Indianz.Com > News > Jodi Rave: The Indian news not so good for everyone

Jodi Rave: The Indian news not so good for everyone
Monday, February 16, 2009
Filed Under: Opinion

"I'm a reporter and columnist assigned to cover Indian Country. This column is dedicated to readers who recently responded to one of my blog posts regarding Native news, chiefly, those who like that kind of news - and those who don't.

My Indian beat began at the Lincoln Journal Star, a Lee Enterprises newspaper in Lincoln, Neb. After completing a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 2004, I chose to return to the heart of Indian Country. For me, that meant living in the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountain region.

When I moved to Missoula - to work with another Lee newspaper - I knew I would be working in the belly of the beast, ground zero for prejudice in one of three states where Native people are the majority minority. The other two states include North Dakota, my home state, and South Dakota, the land of my Lakota relatives at the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.

I know these “Indian” states well. And I knew it would be a tremendous challenge to report and live in one of them, a reality revisited with the recent arrival of an anonymous letter. I've seen them before. And in Montana, I've noted a pattern. No return address. No signature. Typewritten. And vitriolic.

Here's an excerpt from the most recent “anonymous writer.” The words appear exactly as typed in the letter:

“I cannot stand it. ONE MORE DAY!! How many front page articles to do with Indians? Oh my God ... Do I live in a city that is Mostly white or am I living on a Reservation and don't know it? Wait a minute ... if I were on a reservation then I would get everything for FREE ... ”"

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Native news coverage triggers racist feedback (The Missoulian 2/15)