Opinion. On Saturday, Native News Online celebrated its 15th anniversary of delivering news to Indian Country and beyond. With great pride, I still remember the day this publication was born.
The day began in La Jolla, Calif., at the start of the “Longest Walk 3 — Reversing Diabetes.” American Indian Movement co-founder Dennis Banks led the walk from the West Coast to Washington, D.C., calling attention to the devastating toll diabetes was taking on Native communities.
That first night ended at a community center near San Diego on the reservation of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians. The tribe welcomed us with a generous baked chicken dinner. Afterward, Banks spoke candidly about his own battle with diabetes and how he was working to reverse it through discipline, exercise, and diet. I slept in a sleeping bag on the hard floor, listening to the quiet and sometimes loud chorus of snores and whispered conversations. It was humble. It was real. It was the beginning.
The Longest Walk allowed me to visit dozens of tribal nations and meet countless citizens — many of whom I remain in contact with today.
Over the past 15 years, I have had a front-row seat to Native history — and the honor of reporting it. I witnessed the strength of thousands at Standing Rock who stood united against Big Oil’s encroachment on tribal lands. During the COVID pandemic, Native News Online published more than 300 articles on a crisis that claimed thousands of Native lives and tested the resilience of tribal nations across Indian Country.
I am especially proud that Native News Online attended all 12 stops of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Road to Healing Tour, led by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community). We also published nearly 300 stories on Indian boarding schools — documenting painful truths while amplifying Native voices seeking justice and healing.
Fifteen years later, what began on the floor of a community center has grown into a trusted national publication. Through it all, one thing has remained constant: We show up.
Two weeks ago, I flew to Minneapolis to report on tribal and immigrant communities mobilizing after the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Jan. 7. The horrific incident, captured on video and seen around the world, sparked fear, grief, protests and urgent calls for accountability. Her killing in broad daylight profoundly shook the Minneapolis tribal community and others now grappling with the trauma of aggressive federal law enforcement.
The best journalism emerges from having boots on the ground, allowing reporters to truly capture the essence and lived reality of events and places. That is why Native News Online shows up — driven by passion, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the tribal communities we serve.
This past week, I reflected on 15 years of leading Native News Online — years marked by hard-earned credibility and a growing national readership, yet shadowed by the financial struggles that are the reality of independent publications.
Despite those challenges, I am more convinced than ever that Native News Online is needed and essential today even more than when I founded it during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Why?
Every year President Obama held office his administration held a White House Tribal Nations Conference which proved to be a vital, high-level venue for strengthening the government-to-government relationship, allowing tribal leaders to directly engage with federal officials to advance tribal sovereignty, secure funding and address critical issues like healthcare and education. The current administration does not see the value in holding such an event.
Why?
President Obama did not attempt to dismantle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs such as the SBA Tribal 8(a) program, which brings $16 billion into tribal economies. Today, that vital program is portrayed by the Trump administration as Native people receiving more than they deserve. Of course, we maintain Native issues have nothing to do with DEI. They have to do with tribes being sovereign political entities, not race. We highlight the fact that the federal government has trust and treaty obligations to tribes.
Why?
President Obama did not attempt to sanitize history. The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council is pushing back against efforts to alter historical interpretation at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Earlier this month, the Council unanimously opposed changes to language acknowledging broken federal promises and the cultural devastation caused by boarding schools after the Trump administration flagged two exhibits as part of a broader initiative to reshape historical narratives.
It is incumbent on Native News Online to tell the truth relating to tribes and tribal communities.
As we embark on our next 15 years, Native News Online will continue to defend tribal sovereignty, culture and history. We will continue to tell the truth.
Through warrior journalism.
Thayék gde nwéndëmen — We are all related.
