Native American tribalcolleges are unique. Most of them are located on tribal lands, sovereign fromthe United States, yet are funded with federal dollars. Some are more vocationalthan academic, and few offer four-year degrees. 

Only a handful have astudent-produced publication, and none have a journalism program. Intribal college media, student journalists and their advocates say they treasureindependence, and they know that in the past, freedom of the press has beenconsidered optional by school officials.

Almost two decades ago, schooladministrators in Lawrence, Kan., censored the oldest tribal collegestudent-produced publication, Haskell Indian Nations University’sIndian Leader, because of an article it published about the universitypresident’s involvement in a money mismanagement investigation. 

The article was actually a compilation of facts from several storiespublished in other area newspapers, but after publication the administratorsfroze the Leader’s account in 1989 and students could not print anyissues for several months.Marcel Stevens, then managing editor of theLeader, and seven other students filed a lawsuit after the Leader’sadviser and his son tried to print a ‘counterfeit’ issue with whatwere described as ‘biased, one-sided’ articles.

Out of printfor six months, a federal judge granted a temporary injunction in favor ofStevens’ group that stopped publication of the so-called’counterfeit’ issues.In court, the students’ lawyerargued that ‘even one publication of ‘counterfeit’ issueswould irreparably violate Stevens’ First Amendment rights, as well asdamage the newspaper’s reputation and ability to publish “timely” news.

In September of 1989, the students andschool reached a settlement that gave The Indian Leader staff autonomouscontrol.After the Leader had resumed publication, Stevens wrote aneditorial giving his reasons for filing the lawsuit. 

“We decidedto bring this action to protect your First Amendment right to read uncensorednews written and edited by Haskell students without any interference or pressurefrom the administration,” Stevens wrote in 1989.

Today, TheIndian Leader staff has complete control over the content of the paper. 

“If the university wants to respond to an article, we’ll have todo it through a letter to the editor and even then it’s up to the staff toprint it or not,” said Haskell Vice President of Academic Affairs VenidaChenault. 

Gerald Gipp, Haskell’s president at the time of theincident, said he was cleared of all allegations and was “surprised” when the censorship lawsuit occurred. Gipp said he was “not awareof the censorship incident” and he was “not on campus” duringthe time of the incident because he had been relocated to Washington, D.C., bythe school’s board during the investigation.

CensorshipPolicy

In Santa Fe, N.M., the Institute of American IndianArts’ student newspaper, the IAIA Chronicle, faced strongadministrative pressure of its own in the mid-1990s when the school faced budgetcuts from the U.S. Congress and many employees were laid off. 

Severalemployees filed lawsuits, which started a long bout of negative publicity forthe school.The Chronicle, under tight administrative control, didnot publish any articles regarding the lawsuit, for fear of censorship, saidChronicle adviser Evelina Lucero, a member of the Isleta and OhkayOwingeh Pueblos of New Mexico.

“Because of the negative publicitythey were receiving in the local newspapers the school permitted statements tothe press through the president’s office only,” said Lucero, whichmade it difficult for Chronicle reporters to gather information. 

The school’s president also demanded to review a Chroniclereporter’s story on the school’s budget, but both the reporter andLucero refused.

“I explained to the president that we did not allow[prior review] but would be happy to verify all quotes by her foraccuracy,” Lucero said. “If we didn’t state a policy and standby it, administrators would attempt to censor the paper.”

TheChronicle‘s editorial policy refers to the First Amendment of theU.S. Constitution to guarantee the right of freedom of the press. It also citesthe 1957 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roth v. U.S. that ensures the “unfettered interchange of ideas for bringing about the political andsocial changes desired by the people.”

In adherence to the ideathat it is a public forum, the IAIA Chronicle will not shy away fromcoverage of controversial topics, Lucero said, but instead will seek to coverall stories fairly and accurately.

“Censorship is repressive andthe opposite of what educational institutions seek to teach,” Lucerosaid.

The Chronicle covers a variety of issues, ranging from drugabuse on the reservation to art shows, legislation in the state and education ona national level, Lucero said. 

“After the first attempt atcensorship by the administration the distrust of the student mediadisappeared,” Lucero said.

But Denny McAuliffe, University ofMontana journalism professor and founder of Reznetnews.org, a Web site designed topromote journalism among Native American youth, said tribal college newspaperssimply do not tackle hard-hitting issues, which is why tribal colleges arerarely subject to censorship.

In Lawrence, current Indian LeaderEditor Robert Smith said the problem is of personnel.

