In Oklahoma, Gary Fife is a journalist and host at Mvskoke Media. ICT’s Aliyah Chavez talked to him in 2021 about his work as a journalist. In 2022 he was awarded the Frank Greer Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalism..
In 1994, a conference was organized to talk about issues involving Native media. It was a television show produced by the National Conference of Christians and Jews – now just called the National Conference. ICT’s Mark Trahant remembers vividly some of the brilliant presentations that added context to the role of Native media. Here is the late Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller.
Ora Eddleman was a Cherokee woman who literally grew up in a newsroom. Her family owned the Muscogee Daily Times and at 15-years-old served as society editor, city editor and a proofreader. Later the family owned a magazine, The Twin Territories, that reported on the Indian Territory as well as what was then the Oklahoma Territory.
In 1924 Eddleman, now Ora Eddleman Reed, followed her husband to Caspar, Wyoming, for a job. A family friend launched KDFN, Wyoming’s first radio station. She described herself as the “Sunshine Lady” and it was probably the first example of talk radio. The half-hour program was commentaries on the theme of happiness and she answered calls from listeners, pointing out the bright side of life.
Radio is the perfect medium for Indigenous communication. It’s built on our oral traditions. ICT’s Shirley Sneve has this memory from radio KILI’s 40th anniversary in 2023.
And like radio, the role of a tribal newspaper is that of a community sounding board. It’s been an essential vehicle for tribal communities since Elias Boundinot launched The Cherokee Phoenix in 1828. Tim Giago, the founder of ICT, started his newspaper in the Oglala Lakota Nation. ICT’s Shirley Sneve has this profile.
One of the things that separates Giago from the pack is his willingness to bring up painful issues like boarding schools to really make his readers think when he was a student at Holy Rosary and wrote often about that experience starting in the early years of the newspaper. Tim Giago died in July of 2022. He was 88.
Another notable female journalist is Suzan Harjo. The Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee writer is an advocate for Native American rights. She spoke in Tulsa 1994 at the Native Media conference.
Today’s newscast was created with work from:
Shirley Sneve, Ponca/Sicangu Lakota, is vice president of broadcasting for the ICT Newscast. Follow her on Twitter @rosebudshirley. She is based in Nebraska and Minnesota.
Aliyah Chavez, Kewa Pueblo, is the anchor of the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @aliyahjchavez.
R. Vincent Moniz, Jr., NuÉta, is the senior producer of the award winning ICT Newscast. Have a great story? Pitch it to vincent@ictnews.org.
McKenzie Allen-Charmley, Dena’ina Athabascan, is a producer of the ICT Newscast. Instagram: @mallencharmley.
Paris Wise, Zia and Laguna Pueblos, is a producer for the ICT Newscast. Email: paris@ictnews.org.
Stewart Huntington is a producer for the ICT Newscast.
Quindrea Yazzie, Diné, is a video production editor for the ICT Newscast. Email: qyazzie@ictnews.org . Yazzie is based in Phoenix.
Daniel Herrera Carbajal is a video editor for the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @daniulherrrera
Pauly Denetclaw, Diné, is a political correspondent for ICT. Email her at pauly@ictnews.org
Pacey Smith-Garcia, Ute, is a production assistant for the ICT newscast. On Twitter: @paceyjournalist.
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