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- By Native News Online Staff
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Kyle Edwards (Anishinaabe), the managing editor of Native News Online, has been named a 2021 Nieman Visiting Fellow by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Edwards is one of 12 journalists named to this fellowship, which develops projects advancing racial justice or improving public health journalism in the United States.
Edwards will examine, catalog and memorialize the loss of Indigenous elders, knowledge and culture during the COVID-19 pandemic by creating a website devoted to sharing oral histories and interviews with families affected by the disease. This will inform a podcast series focused on individual stories of Indigenous resilience in the face of the Covid-19 surge. His work will be featured on Native News Online.
“Native News Online is excited Kyle has been selected for this prestigious fellowship. We look forward to his further growth to his already enormous journalistic talents,” Levi Rickert, publisher and editor of Native News Online said. “Kyle’s examination of the losses sustained in Indian Country during the Covid-19 pandemic will complement our publication’s pandemic coverage and give it context.”
Edwards will remain in his post as managing editor during his fellowship.
Announcing the new fellows, Nieman Foundation curator Ann Marie Lipinski said: “This past year journalism has faced urgent challenges but also explored opportunities for change. Nieman sought individuals with ideas for using journalism to address public health and racial justice inequities. These new visiting fellows seek to make real contributions to their communities and we’re excited to work with them to advance their projects.”
“Indian Country has been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and these are stories that deserve the country’s attention,” Edwards said. “I’m honored that the Nieman Foundation acknowledged the importance of this project, and I’m excited about where it will take our newsroom.”
Edwards previously worked at ProPublica, where he was the Lorana Sullivan Senior Business Reporting Fellow, and Maclean’s, based in Toronto, where he earned various awards.
The Nieman Visiting Fellowship program began in 2013 to invite individuals with promising journalism research proposals to take advantage of the many resources at Harvard University and the Nieman Foundation.
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