“It would be niceif the Leader had a bit more of an edge, but the truth is we are severelyunderstaffed,” Smith said. “I can put anything that I feelappropriate [in] the paper.” 

More Free

Tribalcollege newspapers are often not directed by the tribal council, and thereforeare not subject to the same tribal restrictions as community tribal publicationsare, said McAuliffe, a member of the Osage tribe of Oklahoma. 

McAuliffesaid that shows tribal college newspapers are in one way more free than theprofessional newspapers owned by the tribe. Autonomy protects tribal collegenewspapers from censorship by tribal council members that are unhappy withstories in the paper. 

“Theoretically, freedom of press can existon tribal lands if you use tribal college newspapers,” McAuliffe said. 

Technically, the First Amendment does not apply to all tribal lands,McAuliffe said. In the 1896 case Talton v. Mayes, a court decidedthat the U.S. Constitution does not apply to tribal land and its members, saidThomas Birdbear, lawyer and adjunct lecturer at the University of New MexicoNative American Studies Department.

Yet, all tribes are subject to theIndian Civil Rights Act of 1968, which includes a free and independent press,but it is “up to the tribes to exercise this right,” Birdbear said. 

The 1978 Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez decision stated againthat the U.S. Constitution does not apply to tribal land, because tribes aresovereign nations with their own government and law, and also that tribespre-date the Constitution.

“It’s a misnomer that freedom ofpress is a right in Indian country, unless a tribe writes it into itsconstitution,” Birdbear said. 

Tribal courts could also assert afreedom of the press guarantee, but a case would have to be filed and not manytribes have taken such a proactive approach, Birdbearsaid.

“You’re dealing with an area that doesn’thave a lot of legal precedent in tribal judicial law, which makes objectivewriting difficult,” said Paul DeMain, editor of the independently ownedtribal publication News From Indian Country.

The two largestNative tribes, the Cherokee and the Navajo nations, have a freedom of the presslaw written into their constitutions. Both tribes have a free press independentfrom the tribal government, said Tom Arviso, Jr., publisher of the NavajoTimes.

Education and Censorship

Gipp, who is now theexecutive director of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, whichoversees all tribal colleges, said press freedom at tribal colleges isimportant, but journalism programs are not a tribal college priority.

Butadvocates say the two are linked.Of the 34 tribal colleges across thecountry, only 10 have a student-produced newspaper — online or print — a television station, radio station or even a journalism program. 

Pam Wynea of the Sisseton Wahpeton College in northeastern South Dakota saidit is difficult to find a faculty member interested in taking on the task ofadvising a student paper or journalism program. 

“It’s reallypersonality driven,” Wynea said.

Blackfeet Community College inMontana offers a few journalism classes through its liberal arts program, butdoes not have a student publication. Communications Coordinator MarionSalaway said a journalism program is “something we’re discussing. Wejust haven’t had the resources and mainly the personnel and money for apublication.” 

Funding for printing and distribution is a problemfor many tribal colleges as well. But the Salish Kootenai College in Montana haseliminated the printing and distribution process and gone digital with an onlinepublication called The Camp Crier.

With the help of McAuliffe,Salish Kootenai was able to set up a Web site that includes articles about theschool and two galleries showcasing students’ artwork andphotographs.A recent graduate of Salish Kootenai, Wayne Smith, Jr., saidhe recalls a short article he wrote for The Camp Crier about being achild unaware of conflicts and war. 

Wayne Smith, also a veteran, referred to hisown letters and said the content was “innocent.”

The photothat accompanied the story was of a woman breastfeeding an infant. DavidSpear, The Camp Crier‘s adviser, said the community surrounding thereservation is conservative and the group was concerned about backlash fromcommunity members. 

“We thought the administration wasn’tgoing to let us run it, but they did,” Wayne Smith said. 

WayneSmith said the college president stood ‘completely behind’ thepublication.

Wayne Smith, a member of the Blackfeet tribe of Montana, isalso a graduate of the American Indian Journalism Institute, which is athree-week intensive course sponsored by the Freedom Forum at the University ofSouth Dakota at Vermillion. Wayne is now attending the University ofMontana’s journalism school.

Cynthia Hernandez, of the Prairie BandPotawatomi tribe and Travis Coleman, of the Ponca tribe of Nebraska, both formereditors of Haskell’s Indian Leader and graduates of American IndianJournalism Institute, said the Native American journalism movement isprogressing.

“In the next five to 10 years young Native Americanjournalists will flood mainstream newsrooms,” Colemansaid.

