic pilgrimage

This episode is about a presentation to multiple different audiences about a research trip taken by musical scholars from the Centre for Sound Communities to Guinea. I am a research assistant and I share what my role was in these presentations as well as my personal connections towards the films. These presentations were spread across the month of February to schools, libraries and community halls all around Cape Breton island. The music, the instruments, the lyrics, the journey all of which were presented were so captivating. I still hear the songs in my head and I only heard them during those sessions, but the rhythms were so catchy they have stuck with me.

Ulises García Figueroa - The creative and ethical work of video editing in research

This episode delves into the creative work in video editing and my positionality as a research assistant in this activity regarding ethical stances and lived experience. During an audiovisual collective effort, the post-production phase involves gathering necessary materials to create a final piece that not only presents data but also ensures a respectful treatment of information. Typically, this process follows the production stage, during which I have not been involved as a research assistant. Still, my involvement tries to go beyond the mechanical ensemble of images in a narrative sequence as the mere final point of the assembly line. A work in the category of representation related to oppressed groups is always an endeavour that should be taken as susceptible to causing effects over time. Some misinformed representations could result in unwanted outcomes to the detriment of diverse populations; therefore, video editing activity bears a significant responsibility in an ethical final piece that respects people and cultures. When dealing with human history and stories, representation constitutes a crucial issue in order to deliver clear messages while avoiding biases and harmful stereotypes or tropes. In the podcast, I narrate my encounter with footage created for exhibition at the ICTMD Pre-Conference Symposium held in September 2024 about the topic of Healing, Health, and Wellbeing from Indigenous Perspectives on Music and Dance. In those videos, there were valuable testimonies, music, dance, and a brief insight into Mi'kmaq cultural practices, language, and worldview. Being the last member of the team who joined the project, I tried to show a final product that included all relevant material from the Mi'kmaq perspective, forming an attractive storyline for the audience without changing messages or the purpose of the video. Topics in the documentary film, such as colonization, racism, and Indigenous history, deeply resonated with my own lived experience in the Global South national state of Mexico. This prompted an unexpected analysis of the various Indigenous realities and histories in different locations within the Americas. As a de-indigenized mestizo person from Mexico, this video-editing task resulted in a reexamination of my own impact and actions regarding an external contribution of Indigenous representation in research. By comparing the different processes of violence, dispossession, and denial of sovereignty, the public display —academic or not— of any Indigenous representation on video can contribute to a societal acknowledgement of the harm done and in-doing. It can shed light on the path to reparation and new social agreements of coexistence and justice in general.

Leim Joe in New Zealand Episode 2

In this podcast, Leim describes the second time he journeyed to Aotearoa. As a research assistant and performer with the Sons of Membertou, he, and others from Unama’ki participate in the World International Council for Traditions Music and Dance Conference. Leim explains their roles in the conference, reconnections with old friends and the exposure to new musics and sounds heard at the conference. Reflecting on both trips, Leim gives his thoughts on decolonization and indigenizing the curriculum.