Empowering the people’s voice as an act of self-determination
Tribal media has the power and potential to lift communities
Indigenous people across Indian Country depend on tribal media outlets for essential news and information about their communities. Because many Indigenous communities reside in news deserts, places without an independent local newspaper, these outlets may be the only source of information about tribal affairs. Mainstream media coverage often sorely lacks the context and perspective necessary to tell Indigenous stories with clarity and authenticity. While tribal media outlets have the experience and depth of understanding to provide nuanced coverage, they may not have the freedom or resources to report fully on issues that concern their audiences.
During my time as a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford, I’ve gathered and analyzed data to better understand the value of press freedom among Native American tribes. A free press has been difficult to attain in Indian Country for decades, and the depth and scope of its true value within Indigenous communities must be further understood. We know that most tribal media outlets are funded to some extent by the tribal government, and there are often no policy firewalls in place to ensure editorial or operational independence. Often, a conflict of interest exists between the political interests of the government and the public interest of tribal media, and this conflict may be harmful to the Indigenous right to self-determination.
All citizens of a tribal nation need to know about the level of freedom exercised by their tribal media. The “kept” press — or any Indigenous media outlet that lacks editorial freedom — has been stripped of its ability to fully serve its community. A media operation that exists solely to publish information at the discretion of government authority can be used as a tool of control. Any government that can control the content and distribution of the message can manipulate and undermine the will of the people.
When media operates as a government mouthpiece, it robs people of their right to know truthful and sometimes critical information about tribal affairs, and it also robs Indigenous journalists of their freedom to report on the full range of community concerns. When the people do not have access to useful, truthful and timely information that may affect their families and community, how can they then act in the best interest of themselves or their nation?
Chief Oren Lyons, of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Six Nations Confederacy, once defined tribal sovereignty as “self-determination, the ability to govern oneself — exercising national power in the interest of the nation and its peoples — is fundamental to sovereignty,” he said. “It is a state of mind and the will of the people, no more, no less.”
Tribal sovereignty is not derived from the government. Tribal sovereignty is derived from the people, and the will of the people is manifested through government. When tribal media is unable to provide an open platform for the voice of the people, and their opportunity for authentic representation is suppressed, skewed or eliminated, then tribal media has fallen well short of its potential to empower and amplify the will of the people and enhance tribal sovereignty.
The publisher of the Navajo Times, Tom Arviso Jr., in retelling an incident when then Navajo Nation President Albert Hale attacked the Times for critical coverage of the tribal administration, made an important distinction in a piece he wrote in 1998:
“Hale has always made it clear that he considered the Navajo Times nothing more than a department of the Navajo government. As such, he expects the government to set the agenda for the newspaper’s coverage. I disagree. I think the Times belongs to the people.”
A community circle of communication
The root of communication is the word common, which refers to a belonging or shared identity. The ideas of communion and community emanate from this recognition of shared interests that bind a people together in place and time. In this sense, communication is much more than just a transfer of information. Communication binds people together through shared language, culture, traditions, values and beliefs. For today’s tribal media to assert its full potential as an Indigenous free press, it must be unfettered in its role as both the giver and receiver of the information that connects, maintains and strengthens a community.
During my time as executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, we prioritized publishing stories in English and Cherokee languages. With its first printed edition in February 1828, the Phoenix was the first bilingual publication in North America. It made sense at that time for the pages of the Phoenix to be filled with the Cherokee language because there were many fully fluent and literate Cherokees to consume content in both languages.
But the number of literate Cherokee language speakers today has drastically dropped. Why would it still be a priority to expend precious time and resources to publish in Cherokee when we know that the number of Cherokee-literate consumers was very low?
If we accept that tribal media is only a means of transferring information to an audience, then the cost is far greater than the benefit. But, if we understand that tribal media has a greater role to play in reinforcing culture and tradition, then prioritizing the language is an essential goal no matter the cost. To publish the Cherokee language not only reaffirmed the core of our cultural identity, it reinforced that identity by providing language learners a tool to practice burgeoning literacy. It also ignited curiosity in those who were unfamiliar with the language but might want to learn.
This effort to prioritize use of the language in the Phoenix was not directed by the tribal government; it was an internal priority from a staff of independent Indigenous journalists who were responsive to their community and understood the essence of our shared identity. The prioritization and promotion of the language was — and is — an intentional act of self-determination in the face of the assimilating forces that demand English literacy.
There is tremendous power in this reciprocal cycle of communication. When tribal media is empowered and supported to operate independently, then it becomes more than just a conveyor of information; it becomes a shared platform for ideas and perspectives that is responsive to and responsible for its community. When the people see and hear their truthful representation in media, it empowers their voice and unique experience. Tribal media becomes an engaged partner, serving its community and its audience with depth, clarity and perspective.
A multitude of independent voices
There have been numerous examples in recent decades of tribal media fighting to empower self-determination. In fact, many of the founders of the Native American Press Association (now the Native American Journalists Association) represented organizations that embodied this struggle. The Lakota Times, the Southern Ute Drum, the Spilyay Tymoo, the Jicarilla Chieftain, the Smoke Signal, the Indian Times, the Wotanin Wowapi, the Indian Finance Digest, the Talking Leaf, and the Navajo Times Today all told their stories through the voices of Indigenous journalists.
These outlets were drawn together by common cause and a recognition that tribal media has a role to play — independent of tribal government — in Indigenous self-determination. There are many outlets in print, radio, television and online, that continue this tradition today. But there are many more still struggling to find their independent voice.
The promise and potential of true sovereignty and self-determination may be more difficult to attain if tribal media outlets are unable to fulfill their full potential. Government officials, community leaders and tribal media producers must come together to recognize and support the value of an Indigenous free press. I’m hopeful that the work I’ve continued at Stanford will provide the tools and resources that tribal governments and Indigenous journalists can use to activate this important component for self-determination.