Coleman, Hernandez and Wayne Smith are the only three tribalcollege students that he knows of who have moved on to larger universities topursue a writing degree, McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe referred to them astrailblazers. All three of the students contribute to McAuliffe’sReznetnews.org news Web site.

“A lot of Native kids have an opinionbut they don’t have a forum,” Wayne Smith said. “Without anoutlet we sit silenced.”

The Difference

Thedisconnection between professionals and students is obvious, McAuliffe said, andtribal college newspapers are not getting the job done. 

“Tribalcollege newspapers are not designed to teach journalism or even promotejournalism,” McAuliffe said. 

Coleman went on to write for theUniversity of South Dakota publication, the Volante. In comparison of the twoschool papers, Coleman said the Volante was much more structured, the coveragewas more legitimate and deadlines were quicker.

“I fostered myjournalism career at Haskell, it was a low-pressure environment,” Colemansaid. 

But McAuliffe said that news coverage and deadlines are not theonly difference between public and tribal college publications. McAuliffesaid public college newspapers are usually separate businesses or fall under astudent government’s control. 

He said the president’s office or anacademic department controls tribal colleges publications. Journalismcouple Valencia Tso-Yazzie and Dulbert Yazzie said they value the right tofreedom of the press at the IAIA Chronicle, whose publication is underthe creative writing department. 

Valencia, the Chronicle‘sstudent editor and Dulbert, a reporter, are both members of the Navajo nation,and said that it is not in the paper’s “interest to silenceanyone.”

Dulbert said that informing the community is important to theentire staff and each reporter strives to be accurate and fair with everystory.Dulbert said the tribal student newspaper does not feel the needto hold back its opinions, either.

“Students can often feeldisempowered in institutions of education, and student newspapers can be aneffective tool for them to address and challenge controversial issues,” Dulbert said.

Tribal freepress

The Cherokee and Navajo nations, the largest Native American tribes,both have adopted press freedom protections in recentyears.Principal Chief Chad Smith signed the Cherokee NationIndependent Press Act into law in 2000. The Cherokee Phoenix is the oldestcommunity tribal newspaper that covers the news of the Cherokee nation inOklahoma. The act reads, ‘The Cherokee Nation’s Press shallbe independent from any undue influence and free of any particular politicalinterest. It is the duty of the press to report without bias the activities ofthe government and the news of interest to have informedcitizens.’The Navajo Nation, the largest reservation, coversparts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Title one section four of the NavajoNation Bill of Rights allowed the Navajo Times to become an independentpress in 2003, although the tribal council did have to vote on its autonomy.The section reads, ‘Freedom of religion, speech, press, and theright of assembly and petition. The Navajo Nation Council shall make no lawrespecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right ofpeople peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Navajo Nation government for aredress of grievances.’

Tribal freepress

The Cherokee and Navajo nations, the largest Native American tribes,both have adopted press freedom protections in recentyears.Principal Chief Chad Smith signed the Cherokee NationIndependent Press Act into law in 2000. The Cherokee Phoenix is the oldestcommunity tribal newspaper that covers the news of the Cherokee nation inOklahoma. The act reads, ‘The Cherokee Nation’s Press shallbe independent from any undue influence and free of any particular politicalinterest. It is the duty of the press to report without bias the activities ofthe government and the news of interest to have informedcitizens.’The Navajo Nation, the largest reservation, coversparts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Title one section four of the NavajoNation Bill of Rights allowed the Navajo Times to become an independentpress in 2003, although the tribal council did have to vote on its autonomy.The section reads, ‘Freedom of religion, speech, press, and theright of assembly and petition. The Navajo Nation Council shall make no lawrespecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right ofpeople peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Navajo Nation government for aredress of grievances.’

Tribal freepress

The Cherokee and Navajo nations, the largest Native American tribes,both have adopted press freedom protections in recentyears.Principal Chief Chad Smith signed the Cherokee NationIndependent Press Act into law in 2000. The Cherokee Phoenix is the oldestcommunity tribal newspaper that covers the news of the Cherokee nation inOklahoma. The act reads, ‘The Cherokee Nation’s Press shallbe independent from any undue influence and free of any particular politicalinterest. It is the duty of the press to report without bias the activities ofthe government and the news of interest to have informedcitizens.’The Navajo Nation, the largest reservation, coversparts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Title one section four of the NavajoNation Bill of Rights allowed the Navajo Times to become an independentpress in 2003, although the tribal council did have to vote on its autonomy.The section reads, ‘Freedom of religion, speech, press, and theright of assembly and petition. The Navajo Nation Council shall make no lawrespecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right ofpeople peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Navajo Nation government for aredress of grievances.’