Recap: “Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices” – U.N. Panel

We held an interesting panel discussion called, “Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices,” last week at the United Nations to commemorate International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and brought together Indigenous journalists who share news for, by and about their communities from their corner of the world.

In case you missed the interactive panel discussion,  here’s the video:

Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices

Screenshot of of the LIVE webcast of “Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices” organized by the United Nations Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

The panelists were: Nils Johan Heatta, Chairman of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network; J. Kehaulani Kauanui, a professor at Wesleyan University and radio producer; and Angel Tibán Guala, Director of the television of Movimiento Indígena Campesino de Cotopaxi (TV MICC).

Our expert discussants were: Monika Ille – Director of Programming, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Canada; Keoni Lee – General Manager, ‘Ōiwi TV, Hawai’i; Emil Her Many Horses (Ogala Lakota, United States), National Museum of the American Indian, “Our voices on the Air : Reaching new audiences through indigenous radio”

And, we screened videos from: Komi Television (Russian Federation); TV MICC (Ecuador); Indigenous Information Network (Kenya); DJ Atama Katama (Malaysia)

I was thrilled that there was tons of buzz on Twitter and Facebook about the day and the panel itself, especially given the significance social media has in enabling every day people to share news that is important to them without the costs required for a broadcast TV studio or radio station.

I really thought I’d be nervous moderating the panel (which lasted nearly 4 1/2hours!), but I wasn’t.  I felt really comfortable sitting on stage, leading the conversation and soliciting questions from the audience.

The highlight of the day was getting to meet U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon!  Aside from providing a poignant address, he took a great photo!

Amy Stretten with United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

Another fun moment was the interview I did before the panel with a Slovenian radio station:

Radio Student FM 98.3 “Staroselci Na Twitterju”

While I have no idea what is being said (aside from my interspersed sound bites), it’s a pretty interesting listen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you happen to catch the panel discussion?  If so, please let me know what you thought about it in the comments section below!

Let’s keep the conversation surrounding Indigenous media going!  Feel free to tweet me @AmyStretten.

Have a great day!

-NativeJournalist

“Sopranos Azteca” – Hot New Video from A Tribe Called Red x Javier Estrada

Still from “Sopranos Azteca” by A Tribe Called Red x Javier Estrada

Just when you thought A Tribe Called Red couldn’t get any better, they come out with a fierce new music video with incredible Monterrey-based DJ Javier Estrada!

Not only did this collaboration produce “Sopranos Azteca” – a visual/musical feast for the eyes and ears, but they are promising that this is just the first video of a three-part series!  (I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!)

As Isabela Raygoza of Remezcla.com explains, this piece (like the majority of the group’s music videos) leverages more than just classic Hollywood fodder about Native people and intoxicating, hard-hitting, “pow wow stepping” beats:

“…it goes further into history highlighting today’s most common misconceptions about colonization. Dubbing the popular TV series The Sopranos, the characters discuss the meanings behind Columbus Day and the indigenous populations, bringing both sides of the debate to light: whether Columbus was a slave trader who inspired the genocide of indigenous people or a grand conquistador and hero to America. “

What I love most about ATCR (and other young, Indigenous artists I’ve come across in recent years) is their desire to both celebrate and honor Native traditions (be they music, visual imagery, stories, etc.) and push the conversation forward – carefully carving out a unique, creative presence into the foreseeable future.  We are just as relevant as ever thanks to musical pioneers like A Tribe Called Red.

***

If you’re in the Tri-State Area and are dying to experience an Electric Pow Wow, you should definitely be at SOB’s in New York City next Saturday (May 31st)!  A Tribe Called Red will be holding it down, representing Ottawa and Canadian Aboriginals (whether they know it or not!), so be sure to find a way to get there!

But, if you can’t make it to NYC, ATCR will be Pow Wow’ing in these other fine cities this summer:

May 26 Montreal – Eastern Bloc

June 01 Boston –  Good Life

June 19 Winnipeg – Winnipeg Jazz Festival

June 20 Regina – TBD

June 21 Edmonton – The Works Festival

June 22 Ottawa – Special Event

June 23 Peterborough – Ode’min Giizis Festival

July 08 Ottawa – RBC Ottawa Bluesfest

Aug 03 Montreal – Presence Autochtone

***

If you love Indigenous arts + culture stories like this one and are interested in news featuring rising creative Native minds from the US, Canada, and beyond, please consider signing up for updates on the launch of my newest project NativeRemix.com!  You will be notified via e-mail as soon as the site goes live!

We are still looking for more bloggers, videographers, and photographers, as well as artists to feature!  If you, or someone you know, would like their work published or promoted on NativeRemix, please e-mail editor@nativeremix.com.

Please follow us on twitter @TheNativeRemix and “like” us on facebook/NativeRemix!  (We also welcome any advertisers who would like to reach our audience.)

I hope to see you next week!

-NativeJournalist

NativeRemix.com has a new logo!

