Photo credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 File:Day 286- Indigenous Peoples Day (8084917906).jpg Created: 13 October 2012 Uploaded: 10 October 2017
The news media website, ICT, is a great news source to read and share with your classrooms in 2024. This year, as it does every year, ICT offers articles relating to Indigenous People's Day, and as a frequently updated news media site, offers bias-free Native insight into the EVERY day lives of Indigenous and Native communities, especially within the United States. I recommend that educators living within the boundaries of the United States subscribe to stay abreast of news and feature pieces that educate and inform the public and the Indigenous communities that ICT specifically serve, as well as indigenous and Native societies globally.
I have been a supporter of ICT since I learned about this news source, which was originally formatted as a glossy magazine named Indian Country News. Perhaps I stumbled upon this magazine in 2015. I loved it long before this Native owned and operated media organization transformed into a daily news focused outlet, suspended the print magazine, adopted an online only model, and re-branding as ICT. I stayed a subscriber as the entity tried several iterations before it found its current electronic news model. It survived an era of transformation and has strengthened in the interim years.
These days I read the news site updates regularly and donate every year. As a former journalist I strongly believe in the importance of trusted and reliable news sources. When I embarked on my career as a consultant in behavioral science and health education, I was invited by Native leaders to visit reservations, and stay within the communities of Native tribes. During these years and beyond I felt it my duty to always listen carefully, keep a humble approach, and always adopt a deferential stance to local and elders' wisdom and knowledge. I also stayed updated on all news reported across Indian Country.
I strongly believe that classrooms across the United States should also introduce children to this important source of news that aggregates information from all over Indian Country and presents Indigenous news reporting, perspectives, and editorials. Often articles give more than a little background on topics or policy, economics, society, art, entertainment, and historic events. Many of the detailed articles also seek to correct misconceptions and misinformation, stereotypes, and the endless assumptions about Indian Affairs that affect the lives of Native peoples in North America.
Today, I am sharing two links, the first is an editorial that was published by ICT on this 2024 Indigenous People's Day. The second is an article about Native authors and their must-read books; it's full of great reading recommendations for those willing and keen to read Native authors for their incredible writing and significance in the wider Indigenous communities as well as the North American, and Global literature landscape.
Perhaps you know someone: peers, colleagues or friends who are school educators, staff, or administrators and would like to join a Class2Cohort mentored reading discussion group? We have cohorts starting every month on a varied of topic areas, we build custom cohorts around many topic areas including Native written sources, including news articles that appear in ICT, and notable books by Native authors. We offer such group learning on our platform, these cohorts in particular are mentored by Native Scholars who will help participants navigate this knowledge bank and metacognitive discussion. If you would like to discuss how our how class2cohorts work, please get in touch with us through the form below.