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Tips for JournalistsFearless Indian paper takes on native government
Like many American Indian communities, the Navajo Nation in Arizona does not have an open records law. That makes it harder for the public and journalists, “especially non-tribal members“ to get information about the inner workings of tribal government. The Navajo Times, with 21,500 paid subscribers, is the country’s largest Indian-owned paid circulation newspaper. Nearly all of its 40 staff members are Native Americans. Yet even they have a hard time getting tribal records sometimes. “Generally you have to work to get the documents,” Editor Duane Beyal told participants in the Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism’s seminar on covering Indian Country. “Even getting police reports is a tough job. Now we’re getting them.” Over the years, however, the weekly publication has persevered over many more serious challenges than closed record books. In the late 1980s, when the paper was still owned by the Navajo government, staff uncovered a shady land deal involving a former Navajo president. The revelations tore the reservation apart, leading to a riot in which two people were killed. Critics harassed the paper’s staff. They hung the employees in effigy, made bomb threats, vandalized their cars and killed one reporter’s dog. “We never backed off from covering the issues that were important to us,” Publisher Tom Arviso said. In February 1987, tribal government closed the paper and reopened it two months later staffed by people handpicked by the tribal chairman. Eventually Arviso and his staff were vindicated when the former president went to prison. Passions cooled when a new administration took over. In October 2003, the tribal council voted 66-1 to sell the paper to Arviso and make it independent. “It all comes down to a freedom of the press issue,” Arviso said. “The only way we would be able to get past the censorship was to break away from the Navajo government. -- Faith Bremner, Gannett News Service Posted on 03.12.05 at 4:00 AM by Victor Merina Claiborne’s tips on covering Indian CountryWhen Dennis McAuliffe Jr., a Native American journalist and director of http://www.reznetnews.org at the University of Montana, offered some basic reminders, to journalists who deal with Native American sources, he turned to the words of a former colleague. McAuliffe said William Claiborne, a former reporter for The Washington Post, had these suggestions:
--Be absolutely straight with Indian sources.
Claiborne’s full list can be found here.ClaiborneTips.doc One of our fellows, Brian Bull, assistant news director at Wisconsin Public Radio, encouraged colleagues to meet with sources to break down what can be an inherent mistrust of media and to review appropriate and inappropriate behavior on the reservation (such as checking when, where and if cameras can be used). --John Stearns, The Arizona Republic Posted on 03.12.05 at 3:01 AM by Victor Merina A columnist looks at ‘crash course’ on IndiansColumnist Richard Prince of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education has been listening, taking notes and observing a traveling seminar that he says one Native American leader calls a “crash course on Indian issues.” What can be learned in a week’s worth of seminars and journey into Indian Country? Plenty, he says, in his column on the Maynard Insitute Web site. Posted on 03.10.05 at 3:50 AM by Victor Merina Hip Hop, Sacred Sites, Drydocks and Other Untold Stories from Indian Country
Breaking away from the standards is tough, particularly if the reporter is sympathetic towards sharing these hardships with the public. However, the audience is often left with the notion that these issues are ones that solely define contemporary Indian existence, which is not the case. Today I got to sit among very esteemed company: Denny McAuliffe, Suzanne Shown Harjo and Bill McAllister, who all made the case for untold stories they’d like to share. Among those listed were the preservation of Indian sacred sites, the prominence of hip-hop among Native youth, an ill-fated dry dock venture for an impoverished Alaskan tribe, and the “fractionated heirship” which involves the Cobell trust case. All of these stories, besides being enterprise, are complex and deserving of further attention. Yet these can often be the hardest to sell, both to an audience and editorial manager. I find that even if an assignments editor or news director is enthusiastic about Indian stories, they can still fall prey to the standard “doom and gloom” expectations of tribal communities, and this demands a re-education of sorts; that while it’s important to highlight the tragedies and shortcomings of Indian life, there’s also room for celebration and optimism. I’ve filed stories for National Public Radio that have carried both aspects, because I’m fortunate to work with a bureau chief whose expectations are wide-open. But if that’s one hurdle passed, then another one presents itself: accessing tribal communities that can bring those untold stories to light. I count myself lucky in that being part Indian (Nez Perce), my general appearance and familiarity with tribal communities have gotten me further into “the Rez” than my non-Indian colleagues often have. But even I hit a firewall now and then, particularly when approaching stories packed with spiritual or ceremonial observance. My suggestion for any reporter wanting to cover “Indian Country” is this: be proactive. Don’t wait for a story to erupt, then try to schmooze and woo the tribal community. Make a few cold calls, drop in and visit, hand out business cards but leave the camera, tape recorder, or notepad in the car. Visit everyone, whether it’s a tribal chairperson or a teen skateboarding down the sidewalk. Ask what’s news, how things are going, if there’s any new projects happening - without passing judgment or trying to nail down an immediate source. Get a feel for the local politics, and immediate relations outside the reservation borders. Often they can be strained. Take note of new buildings, ones in disrepair, which people are in charge, and why. Come again, and repeat. If and when a story breaks, ask what is appropriate when it comes to recording sound or video. If you’re asked to shut off a recording device, do it. Don’t secretly record the event either, no matter how intriguing it is. One burnt bridge can take ages to rebuild, and you may well endanger the relationship between the tribe and other journalists as well. Observe and respect the cultural mores of an Indian community, and you may well find yourself being privy to more breaking news and enterprise opportunities than the average reporter. And while Native American stories can be very time-consuming and complex, your reward will be in covering a much under-reported people, and exposing your audience to their accomplishments and prospects as well as their hardships. --Brian Bull, Wisconsin Public Radio Posted on 03.09.05 at 1:50 AM by Victor Merina |
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Getting access to tribal government documents can be a headache sometimes and nobody knows that better than the staff of the Navajo Times newspaper.
It’s a tendency for even many Indian journalists to gravitate towards the tried, if not true, stories from Native America: poverty, alcoholism, suicide, racism and failing schools.
