-On the banner of our paper it says, “The newspaper
of the Navajo people.” We’re here first and foremost for them. Not
for the government; not for the politicians; not for one single
person or viewpoint.”
* Tom Arviso Jr., editor
of the Navajo Times, in From the Front Lines; Free Press Struggles
in Native America
In Indian
Country, newspapers are almost always owned by the very government
that makes the headlines – an uneasy relationship at best. Tribal
councils hold the purse strings to newspaper budgets, and
politicians have been known to routinely read the paper before it
goes to press. A new 34-page booklet published by the Native
American Journalists Association includes five personal narratives
that chronicle the day-to-day struggles editors face. The essays,
by Tom Arviso; Dan Agent, former editor of the Cherokee Advocate;
Keith Skenandore, of Kalihwisaks, the newspaper of the Oneida Tribe
in Wisconsin; Lori Edmo-Suppah, former editor of the Sho-Ban News
at Fort Hall, Idaho; and Paul DeMain, former editor of the Lac
Courte Oreilles Journal in Wisconsin, tell what led to the writer’s
dismissal or how they’ve persevered. “My real dream,” writes
Arviso, who still has his job, “is to see the Navajo Times become
the true voice of the Navajo people.”
*Dustin
Solberg
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Tribes struggle for a free press.
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