This week, Grist, The Associated Press, and the Indigenous Journalists Association will launch an international convening to explore reporting collaborations between Indigenous reporters at nearly a dozen newspaper, radio, television, and online outlets. The Global Indigenous Journalism Convening brings together reporters, editors, and producers from Indigenous outlets and Indigenous affairs desks from four countries and more than a dozen tribes, communities, and nations.
Sponsored by the Doris Duke Foundation, the convening will provide a unique opportunity to foster international relationships for story sharing, cultural exchanges, and insights into stories and investigations important to the Indigenous world. Participating outlets include Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (Canada), Hawai’i Public Radio (U.S.), High Country News (U.S.), ICT (U.S.), IndigiNews (Canada), Mongabay (international), National Indigenous Television (Australia), Navajo Times (U.S.), Osage News (U.S.), and Whakaata Māori (New Zealand). Supporting organizations in attendance will include Global Investigative Journalism Network, Native Public Media, The Pulitzer Center, and Report For America.
Convening organizers Tristan Ahtone (Kiowa Tribe) of Grist, and Bryan Pollard (Cherokee Nation) of The Associated Press worked with partners at the Indigenous Journalists Association to host this historic gathering.
“When we find ways to connect across political boundaries and make global connections, we create opportunities,” said Ahtone. “From multinational mining companies destroying Indigenous homelands for transition minerals to anti-Indigenous groups and governments fighting to strip our communities of their rights, now is a critical moment for reporters to work together and build the necessary power, and solidarity, to pursue reporting projects determined by us and for us.”
Many of these topics will be discussed in more detail by attendees at the Indigenous Media Conference in Oklahoma City. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, will host Media for Indigenous Peoples: Towards a Global Response for the Implementation of Article 16 of UNDRIP on Thursday, July 25. And on Saturday morning, July 27, Grist and The AP will sponsor The Power and Promise of Global Indigenous Collaborations, moderated by Pollard.
“It’s exciting to partner with this incredible group of journalists,” Pollard said. “While each of them brings a unique perspective and voice from their community, it will be interesting to see and discuss our interconnections and common cause. I think the panel will be a great opportunity to talk about these connections and extend these relationships into the IJA membership.”
The Global Indigenous Journalism Convening ends on Tuesday, July 30, and any future plans for the cohort will be announced later this year. For more information, contact IJA Associate Director Francine Compton at fcompton@naja.com, or Grist Partnerships Director Rachel Glickhouse at rglickhouse@grist.org.
