Underscore Native News

“Little Ones,” a comedic opera telling the story of Indigenous youth at Intermountain Indian School, is in its beginning stages of development but gave a glimpse of what’s to come with the launch of its community listening tour at the Center for Native Arts and Cultures. “I was amazed at how receptive the Native community, singers and actors were to the idea of a new opera,” Rhiana Yazzie, Navajo, who is co-director and wrote the libretto for the opera, told Underscore Native News + ICT. “I saw how excited the Portland community was to see the story of boarding schools told in this form.” Read the story below. ? - Nika Bartoo-Smith for Underscore Native News + ICT (formerly Indian Country Today) ?? - Jarrette Werk for Underscore Native News + Report for America

Underscore Native News is currently seeking a Managing Editor. This full-time position directs UNN’s newsroom vision and operations, supervising the editorial team while guiding our in-depth journalism. See qualifications and apply to be part of our team at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gT5Z2Cmi

Underscore Native News is looking for a skilled newsroom leader to step into the role of #ManagingEditor. This full-time position directs UNN’s editorial vision and newsroom operations, supervising the editorial team while guiding our in-depth journalism. To learn more, or to apply, visit the link below. https://lnkd.in/ghYqFFgE

For the first time ever, Underscore is part of Willamette Week’s Give!Guide, a grassroots fundraising campaign that has raised more than $64 million for local nonprofits since its inception in 2004. While the campaign runs until Dec. 31, today is a particularly good day to donate and support our nonprofit mission of producing in-depth, Indigenous-centered journalism in the Pacific Northwest. If you donate $10 or more today, you’re automatically entered to win a $500 gift card from Backyard Bird Shop. If you donate $50 or more, you get a $20 gift card to our partner Javelina, an incredible Indigenous dining pop-up in Portland. And no matter how much you donate, it’s matched three times until we hit $3,000 total, which is to say right now your tax-deductible donation is QUADRUPLED, thanks to matching dollars from NewsMatch and two NewsMatch partner funds. Then, of course, there’s the main reason we hope you’ll donate — you will be supporting our Indigenous-centered journalism, which has won 35 national and regional awards over the past two years, including 25 Indigenous Media Awards and other honors from institutions like the Society of Professional Journalists and Report for America. Underscore Native News is unique in that we focus all of our reporting and resources on one region’s Indigenous communities and the issues impacting those communities. We’re based in the Pacific Northwest and we center our attention on the Pacific Northwest. As a nonprofit, we rely entirely on grants and donations from readers like you to fund every aspect of our organization: staff salaries and benefits, pens and paper, gas in reporters’ cars, office rent, you name it. None of our revenue comes from advertising, nor does any of our revenue go to corporate shareholders. We’re a locally based, local-serving nonprofit. All of which is to say: Without your support, we literally couldn’t do what we do. Please considering donating today: https://lnkd.in/gMA-JHVD

Airing since 2022, the?"Your Two-Spirit Aunties" podcast?explores themes such as Indigequeer identity, Two-Spiritness, disability, boundaries, survivance and much more. The podcast hosts do so with a balance of humor, joy and intentionality — listeners are transported so it feels as if they are sitting in a room listening to a conversation between two friends: Shilo George and Brianna Bragg. “It’s a magic,” Bragg said about what being a Two-Spirit auntie means to them. “There is something about being Two-Spirit that feels magic. It’s medicine. And with it comes responsibility and a lot of humor.” Editor’s note: Support for this reporting came from the Poynter Institute with funds from the Gill Foundation. ? - Nika Bartoo-Smith for Underscore Native News + ICT (formerly Indian Country Today)

How a Klamath tribal citizen embraced their Two-Spirit identity and became an international author, spoken word poet, storyteller, veteran and Indigenous rights activist. “Our story is the most powerful thing that we have in our society today,” Shuína Skó said. “So if you are queer or outside of the heteronormative view or experience, then your story is meaningful. If you are Native, Indigenous, then your story is meaningful. And if you are both, then it just increases in power.” Editor’s note: Support for this reporting came from the Poynter Institute with funds from The Gill Foundation. ? - Jarrette Werk for Underscore Native News + Report for America

In 2021, Washington lawmakers created the nation’s first state-funded office to investigate police killings. Most cases under review involve the deaths of Native Americans.

Western journalism puts Indigenous reporters in a tricky position where values don’t always align. Read the story by B. 'Toastie' Oaster at the link below.

President Biden did not mention any direct action to accompany his apology, and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, only briefly referred to “a 10-year national plan driven by tribal leaders,” but nothing has been released to the public yet. “Immediately, upon the news of his apology, I want to be gracious and believe this is a step toward a different, dreamed of future,” said c’iyaals sn’eweet’c ?a ambo hasaswagilgi, which translates to “Salmon Woman Comes to Talk of Water.” “But I'm not; instead I'm angry.” Read the full story at the link below. ? - Nika Bartoo-Smith for Underscore Native News + ICT (formerly Indian Country Today)

If passed by Oregon voters in November, ballot Measure 117 would enact major changes to the statewide election system with ranked-choice voting. Native-led organizations endorsing the measure believe it has the potential to boost Native representation in elected office. “Tribal Democracy Project is on the executive committee for the campaign to get this passed,” said Brian Smith, Muscogee Nation, co-director of Tribal Democracy Project. “A big piece of this puzzle is to use ranked-choice voting in local elections, in the long run, which would be a more proportionate system, to essentially have a system where more Natives can get elected, particularly in rural areas.” Read the story below. ? - Nika Bartoo-Smith for Underscore Native News + ICT (formerly Indian Country Today)