Canadian Journalism and Professional Recognition
The most prestigious US journalism award was given to a Canadian author.
Connie Walker and Spotify's Gimlet Media team won the prize for best audio journalism. Their podcast, "Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's", won the most influential award for journalism in the English language.
"I feel like I'm still in shock. It's disbelief. It means so much. It's an incredible honour," Walker told the media right after the award winners and nominees were announced.
The prize was awarded for "investigation into her father’s troubled past revealed a larger story of abuse of hundreds of Indigenous children at an Indian residential school in Canada, including other members of Walker’s extended family, a personal search for answers expertly blended with rigorous investigative reporting."
Connie Walker graduated in journalism from the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College and passed an internship at CBC Newsworld, where she began her career. She now works for Gimlet Media in New York City. After this professional recognition of her merits, she will have opportunities to pursue even more ambitious projects.
The fact that Walker is a member of the Okaneze First Nation, in Southern Saskatchewan is extremely important in this story. In an interview, she said that "it's important to acknowledge the history and stories of Indigenous people and to have those stories told by Indigenous people themselves."
""Our stories do matter and I think of all of the people bravely shared these stories with us. People should know these stories. More people will hear them now," said the Pulitzer laureate.
Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's is a deeply human exploration of the nation's boarding school system. Connie was prompted to investigate by a story about her late father that she had never heard of before.
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