{"id":46377,"date":"2025-02-07T15:45:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T22:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=46377"},"modified":"2025-02-07T15:45:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T22:45:41","slug":"indigenously-positive-a-new-series-about-indigenous-joy-and-empowerment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/indigenously-positive-a-new-series-about-indigenous-joy-and-empowerment\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenously Positive: A New Series About Indigenous Joy and Empowerment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Marcus Moquino sat behind a booth painting shoes with intricate, colorful designs, pausing occasionally to talk with shoppers on a bustling November weekend at Isleta Resort and Casino. In the next room over, other Indigenous artists tattooed clients as dance groups and bands performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was at the Indigenous Tattoo and Music Fest with a few questions for anyone who was open to talking with me. One thing I wanted to know: What do you want to see more or less of in news coverage of Native Americans?\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I asked Moquino (Kewa Pueblo\/Hopi) that question, he didn\u2019t hesitate.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like for us to actually get acknowledged,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I heard similar sentiments in conversations with over a dozen Indigenous people from tribal nations here in New Mexico and beyond. For the most part, Native Americans are either invisible in the news media or portrayed in stereotypical, harmful ways, people told me time and time again.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2018 report<\/a> by Reclaiming Native Truth, researchers wrote that popular narratives of Native Americans \u2014 including in the news \u2014 tend to focus on disparities. Those narratives \u201coften fail to trigger moral urgency among non-Native populations to address oppressive conditions\u201d and can also \u201clead to feelings of hopelessness among the communities such narratives purport to describe.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As New Mexico In Depth\u2019s Indigenous affairs reporter since 2022, I\u2019ve written about educational inequities and Native people making up a disproportionate share of the state\u2019s homeless population. I\u2019ve met numerous families whose loved ones have gone missing or been murdered and documented state officials\u2019 inconsistent response to the crisis.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are systemic issues, rooted in colonization, that I think journalists are obligated to shine a light on \u2014 to center those most affected, make the causes clear and examine potential solutions. And as a Yurok woman, it\u2019s meaningful to me to report on injustices affecting my own community that have gone underreported for far too long.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, I don\u2019t want those to be the only kinds of stories I tell. So, I\u2019m partnering with NMPBS on a collaborative series uplifting Indigenous joy and resilience.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help inform the direction of the project, we headed to the tattoo festival and out to a couple events in Gallup.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalists, many of the people I talked with said, should emphasize Indigenous people\u2019s strengths and successes and give more attention to artists and language teachers and young entrepreneurs and community members working to make our world a better place.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven our education system in the United States isn\u2019t really accurate and sometimes talk about us as a historical people. But we\u2019re still here and we\u2019re still thriving and we\u2019re doing wonderful things,\u201d said Ptisawquah (Potawatomi\/Kickapoo\/Assiniboine), a vendor at the festival who makes plant medicines.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you\u2019ll watch this first episode of Indigenously Positive. Episodes, including this one, will air on the station\u2019s news and public affairs show, New Mexico in Focus. You\u2019ll also be able to find them on the NMiF YouTube.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have any suggestions about what we should explore or who we should talk with, I\u2019d love to hear them. I can be reached at bella.NMID@gmail.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n


– Bella Davis (Yurok), Indigenous Affairs Reporter, New Mexico In Depth\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n


This series is a collaboration between NMPBS and New Mexico In Depth. Bella Davis was the reporter\/producer for this episode; NMPBS Multimedia Producer Benjamin Yazza directed and produced it; NMPBS\u2019 Joey Dunn contributed camera work.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n