The Native American Journalists Association, based in Norman, Oklahoma

Norman, Oklahoma

Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...

 on the campus of the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

, is dedicated to supporting Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 in journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

, and focuses on improving communications among Native peoples, and between Native Americans and the general public. The association was founded as the Native American Press Association in 1983 with initial funding provided by the Gannett Foundation. Adrian C. Louis

Adrian C. Louis

Adrian C. Louis is a Lovelock Paiute author from Nevada now living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He has taught at Oglala Lakota College. His novel Skins discusses reservation life and issues such as poverty, alcoholism, and social problems and was the basis for the 2002 film,...

, Jose Barreiro

Jose Barreiro

Jose Barreiro is a writer, Cuban native, journalist and former professor of Native American Studies at Cornell University. He is a member of the Taíno Nation of the Antilles....

, and Tim Giago

Tim Giago

Tim Giago, also known as Nanwica Kciji , is an American Oglala Lakota journalist and publisher. In 1981, he founded the Lakota Times at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where he was born and grew up. It was the first independently owned Native American newspaper in the United States. In 1991...

, among others, were founding members.

The work of the 501(c) organization encompasses a wide range of issues and activities affecting the development of Native media and communications. The organization has advocated for better representations of Native Americans in the media. For example, they spoke out against the United States government's use of Geronimo

Geronimo

Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...

's name as a code for Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

. They host workshops and conferences to teach and share the journalistic skills necessary to cover issues in and about Indian Country. They are a member group of UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc., an organization founded in 1994.

Resources

• Wikipedia Journalism Portal