Native press ignored

Page B3

For decades, Native Americans in Hollywood have been fighting against being excluded from participating in mainstream America, and it's ironic that now the Native press finds itself embroiled in the same struggle with the organizers of a Native American event.

When I arrived at the First American in the Arts Awards (FAITA), as a correspondent for Canada's national Native paper, Windspeaker, I was told that we (myself and a LA-based photographer who was there for another Native publication) would not be allowed to go inside the ballroom for the awards show. For the last six years this has never been an issue for FAITA. We have been allowed, along with other photojournalists, to discreetly watch the show from the back of the room. Now, one hour before the presentations, we were informed that things were being handled differently this year.

The Native press has been the only media to ever cover this event, right from the very beginning. Except for a five-line blurb in some obscure part of the entertainment section in one or two newspapers, which they pull off a faxed press release, this event goes completely unnoticed in the rest of America.

So let me give FAITA a reality check in case they've been living in La La Land for too long. Native press is not a rich gaming organization, and publishers do not have the financial resources to either pay for a dinner ticket (a hefty $135 this year) nor can they afford to pay for a journalist's and a photographer's expenses. We pay our own way and believe me, the amount you get paid for an article or photo does not even come close to what it cost to get there. Many journalists have to rely on friends to put them up and help them out. My guardian angel came in the person of Sonny Skyhawk, who, after hearing about my dilemma of not being allowed into the ballroom, gave me one of his tickets that he had purchased for a friend. Sonny, like many others in the audience, understands the necessity of supporting Native American press.

Writing is very much like acting, to be convincing and reach people's emotions you've got to believe in what you're doing, you've got to experience it first-hand. You can't act alone if it's an ensemble piece, and likewise, sitting in some sterile room with four other people, watching the show from a television set (an atmosphere void of any energy or emotion), just doesn't cut it for me.

If the Native press has grown in its stature and respectability, it's because publishers like Tim Giago of Indian Counrty Today and Bert Crowfoot of Windspeaker have fought tooth and nail for every inch of text, every photo opportunity and press pass.

Native press is already excluded from all the "prestigious" entertainment shows; the Golden Globes, the Oscars and the Grammies (to name a few) - like Native Americans don't go to the movies or buy CDs. And now, once again, Native press is having to defend and justify its presence.

FAITA is not televised, and for all those people throughout Indian Country who depend on Native press for informing them on the issues and events in their immediate and larger community, this is a slap in the face. Native press keeps people connected in a very real way. But living in Hollywood, I guess FAITA board members get too caught up in reading the Los Angeles Times, People Magazine and the National Enquirer and just run out of time before they can pick up a copy of Indian Country Today or Windspeaker.

It seems that now that FAITA has the support of so many gaming tribes and Hollywood celebrities, they've outgrown Indian Country's lifeline, Native press. But when you turn your back on the community and lose touch with the people (both on and off the reservations), you also lose all accountability. But from the looks of some of the FAITA award winners, accountability and serving the best interest of Indian Country doesn't seem part of their mission.