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- By Levi Rickert
Dear Readers,
As 2020 draws to a close, I’m reflecting on Native News Online’s progress and growth during this year of tremendous change and upheaval.
We started the year with a nine-year old website and a full-time staff of one. Less than 12 months later, we overhauled our Native News Online website, launched a daily newsletter, started a new site focused on Native business, and expanded our newsroom with experienced reporters and editors, including our first-ever managing editor, Kyle Edwards, who was recently named a Harvard Fellow.
Growing in 2020 hasn't been easy, but we believe it’s important. There has been no shortage of critical news for Indian Country this year — from COVID-19 and the 2020 Census, to the Presidential election, stories of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, and so much more.
Throughout it all, we have remained committed to providing concise and accurate news to millions of Indigenous readers. Additionally, we have worked to inform (and educate!) non-Native readers about the thingsl that are important American Indians and Alaska Natives.
As we wrap up this extraordinary year, we’d like to ask you for support. During the month of December, we are asking our readers who can afford to help make a one-time donation of $5 or more. We’ll use the funds to continue investing in covering the important news stories throughout Indian Country.
Megwetch for your continued readership. Please give this appeal your utmost consideration. You can donate here if you’d like: nativenewsonline.net/donate
Sincerely,
Levi Rickert, Publisher
Prairie Band Potawatomi
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Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher