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- By Native News Online Staff
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Digital publisher Indian Country Media, LLC has launched Native StoryLab, a new strategic media and marketing division specializing in authentic Indigenous storytelling and communications.
The new division will serve tribal businesses, tribal organizations, and other ally organizations and businesses wanting to reach Indian Country through culturally relevant marketing and communications strategies.
“Native StoryLab represents a natural evolution of our work in Indian Country media,” Levi Rickert, co-founder of Indian Country Media and a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, said. “After more than a decade of telling important stories across Indian Country, we're now helping organizations effectively communicate their own narratives with authentic Indigenous perspectives.”
Native StoryLab builds on the company's existing media platforms, Native News Online and Tribal Business News, which collectively reach over 5 million readers, more than 40,000 subscribers, and nearly 600,000 social media followers, according to the company.
Brian Edwards, co-founder and partner of Indian Country Media, LLC, said the new division meets a growing demand that the company has tapped into over the past few years.
“In today's environment, every organization needs to think like a media company,” said Edwards, a longtime publisher and media executive. “Native StoryLab offers clients the same storytelling expertise, production capabilities, and audience-development strategies we've used successfully with our publications to help them meaningfully connect with Indian Country.”
As part of its strategy, Native StoryLab will also lean into sponsored content as a key offering—both through its own media brands and in collaboration with other Native media outlets. The approach allows the company to not only help clients connect with Indian Country through trusted platforms, but also to create new revenue opportunities for Native-led publications across the country, Rickert said.
“We see this as an opportunity to invest in the broader Native media ecosystem,” said Rickert. “By partnering with other Native outlets for sponsored content, we’re helping amplify trusted voices in our communities while sharing the economic benefits of that work.”
The division offers several services in three categories: digital and creative services, communications, and media production. Specific offerings include website development, social media management, marketing strategy, public relations, sponsored content creation, podcast production, and event planning.
Kristen Lilya, an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, will serve as senior producer and a client services executive at Native StoryLab.
The company positioned the new division as building on its existing relationships with Native organizations. Indian Country Media has previously provided marketing services to national Native-serving organizations including the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, the National Indian Health Board, and the Native CDFI Network, as well as Native-owned businesses such as Mshkawzi Law, LLP, and Little River Holdings, LLC.
“We don't just understand Native audiences—we are the Native audience,” Lilya said. “That means we bring an insider’s perspective to every project we take on. We know what resonates, what matters, and what feels authentic—because these are our communities, our families, and our stories. That’s what sets Native StoryLab apart.”
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