Bryan Pollard, now executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, says Native American media are 'struggling for a free press'
Bryan Pollard is the executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix , a monthly publication based in Tahlequah, Okla.
Pollard is a lifetime member of the Native American Journalists Association and has served as a board member for NAJA and the North American Street Newspaper Association. He is a certified high school journalism teacher and has taught at Sequoyah High School in Oklahoma. He has served as a mentor for numerous journalism workshops including the Oklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism, the Society of Professional Journalists Working Press, the UNITY News and the NAJA Student Projects.
He is also a co-founder of Street Roots, launched in 1998.
Pollard, along with Jessica Tyner, a Portland Cherokee poet, will be speaking before the Mt. Hood Cherokees at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015. The free event will be held at the Wilshire United Native American Fellowship, 3917 NE Shaver St. in Portland.
Israel Bayer: What is the state of Native American media in today’s media climate?
Bryan Pollard: For the most part, Native media is struggling for a free press. Most Native media is funded by their tribal government and those governments are reluctant to enact media protections that will allow them to practice truly independent journalism. There are exceptions, such as the Navajo Times, which is operated completely independently from the tribe, and the Cherokee Phoenix and Osage News, which have laws that provide statutory separation, so they can at least exercise editorial independence. These organizations have become the models for what successful independent Native media can look like.
I.B.: You’ve been the executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix in Oklahoma for nearly nine years. Talk to us about the publication and how the Cherokee Phoenix fits into the media landscape not only in Oklahoma, but around the country.
B.P.: The Cherokee Phoenix has a unique audience because we have many local readers in Eastern Oklahoma, but we also have a large audience from coast to coast. Our target audience is citizens of the Cherokee Nation and our nearly 330,000 citizens can be found in communities all over the U.S.
As a result, we face the challenges that both local and national publications encounter because we have both audiences. I believe the greatest challenges that we face are how do we develop content to appeal to both audiences, and how do we adopt print and digital platforms that both audiences will use. We are always trying to find cost effective answers to these questions and I think we’re on the right track, but today’s media environment is fraught with challenges.
I.B.: I assume most native communities don’t have the resources or luxury of having a newspaper or media platform to report on and represent their community. Knowing how much street newspapers change the conversations and landscapes in different communities around the issue of poverty, what does it mean for a culturally specific group, or tribes in this case, to have their own publication and how has this affected everyday society?
B.P.: Tribal media is incredibly important, but largely invisible to mainstream society. Tribal media is usually the only outlet that reports on the inner workings of tribal communities and the issues those communities might be struggling with at the time.
Mainstream media often only covers tribal affairs if it involves gaming, corruption or some sort of controversy. There is rarely any real reporting that penetrates beyond the surface.
One of the reasons mainstream media have difficulty is because there is a real lack of trust between tribal communities and mainstream media, and this leads to a lack of good sourcing in stories. This is where tribal media should step in and provide meaningful coverage on important issues. Tribal media outlets usually have a better sense of the issues, the root causes and the people who will be affected. Our reporting can reflect this in a way that the mainstream media usually lacks. This makes tribal media irreplaceable in their communities.
I.B.: The Cherokee Nation was the first nation to develop its own written language. Tell us about this history of language in the Cherokee community, and how it’s used today.
B.P.: Right now, the Cherokee language is in danger of extinction and the number of first-language Cherokee speakers declines every month.
The Cherokee Nation has a robust Cherokee language education program, but it remains to be seen if it can stem the tide. I believe one of our greatest recent accomplishments at the Cherokee Phoenix has been to partner with our fluent speakers to publish some of our stories bilingually in English and Cherokee. We recently implemented a new feature in the newspaper where we include a QR code with a bilingual story that links to an audio recording of the story being spoken in Cherokee. A newspaper reader with a smartphone can see the story in English, in Cherokee and then hear it being spoken through their smartphone. This provides fluent speakers and language learners with a contemporary use of the language in the formats necessary for learning. I believe that we are the first to use technology in this way in Indian Country.
I.B.: Readers may not know this, but you are the founder of Street Roots. Talk to us about founding Street Roots and what that means to you?
B.P.: My connection to Street Roots is indelible and I can’t say enough about how you and Joanne (Zuhl) embraced the challenge of taking it to another level after my move to Oklahoma. Although the early days of Street Roots were difficult and there were many times that I didn’t know if we would be able to continue, the spirit of our vendors, our volunteers and our readers always lifted us in those dark hours. That spirit and the friends I made at Street Roots will always be close to my heart. I feel a tremendous amount of pride that I played some small role in an organization that has become such a powerful voice in the Portland community.
I.B.: What’s your fondest memory of Portland?
B.P.: That is a tough one, because I have so many great memories with the many friends I’ve made in Portland. The memories that jump to mind are the late nights I would spend in the Street Roots office when it was in the old Danmoore Hotel.
I worked full time, so my hours at Street Roots were in the evenings or on weekends. I would be there late at night, often by myself, laying out the paper, copy editing stories or doing paperwork. I was always amazed at the variety of people who would stroll through the front door. I came to think of it as something of a magic portal, and at any time someone could materialize through that front door that had a contribution to make. I always believed that my job was to make these visitors feel welcome and to create an environment that was a community and not just another turnstile social service. The times that I had with the people that made Street Roots groove were some of my fondest memories.
If you go
What: Bryan Pollard and Jessica Tyner speak before the Mt. Hood Cherokees
When: 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015
Where: Wilshire United Native American Fellowship, 3917 NE Shaver St., Portland
Cost: Free
