Indigenous Cultural Training

Do you have questions about covering Indigenous and tribal communities? Do you want to deepen your understanding or your reporting skills on these communities? Join us for a three-part, virtual training program that examines issues such as avoiding harmful stereotypes, understanding cultural nuances and making appropriate language choices.

The series is hosted by the Mountain West News Bureau — a collaboration of public media stations that serves the Western states of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — with funding from a generous grant from Colorado Media Project.

Reporters, editors, visual journalists, those working in audience or community engagement, as well as newsroom managers, leaders or news executives seeking to gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous and tribal communities are invited to join.

The training is free for journalists and is offered virtually over three sessions:
Session One: June 8, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. MT
Session Two: July 13, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. MT
Session Three: August 17, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. MT

The training will be led by:

Angelo Baca (Diné Hopi), an assistant professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. He also is the cultural resources coordinator at Utah Diné Bikéyah, a nonprofit dedicated to the protection of culturally significant ancestral lands. Shash Jaa’: Bears Ears is his award-winning film about the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition’s work to protect 1.36 million acres of Utah wilderness.

Savannah Maher (Mashpee Wampanoag), an award-winning journalist for Marketplace and a member of the Native American Journalists Association board of directors. She covers a wide range of topics, including economic issues faced by tribal communities. Before joining Marketplace, she reported for the Mountain West News Bureau while she worked at KUNM in Albuquerque.

Space is limited for the live sessions, and registration will take place on a first-come, first-served basis.

To make the most of this experience, participants are asked to commit in advance to attending all three sessions.

Interested but unable to attend the live sessions? Please register for a recording-only ticket, and we’ll email the session recordings and any associated materials when available.