Cultivating Indigenous Voices

In April 2024 I had the opportunity alongside my colleague Elva, to attend the annual Native Broadcast Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. The Summit is Native Public Media’s largest gathering of Tribal and Indigenous broadcasters and media professionals serving Indian Country. The theme “Globalizing Indigenous Storytelling” acknowledges that Native broadcast stations play an essential role in promoting the safety, sovereignty, and stability of Native communities, providing a platform for media creation, community news, civic engagement, and emergency services for predominately rural and remote tribal lands. This has been my third time attending the summit in the past few years and every time I’ve attended its a great experience meeting new people and catching up with past attendees.

During the summit I was excited to meet Shawn Spruce (Laguna Pueblo) who is the host of Native America Calling, which is a nationally syndicated show that focuses on national conversations about topics and issues specific to Native communities. Shawn was a speaker on a panel titled, “Koahnic Broadcast Corporation | Cultural Crossroads: Expanding Audiences Through Inclusive Storytelling,” which also featured Antonia Gonzales, Managing Editor & Host and Producer of National Native News, and Alexis Sallee, Indigefi Filmmaker & Radio Host of Indigefi. He also shared another perspective as a presenter on the topic of financial literacy, which is also a part of his professional career. I also got to spend some one on one time with Clarice Chiago-Jones (Akimel O’odham) who is a board member of Native Public Media and who is the Executive Director of the Gila River Broadcast Corporation (GRBC). The mission of GRBC is to be the source to which community members and tribal departments can turn to for information and entertainment through programs that will educate the public, enhance awareness and share the history, culture, and realities of Gila River and other Native Americans.

Here is a short form version of the interview: