Native News Online Publisher and Editor Levi Rickert Honored with Tecumseh Peacekeeping Award 

Native News Online Publisher and Editor Levi Rickert received the 2026 Tecumseh Peacekeeping Award from the State Bar of Michigan—American Indian Law Section — today at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

The honor recognizes individuals who promote understanding and cooperation in Indian Country and beyond, while advancing the interests and voices of Native people.

“Peacekeeping and progress take many forms, and it isn’t limited to the courtroom or legal documents,” Anna M Bruty, Chair of the State Bar of Michigan—American Indian Law Section told Native News Online.  “Levi uses journalism as a tool for Native self-determination, visibility, education, and understanding.”

Rickert, an award-winning American Indian journalist and tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, started Native News Online in 2011 to elevate the Native perspective in news media. Today, the publication is one of the most read daily Native American news outlets in the United States.

Under Rickert’s leadership, Native News Online publishes breaking news and enterprising feature stories through a solutions-focused lens that centers sovereignty and culture.

The outlet has covered major historical events, including the Standing Rock resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline, the upholding of the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the McGirt ruling; as well as elections, congressional hearings, language revitalization, and food sovereignty; Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, the overdose crisis, and federal Indian boarding schools.

In the early days of publishing, Rickert said hearing from people that they relied on Native News Online to stay informed about Native communities gave him the drive to keep going.

“An employee for the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan approached me and told me his boss had him read Native News Online every day,” Rickert said. “And he said, ‘Even if I leave the Inter-Tribal Council, I will keep reading it every day.’ That made me feel good. You always hope you’re making a difference, and seeing the results is something I really appreciate.”

Rickert credits his grandparents, Levi and Ellen Whitepigeon, and his mother, Jennie Whitepigeon Rickert Wicker, with instilling that real success comes with the ability to give back.

“They planted a lot of seeds,” he said. “They really did inspire us to really try to achieve things in life and make the world better for our fellow man.”

Native people give back, and I’ve always made a joke that “if you give a Native person a quarter; they’re gonna figure out six ways to divide it up.”

Bruty said the Tecumseh Peacekeeping Award shines a light on individuals improving their communities, to inspire others to do the same,

The award has previously honored the late Rep. Dale Kildee; Kathryn E. Fort;  Michigan Supreme Court Justice Michael Cavanaugh; and Beverly Clark, the first Native American commissioner on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. Bruty said Rickert represents countless people in Indian Country working outside of the legal field to advance tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

“We see a lot of those people that are not necessarily lawyers that are working day in and day out, and they get a lot done, and we want to acknowledge those people,” Bruty said.“Hopefully it will motivate others to keep up the good fight, or to join in the good fight, in any way, and kind of copy what Levi has done and take up that mantle.”

Rickert said he hopes he can be an example to young Native people to advance their prospects, and ultimately, utilize their success to give back to their tribal communities.

“I hope my work inspires young people who, whether they get a formal education or not, to take care of their family, their friends, and their communities, and really inspire them to make it a better place,” he said.