As part of our series of conversations with equity in journalism leaders to see how they are adapting in light of the current pandemic, I recently chatted with Jodi Rave, executive director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance (IMFA), a nonprofit media organization that aims to fill information gaps for American Indian communities in the Great Plains. Democracy Fund proudly supports IMFA’s publishing arm, Buffalo’s Fire through the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund.
In 2018, Democracy Fund published American Indian Media Today, a report authored by Rave that took a deep dive into the history and current state of Native media in the United States. The report describes how press freedom is a key challenge, with tribal governments controlling an estimated 72 percent of tribal newspapers and radio stations. This means that tribal press “largely promote the tribe’s messages rather than serving a watchdog role that holds tribal governments accountable to the community.”