Thank you to everyone who entered my logo design contest at 99designs.com!  And, thank you to everyone who gave me their input on the designs I was considering!

Here is the design I have chosen…I hope you like it!

Click the photo to sign up for updates on the launch of NativeRemix.com!

NativeRemix.com is a multimedia arts + culture news site for Indigenous youth of the U.S. and Canada that is currently in development.  The site will feature work created by artistic Native talent from all parts of Indian Country with a focus on the younger, Indigenous audience.  

We are currently looking for writers/bloggers as well as Native artists (musicians, singers, DJs, dancers, painters, photographers, videographers, fashion designers, etc.) who would like to be featured on our site.  We also welcome advertisers who are interested in reaching our target audience.

If you, or someone you know, would like to be a part of NativeRemix.com, please send an e-mail to: editor@NativeRemix.com!

Please sign up for updates on our launch date at NativeRemix.com,  follow us on Twitter @TheNativeRemix, and “like” us on Facebook: NativeRemix!

Thank you again to everyone for your support thus far!

Have a wonderful weekend,

-NativeJournalist

A chance to win $200! & New Indigenous Arts + Culture News Site Launching Soon!

This photograph doesn't really relate to my project, but I adore it. (As you can see by my Twitter account: @amystretten)

As some of you may (or may not) know, I’m a Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism fellow (please excuse the horrid photograph– I didn’t get to choose it!) and am creating a multimedia arts + culture Indigenous news site for Indigenous youth of the United States and Canada called NativeRemix.com.

Below is a video about our “pitch day” – when I won a seed grant to fund the project!

The mission of the site is to provide creative, culturally relevant content to Native youth, highlighting the growing international Indigenous artistic movement.  (So, instead of focusing on sad, depressing news – you know, those stereotypical stories EVERYONE has heard over and over again – we’ll focus on the inspiring, uplifting stuff.)  And, I’m lucky to have an amazing team of Native content producers on board to help me get this project off the ground!

NativeRemix.com will feature profiles on cutting edge Indigenous artists like Aboriginal DJ group A Tribe Called Red, singer/songwriter Kyra Climbingbear, rising fashion designer/artist Sho Sho Esquiro, burgeoning comedy group The 1491s, and accomplished “Thoshography” photographer Anthony “Thosh” Collins!

Those are just some of our ideas…We want your ideas, too!

The purpose of the site is to expand the platform Native artists currently have and be the “go to” place for creative Native content from all corners of Turtle Island!  We’re taking a for us/by us approach to reporting on the Native art world.

With that said, we’re still looking for writers, content producers, and advertisers.  If you want to share your take on the latest Native fashion trend or artistic movement in your community, send your thoughts to us at editor@nativeremix.com.  We welcome content submissions from any and all Native writers, bloggers, journalists, artists, and fans alike!  This is your opportunity to add your voice to the conversation and have people take note.

If you have a product or business (say, an Etsy store or t-shirt company) that you would like to advertise to Native youth (age 14-34) and the young at heart!, consider being one of our founding advertisers and e-mail editor@nativeremix.com for more information about incentives and our ad rates.

Please sign up for updates on the site and our scheduled launch date, by signing up at NativeRemix.com!  (You will be rewarded with a free A Tribe Called Red album download for doing so.)

…Please help us out and spread the word – Our success depends on you!

You can follow NativeRemix.com on Twitter (@TheNativeRemix) and “like” us on Facebook (FB/NativeRemix)!  Your support is much appreciated!!!
And, again: If you, or someone you know, would like to contribute to the site or be featured by one of our writers/content producers, please be in touch! E-mail editor@nativeremix.com to submit comments/questions/suggestions, story ideas, etc.

[NativeRemix.com = Native culture…Remixed!]

Now, for the important stuff…

So, how can you win $200?  It’s easy! – Just enter my contest at 99designs.com and create a winning logo for the NativeRemix brand!  If you’re not a designer, you could encourage a friend who is a designer to enter and split the winnings however you see fit!

I would LOVE for a Native designer to win, so please tell all of your friends to take a shot!

Have a great weekend…and good luck to anyone who enters!

-NativeJournalist

Do you (or someone you know) speak a Native language?

Photo courtesy of the University of Dayton (Language: Cree)

 

Dear readers,

Do you or someone you know speak a Native language?  If so, please get in touch with me (via this blog or Twitter) and let me know.  I am working on an Indigenous media project and really need your help in coming up with a name!  I only need about 10-15 minutes of your time and can explain the details when you contact me.

Thank you!!

Amy

-NativeJournalist

 

I’ll be at this year’s ImagineNative film + media arts festival next week!

I can’t wait to attend this year’s ImagineNative film and media arts festival in Toronto next week (October 19-23)!  It’s my first time going and I’m really looking forward to what’s in store. 🙂  I really miss Canada and my Aboriginal peeps up there!

