Dear Indian Country Today community,
Recently a colleague asked, “What makes a story for ICT? How do you all decide what is a story?” I responded with my routine answer of a national story with nuance and one you won’t find anywhere else. Plus impact.
A week later those questions still linger in my mind.
Now I realize my colleague was asking what makes ICT’s stories different and the place to go, and more personally, under my tenure.
During our first election night in 2018, I remember being terrified. I’ve never been on live television before. But then I asked myself why am I scared when my friends and family are watching? The nerves slowly disappeared when I pictured my grandma, cheii, parents, sister, nieces and nephews watching me.
Help ICT keep Indigenous news free.
That’s exactly it. ICT is the bridge between our communities and the world. We pitch and write stories with our communities at the front of our mind. I know when I am editing stories I often think to myself, “Will this make sense to my aunt or that grandma I talked to the other day? Will my past students understand how this impacts them?”
We translate the world for our communities and turn them into stories that they relate to and that impact them. We make sure they have a seat at the decision-making table. As we say in the newsroom, “We Indigenizeit.” And we show the world that we are human.
We don’t charge for these stories or these transformative experiences. Reading ICT is always free.
Your contribution will keep it that way. Will you join us with a gift today?
In gratitude,
Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Executive Editor, ICT
