Indigenous journalists speak up
December 17, 2018 4:21 AM   Subscribe

Different forms of journalism existed long before settlers arrived in North America. And sometimes, people forget that these types of storytelling, documentation and news sharing have always existed in Indigenous cultures, says Tristan Ahtone.

“In my tribe we have winter calendars. We look differently at historical events important to our families and relatives — that’s a form of journalism,” he told me over the phone. “It’s the same with all the different ways that nations, tribes, and families have preserved their stories and important events — we come from that tradition.”

posted by poffin boffin (2 comments total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Thanks for posting this! It’s great!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 5:26 AM on December 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


This is a nice article. It did remind me that indigenous people also get overlooked in the history of American colonial journalism — America's first printing press was owned by Stephen Daye, but run by James Printer (natch), a Nipmuc man who was educated at Harvard's "Indian School" and was fluent in several forms of Algonquin, English, Greek and Latin. They produced the Eliot Bible, both the first book printed in Massachusett language and the first book printed in America, and also produced America's first periodical literature, much of which was in Algonquin languages (and a mix of local news and Christian proselytizing). Daye gets most of the credit, along with Elizabeth Glover (the widow of Jose Glover, who had contracted Daye to run the press but died in transit to America), America's first publisher and first female publisher. But we can actually tell when Printer took over because Daye was a locksmith and ironmonger who was basically illiterate, and when Printer starts doing the typesetting, the quality makes a massive improvement (like, dude actually knew how to lock down type so that it wouldn't bow).
posted by klangklangston at 11:30 AM on December 17, 2018 [5 favorites]


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