The following story has been corrected to reflect factual errors in the 2024-2025 IJA board leadership. Angel Moore was elected to treasurer, and Shondiin Silversmith was elected to secretary. Joseph Lee and Sunnie Clahchischillgi did not run for re-election, they remain seated on the board until the duration of their term has passed.
OKLVHOMV TVLOF-RAKKO, Oklv. – The Indigenous Journalists Association held their annual conference at the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel July 25-27. The three day conference was attended by journalists from all over the world, including journalists from Mvskoke Media, Indian Country Today, ProPublica, the Associated Press, The Oklahoman, and NBC, along with many other media outlets. The event was a place for journalists from all tribes from around the world to gather, celebrate their achievements, and network with others in their field.
Events began with an opening ceremony and breakfast on Thursday. After this, the panels and workshops officially began, with journalists from all across North America giving presentations. Among the more notable events that occurred on Thursday were screenings of two films, “Bad Press”, which involved past and present Mvskoke Media employees in their fight for freedom of the press in Muscogee Nation, and “Sugarcane”, which covered the topic of missing and abused children at an Indigenous Residential School in Canada. Both were held at the First Americans Museum, along with the conference’s reception.
On Friday there were more panels and workshops, along with the Indigenous Media Expo, which was held in the Five Moons rooms of the hotel. This expo lasted all day, and allowed various media outlets to open booths to network and sell merchandise. In addition to the expo, there was also a private luncheon and business meeting held in order to allow IJA members to network. Following this was the IJA Board election.
The results of the 2024 IJA elections ended with Christine Trudeau re-elected as president, Jourdan Bennett-Begaye elected as vice president, Angel Moore elected as treasurer and Shondiin Silversmith elected as secretary. Mvskoke Media Director Angel Ellis was re-elected to the board, meanwhile Sunnie Clahchischiligi, and Joseph Lee will remain seated for the duration of their terms. Following this and more panels was a mixer held for Indigenous Journalism Fellowship members at Social Capital, a nearby bar and restaurant.
On Saturday the conference came to a close with more panels and a reception where attendees met, and networked. Following this was a silent auction, with proceeds going toward the IJA, and an awards banquet dinner.
Finally, the election results for the IJA board were announced, a performance was made by The Osage Singers, who worked on “Killers of the Flower Moon”, and the location of next year’s Indigenous Media Conference was revealed to be Albuquerque, New Mexico.
At the end of the conference, Mvskoke Media saw two current employees and two previous employees receive awards, including Managing Editor Braden Harper, Reporter Meredith Johnson, Reporter Morgan Taylor, and Radio Specialist Gary Fife, who received his awards posthumously. Fife won first place for Best Radio/Podcast Newscast, first place for General Excellence in Radio/Podcasting and third place for Best Print/Online Column for Emvpanayv (One who Tells the Story). Johnson and Harper won an honorable mention for Best Print/Online News story for their article, “MCN issues arrest warrant for Okmulgee County Jail official over LHP officer assault”. Taylor won third place in the Best Print/Online Sports Story for her article, “Mvskoke Fighter makes debut at XFN: Xtreme Fight Night”.
