Free press is indigenous peoples' best friend: writer
2005/12/1
By Jeffry Babb The China Post
The best friend the native peoples of the United States and Taiwan have is a free press, said Mark Anthony Rolo, American Indian author and journalist.
Rolo was speaking direct from the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he is now writer in residence, to a group of local journalists. The journalists, many of whom were Taiwan aboriginals, said that the difficulties they face are similar to those the American Indians encounter.
The video conference was organized by the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT's) public affairs section. The AIT represents the interests of the United States in Taiwan in the absence of formal ties.
The program explored a uniquely democratic challenge, said Nadine Leavitt Siak, deputy spokesperson for the AIT, " that of having minority voices heard through the mainstream media."
Rolo is an American Indian, a member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa. He was talking to local reporters in the video conference on "Developments in media relations for the U.S aborigines -- Native American Indians" held yesterday in Taipei.
The coverage of American Indians in major mainstream U.S. newspapers is next to non-existent, said Rolo, adding that local Indian reservations often had their own newspapers and radio stations, but these tend to be heavily influenced by the reservation governments.
"We have to educate the tribal leaders about the value of a free press -- how it can educate our people and communicate with a wider audience," said Rolo.
Rolo has recently completed a two-year stint as executive director of the Native American Journalists Association. He was formerly Washington correspondent for the national weekly "Indian Country Today" and editor of "The Circle -- Native American News and Arts" in Minneapolis. His features have earned top awards from the Native American Journalists Association and his columns have appeared in many major U.S. newspapers.
"Journalists have a low status in America -- with a lower social standing than used car salesmen. Our aim is to make Native American journalists more respected by making them more professional," said Rolo.
Currently, the population of American Indians and Alaskan natives in the United States is 4.4 million, making up 1.5 percent of the total U.S. population. Many American Indians live on reserves or in rural areas, but most live in cities -- Los Angeles County led the nation in the number of people in this racial group, with 153,500 people. Contrary to popular belief, said Rolo, Indian gambling has not made all native Americans rich. The casinos, on American Indian reserves, have made some tribes rich, but most American Indians are neither rich nor impoverished, but somewhere in the middle -- "like me" said Rolo.
Many Indian publications on reservations have only limited sources of income, such as advertising, and so funding depends on tribal governments. These governments frequently wish to exercise control over what is written and reported, making them beholden to local politicians.
"We have to educate the leadership that a free press is a positive for our people," said Rolo.
The mainstream press, when it does report on American Indians, tends to perpetuate stereotypes, said Rolo.
"Even when American Indians comprised a greater percentage of the U.S. population, such as during colonial times, members of the U.S. media have largely failed to tell Native Americans' stories fully, accurately and, sometimes, even at all. When not being ignored completely, Native Americans have been portrayed as exotic and ancient, people of the past, out of place in today's world -- in other words, defined negatively in relation to the majority, the mainstream," said the AIT's Siak.
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December 2005 Reports
Special thanks to Bea Woodward for passing this on!
Last updated on December 09, 2005