Journalism in Indian Country: Story Telling That Makes Sense

Abstract

Despite its importance, Native American journalism is rarely included in histories of Native peoples or in most histories and analyses of American journalism. This article applies Carey's theory of journalism as a state of consciousness to Native American journalism. It explores approaches early Native American journalists took to apprehending and experiencing the cataclysmic changes taking place in their worlds, establishing written identities for their own communities and among their non-Indian neighbors, and adopting and adapting accepted conventions of American journalism. Further, it examines current Native media that work in and expand on the traditions that began in the early 19th century and amid some of the same challenges experienced then.

KEYTERMS:

• American Indian media
• Elias Boudinot
• Native American journalism
• native broadcast
• native story telling
• traditional cultures

Notes

By way of clarification, the terms Indian, American Indian, and Native American are used interchangeably among Native media people, and different terms have been favored across the 180 years of Native-American press history (Rolo, 2000). “First Nations” is also sometimes used, more often in Canada. The term Indian Country is also often used by Native journalists, in publication titles, and in references to their media. It uses the 18 U. S. C. 1151 definition, “land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government.” Culturally distinct from American Indians, Alaska Natives prefer that title to any of the others. Similarly, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are a distinct group and do not use the terms Indian and Native American.

The term Five Civilized Tribes referred to the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations; these tribes were the most active in journalism during the 19th century.

A number of listings are available, some more current than others, because of the fluid state of the print media. The carefully prepared Tippeconnic listings are helpful, as are lists available online at cites like the following: http://www.ausbcomp.com/Redman/print_publications.htm, http://www.nativeamericancwic.org/native_american_newspapers.html, and http://www.nativeweb.org/resources/news_media_television_radio/newspapers_-_native_indigenous/

Like newspaper listings, those for Native broadcast change as new licenses and programming arrangements develop. See listings in Machiorlatti (2006, pp. 138–142). Two websites listing current Native American radio stations and stations broadcasting Native American programs are http://www.afn.org/~native/radstats.htm and http://www.hanksville.org/sand/contacts/NAPR.html