Progress continues toward the free press in Indian Country

By Dan Agent
Editor

In the past five years, three pivotal events have occurred that could have a lasting impact on the establishment of a free press in Indian Country.

In July 2000, the Cherokee Independent Press Act of 2000, an amendment to the tribal constitution, was approved by the tribal council and signed by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith.

On Oct. 23, 2003, the Navajo Nation Council approved the establishment of the Navajo Times Publishing Co. and the independent publication of the Navajo Times separate from the Navajo tribal government.

On Nov. 21, 2003, the governing council of the National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution supporting a Free and Independent Native Press. Sponsored by Frank King III, publisher of The Native Voice in Rapid City, S.D., and his wife Lisa, the resolution called for all tribal nations to adopt policies that ensure a free press for their respective citizens and called on tribal governments to approve similar policies.

The Cherokee Nation with nearly 250,000 citizens and the Navajo Nation with nearly 400,000 citizens are the two largest tribes in the country. And each has endured past efforts to suppress their respective newspapers.

Established in 1944, the NCAI is the largest and oldest organization that has supported the rights of Native Americans and tribal rights in the country.

However, in each case, the maintenance of a free press is dependent upon tribal leadership and the support of tribal citizens.

The late Yakama journalist Richard LaCourse reported in a 1998 article titled "Protecting the First Amendment in Indian Country" that from 1852 to 1968, a total of 64 tribes adopted written constitutions that included provisions for a free press within their sovereign reservation boundaries.

On April 11, 1968, the Indian Civil Rights Act specifically extended the rights of the U.S. Constitution to Indian peoples under tribal governments, including the guarantee of freedom of the press. Title II of that act stated: "No Indian tribe in exercising powers of self-government shall make or enforce any law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition for a redress of grievances…"

In spite of that guarantee, establishing and maintaining a free press has continued to be elusive in Indian Country with many tribal governments ignoring the act when it comes to freedom of the press.

While the passage of legislation by the Cherokee and Navajo nations and NCAI resolution are significant steps toward a free press and increased first amendment rights in Indian Country, the reality is that the struggle is far from over because tribal governments have a history of denying those rights.

In his article, LaCourse identified "paramount" problems tribal newspapers have faced, including a "wide variety of interfering actions: political firings before or after tribal elections; political cutoff or selective reduction of publication funds; prior censorship and removal of news story copy by political officials or administrative personnel; placing of unqualified persons on news staffs by reason of blood kinships or political loyalties;" and "restrictions on press access and withholding of governmental documents from publication or broadcast (and) punitive political firings by incoming or outgoing tribal administrations."

The reason, of course, is because tribal newspapers and other tribal media are funded almost totally by the tribal government.

Therefore, if the tribal newspaper reports news that is disagreeable to the chief or tribal chairman, for example, tribal leaders all too frequently take action to suppress and control the publication.

The history of the free press and government, Native American and otherwise, is that a government that does not have a free press can't truly serve its people, and a true democracy does not exist without a free press.

After the Cherokee Independent Press Act was passed four years ago, editors and journalists from several tribal newspapers contacted me for advice on how they could attain similar legislation for their tribe and publication.

I told each that the primary element is to have tribal leadership that believes in a free press, and that continues to be a primary element.

The current and future leadership of the Navajo Nation must remain proactive in supporting the efforts of Navajo Times CEO and publisher Tom Arviso Jr. and his staff to make sure the publication remains an independent voice of the Navajo people.

Likewise, the current and future leadership of the Cherokee Nation must not veer from supporting the Cherokee Independent Press Act. And now, the leadership of NCAI can become a proactive supporter of the free press in Indian Country and assure that our sovereign Native nations are sovereign democratic nations of, by and for the people.

"Free Press Issues in Indian Country," a workshop that will examine the status of first amendment rights of Native Americans and possible solutions when they are denied, will convene at 4 p.m., Aug. 5, at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center during the 2004 UNITY Convention.

Panelists for the workshop include Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith; Tom Arviso Jr., CEO and publisher of the Navajo Times, Shiprock, N.M.; Dan Agent, editor of the Cherokee Phoenix and a board member of the Native American Journalists Association; and an official of the Navajo Nation. John Shurr, bureau chief for the Associated Press, Columbia, S.C., and a member of the Cherokee Phoenix Editorial Advisory Board, will serve as moderator of the workshop.

To learn more about free press issues in Indian Country, the Native American Journalists Association, UNITY and what you can do to help visit the Web site at www.naja.com