For the fourth year running, Grist is organizing pooled coverage of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the largest global gathering of Indigenous leaders and advocates. High Country News, Mongabay, ICT, and APTN News will once again be part of this collaboration. New members include Whakaata Māori, IndigiNews, Osage News, and The Associated Press.
Hailing from three countries and reporting for hundreds of Indigenous nations and peoples worldwide, the partnership also marks the launch of the Indigenous News Alliance, or INA: an international initiative to support cross-border collaborations and story sharing. INA started last July as a convening hosted by Grist, The Associated Press, and the Indigenous Journalists Association. At the U.N. meeting this month, the initiative will be working to pool reporting and connect with attendees at the forum.
“Collaboration serves audiences and links communities. It’s a core principal of how we do our work at Grist,” said Tristan Ahtone, Grist’s editor at large. “It’s vital that local readers see their stories reflected at events like UNPFII and to get important reporting year-round. Initiatives like the Indigenous News Alliance make that possible.”
This year’s session, the 24th UNPFII, will run from April 21 through May 2. Ahtone will coordinate coverage among the newsrooms, and editors from each newsroom will participate in the editorial process. Every story produced by participants is available to republish by the other members as well as other outlets. Last year, participating newsrooms covered threats against Indigenous leaders speaking at the forum, the risks taken by Indigenous land defenders, and the injustices of the green transition for the Indigenous world.
“IndigiNews is grateful for the opportunity to be part of this year’s pooled coverage,” said Eden Fineday, publisher of IndigiNews, an Indigenous-run newsroom committed to decolonizing journalism and strengthening Indigenous media ecosystems. “It’s an honor to help bring stories from the UNPFII to our communities and to a wider audience. Collaboration is central to our culture, and we’re thankful to be in community with other journalists who care deeply about these issues.”
In addition to the pooled coverage, Ahtone will help lead an online event on April 9 called Share Your Story, which will have live interpretation in Spanish, French, and Russian. The participants will provide media training for Indigenous leaders, teaching them how to hone and craft their messages; learn storytelling techniques and tools; understand the story components journalists want; and communicate effectively with journalists and media.
On April 24, Ahtone will participate in an in-person version of Share Your Story in New York, along with trainers Angel Moore from APTN, Graham Lee Brewer from the AP, and freelancer and former Grist fellow Joseph Lee.
Grist partnered with the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA), Cultural Survival, Project Access, and CCUNESCO to make these events possible.
“It is essential to be active at the permanent forum,” said Francine Compton, associate director of the Indigenous Journalists Association. “Seeing our colleagues and IJA members cover it for their outlets has been inspiring. Having a voice at the forum allows us to advocate for Indigenous journalism, meet and collaborate with our global counterparts on matters of free press, mainstream media coverage of our communities, educating our peoples on news gathering and storytelling techniques, and finally urging the members of the forum to implement recommendations.”
Finally, the U.N. will release a media report during the forum, to which Ahtone and Compton contributed. The study aims to consolidate efforts to fulfill Indigenous peoples’ rights to media, including the establishment of Indigenous-led outlets, the ability to work in non-Indigenous media without fear of discrimination, and for Indigenous peoples to see themselves accurately reflected in mainstream coverage.
“High Country News understands the importance of building and fostering relationships, which is why our Indigenous affairs team is honored to join our Indigenous journalism colleagues to help share stories and uplift voices from the UNPFII,” said Sunnie Clahchischiligi, Indigenous affairs editor at High Country News. “Now, more than ever, it is important that we coalesce and amplify truths and lived experiences from Indigenous communities near and far, and to do so in good practice that is rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.”
