At Good Morning Indian Country, Native student journalists shape the narrative
‘Conversations that should be happening in newsrooms nationwide happen in our newsroom,’ faculty advisor says
Last year, Good Morning Indian Country, a student-led news talk show, entered student media contests outside Indigenous media award programs for the first time.
While the show received praise from judges, some critiques pointed to a need for “more professionalization.” Specific comments targeted a male anchor's earrings and certain actions of female anchors.
That anecdote comes from Melissa Green-Blye, the show’s faculty supervisor, who lamented that the judges failed to understand the cultural significance of the earrings.
“We all know when we see those earrings and what that means, which is somebody’s little sister made him a pair of earnings,” said Green-Blye, who’s a part of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.
This incident highlights the challenges GMIC faces in its mission to reshape perceptions and foster authentic representation of Native American in media — a gap the program is working hard to bridge.
Based at the University of Kansas, GMIC is a weekly news show featuring nine student staffers from KU and Haskell Indian Nations University.
Streaming primarily on Facebook and YouTube, its mission is rooted in “narrative sovereignty” — the belief that Indigenous communities should control how their stories, histories and cultures are portrayed in media.
“We really value being a space for these students to represent in a way that feels authentic to them,” Greene-Blye said. “But we don’t think that should compromise us being taken seriously in the information we’re presenting.”
Rethinking coverage of Native communities
For GMIC’s Native student journalists, rethinking traditional reporting practices is key to breaking stereotypes about Indigenous communities.
Anchor Shia Blackcloud, from the Meskwaki Nation of the Mississippi River in Iowa, said some cultural practices or ceremonial details can’t be shared publicly.
“We have to let our producer know that we can’t share this or we have to reword it differently so that it’s not coming off as insensitive but more so like informative,” said Blackcloud, a Haskell student.
Another anchor, Allison Levering of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, said depictions in older films often perpetuated stereotypes, such as pairing flute music with Native characters.
“It’s not who we are,” said Levering, also a student at Haskell. “It can be a little bit racist in a way and kind of offensive to us, but they wouldn’t know that because they don’t know any better.”
That’s why education is a major aspect of GMIC’s work.
Green-Blye said the program is fortunate to have non-Native students eager to learn and understand, especially given the intimidation some media professionals feel when covering Indigenous issues.
There’s been a lot of “parachute journalism,” she said, referring to reporters who only show up when a major issue arises.
What’s important, she said, is showing up consistently and asking questions to get to know them like how people prefer to be identified — whether by tribal affiliation or terms like “Indigenous, Native American, or American Indian.”
“Students who come into this space start to learn that and I hope that carries over with them in their professional careers,” Green-Blye said.
Native students leading the way
In GMIC’s newsroom, Native students ensure cultural accuracy, taking the lead on word choices and script edits to avoid perpetuating stereotypes.
One example came when GMIC was working on a tribute story that deeply affected the Haskell campus, the Lawrence, Kansas, community and the team personally. A producer had chosen flute music for the story.
“The team immediately was like ‘Our Native audience is going to understand that the music is not the appropriate choice because it didn’t fit the individual’s community,” Green-Blye said. “That talks back to, frankly, centuries of misrepresentation and stereotypes in news media and beyond.”
Levering and Blackcloud explained that most tribes and nations typically use drums or other instruments, not flutes, for ceremonial purposes.
Because of that long-standing misrepresentation, there’s mistrust between Indigenous communities and the media.
To address this, Green-Blye said students learn “on the job” and benefit from workshops led by Native media professionals.
“Conversations that should be happening in newsrooms nationwide happen in our newsroom,” Green-Byle said.
Expanding Native representation in media
For GMIC’s team, expanding Native representation in media isn’t just about the present — it’s about creating opportunities for future generations.
Blackcloud pointed to a story about actress Lily Gladstone wearing braids at the Met Gala to honor Cole Brings Plenty, an Indigenous actor who was found dead after being reported missing.
Seeing that story made Blackcloud feel good because “we’re finally getting the coverage or the light shed on our problems too.”
For Levering, who’s also the editor-in-chief of the oldest Native American student newspaper The Indian Leader, covering Haskell has been a highlight, particularly showcasing the school’s athletes.
“Indian Country and natives alone are very athletic people,” Levering said. “To see their children on GMIC being promoted and shined a light upon is really important. These athletic individuals are probably going to go very far in their career.”
GMIC has also been transformative for Levering.
Initially a social work major, her experience with the program prompted her to switch to journalism.
“Having this opportunity to be in a newsroom and to be taken seriously and for there to be attention put on me to make sure that I’m performing to the best of my abilities,” she said, “I feel a lot of support and respect.”
Now, it’s about making sure people after her get to experience the same thing.
One way they’re doing that is to do workshops with local high school students. Green-Blye said those younger students remain connected with them to ask follow-up questions about journalism.
“It opens doors and opens possibilities,” she said. “We think about these things generationally."
Building for the future
The program is one of about a dozen student-reporting initiatives supported by a $20 million Press Forward grant aimed at strengthening local news.
Green-Blye said that the newsroom received $100,000 to expand its coverage of Lawrence, which was often overshadowed by larger markets like Kansas City and Topeka.
The funding will support training, equipment and cross-campus collaboration.
“We simply have not had multimedia journalists who are trained to go out in the field and shoot and edit local packages,” Green-Blye said. “Our ability to provide local coverage has been contingent on the ability to pay newsroom personnel and also to provide training.”
Looking ahead, GMIC hopes to deepen its local community connections, expand coverage and bring more Native media professionals in for workshops.
“Press Forward puts us in a position of moving from what I call survivability to being able to plan intentionally,” Green-Blye said. “And I think that’s going to make a huge difference.”
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