Student journalists at the Haskell Indian Nations University were recently recognized for outstanding work from the Indigenous Journalists Association, according to an Aug. 15 news release from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“Our journalism program is among the best in the country,” Haskell President Dr. Francis Arpan said in the release. “We are competing with top journalism schools across the United States and these awards are a testament to the academic rigor and high standards we strive to instill in the next generation of journalists. They have all done outstanding work covering Indian Country and deserve national recognition.”
The student journalists brought home first place awards in reporting, second and third place for best print/online news story and third place for best print/online feature story; the paper’s staff also won best editorial and best digital publication, the release reported.
"Quality journalism is one of the cornerstones of a free and just society. We are extremely proud of our students for their hard work providing insightful reporting within Native communities. We are committed to producing informative and newsworthy content," Interim Vice-President of Academics Rhonda Levaldo said in the release.
The university’s journalism program took home five first-place prizes, including first place winners for best reporting for Zachary ‘Xakai’ Arquette, Jada Martin and Kaya Friday for best TV news story and best TV sports story, the release reported. Arquette also won first for for best TV feature story and best print/online news story and second- and third-place prizes for best print/online news story, as well as third place for best print/online feature story.
The Haskell Indian Leader staff won first for best editorial and best digital publication, according to the release.
These awards come more than a year after Haskell Indian National University was ordered by a district court to adopt policy reforms to “protect the First Amendment Rights of students at the federally operated university and safeguard the editorial independence of the award-winning student newspaper, The Indian leader,” Feb, 8, 2022, according to Fire News.
The order comes as a result of a court battle between former editor-in-chief of The Indian Leader Jared Nally and Haskell Indian Nations University after former university President Ronald Graham stopped Nally from conducting newsgathering activities, stonewalled about funding for the paper and account balances and refused to recognize the paper for an academic year, according to Fire News.
This month, the Native American Journalists Association announced that it would adopt the Indigenous Journalists Association name to be more inclusive, according to an Aug. 11 report from the the University Daily Kansan. The Native American Journalists Association was founded in 1983 and has more than 950 members. About 400 Indigenous members were involved in the vote, and it was 89-55 in favor of the name change.