While in Toronto, I’ll be filming the amazing DJ trio “A Tribe Called Red” during their performance at the opening night party for a project I’m working on.  I had the privilege of working with these guys on a package I did for APTN National News this summer about the controversy over an Irish showband called “The Indians.”  They really are incredibly talented!  Don’t take my word, though…check them out for yourself on soundcloud.

More to updates on ImagineNative to come!

-NativeJournalist

My first day at APTN!

APTN headquarters in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba

I landed in Winnipeg early this morning, about 10 hours after I was supposed to thanks to issues with United Airlines [groan].  As you may have seen in my tweets yesterday, United was canceling, rescheduling and even booting people off of flights left and right!  One flight was supposed to seat 50 passengers, but the gate agents made an announcement saying they could only take 22! 

So, as you can imagine, I was happy to have finally touched down in Canada, though it was the next day and I had only had 3hrs of sleep the night before!

Because I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked (none at all, actually), to check out the town and figure out the bus route to my internship, I called a cab. 

$20CAN later and I arrived at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network office in downtown Winnipeg.

Thus far things have been great!  Everyone is beyond friendly and equally excited about my being here (especially when they hear from my supervisor that I turned down 4 summer internship offers from CNN to work here…how did she find that out?!), which is nice.  🙂

I’m looking forward to giving you more updates and content as the summer goes on.  Keep checking back…or just subscribe!  🙂

-NativeJournalist

Good News and Updates!

The semester is finally drawing to a close, which means I am 2/3 of the way done with grad school!  This final week of classes will either make or break me, as I have a tremendous amount of work to complete before the Summer begins.

However, I have great news!  I recently found out that I am one of eight winners of the UNITY: Journalists of Color / United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 2011 Global Reporting Fellowship!  Here is some information about this amazing opportunity:

UNITY: Journalists of Color is teaming up with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to offer unique international reporting opportunities to young journalists from its alliance partners.

The June 8-10 UN High-Level meeting on AIDS will be among the most important to take place in recent years around AIDS issues where world leaders will take stock of global response after 30 years and remember the human toll of the epidemic – the 25 million people who have died of AIDS. The leaders also will renew commitments and agree on innovative strategies to achieve a world free of HIV infections, AIDS-related deaths and stigma of discrimination.

The meeting will feature speeches by global leaders, including the Secretary General, presidents and royalty. There will also be performances by popular musicians.

The gathering presents an excellent opportunity for young journalists interested in honing their skills in international affairs, especially at a time when many news organizations in the United States are reducing international reporting.

UNITY will bring two young journalists from each partner organization to the United Nations from June 6 – 11 to report on the High Level meeting. They will be joined by four young journalists from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. The journalists will work collaboratively to produce print, online and broadcast reports during the meeting under the guidance of professional journalists from alliance partners and the Inter Press Service, the developing world’s leading provider of information on global issues.

I am so excited to begin this amazing experience and can’t wait to meet the other participants, mentors, and diplomats!

In other news, I am also thrilled to announce that I will be interning at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Winnipeg, Canada this summer!  I was fortunate to receive internship offers at two other U.S. news organizations that were incredibly hard to turn down.  (Seriously though, you have no idea!)  But, I am the “Native Journalist” and aside from choosing the international reporting concentration at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism (which means I am required to intern at a news organization outside of the U.S.), I also feel like this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see what life is like for our Indigenous brothers and sisters up north. I am really excited to be working beside seasoned professionals who have dedicated their careers to telling under-reported stories for and about Native people.

Another reason for choosing to spend the summer at APTN in Winnipeg is to begin working on my capstone project.  At CUNY we are required to complete a major print/multi-media/broadcast/etc. project (like a thesis) in our final semester (in addition to the work required for our four classes).  So, to lighten my load and allow for a possible Fall internship (at the anonymous “dream” news organization I turned down), I thought it would be a great idea to start shooting this summer!

The idea for this project came from an interview I conducted with Tonya Gonnella Frichner about her work with the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.  In the interview she mentioned the high number of Aboriginal women and girls who have been murdered and gone missing from all parts of Indian Country.  Specifically, how sex trafficking is hurting the Indigenous community in Canada.

Since this conversation, I have done a great deal of research into this issue and would like to make this my focus of my capstone.  The other day I came across the below video.  I would like to do something in a similar vein.  Check it out.  It’s hard to watch, but it is my hope that creating a piece like this will call attention to this important issue.

-NativeJournalist

Don Lemon speaks with Shirley Sherrod at the 2010 NABJ Conference

Please excuse the unsteady, raw, uncut footage. 🙂

-NativeJournalist

Native American Journalists Association thanks conference goers for a successful event

2010 Native American Journalists Association Conference Logo

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – In an e-mail to it’s members, NAJA says thank you for helping make the 2010 Native Nations Media Conference a success:

We would like to thank all of our members, presenters, mentors, students and everyone else who contributed to our successful 2010 conference. It was great to see new and familiar faces in St. Paul, and we look forward to meeting with you all again next year!

Thank you!

For a list of the winners of this year’s Native American Journalists Association awards, click here.

-NativeJournalist