Published Books Researched at ANPA

Mark N. Trahant had two purposes in writing Pictures of Our Nobler Selves: "uncovering forgotten journalism" and validating "the notion that it is essential for American Indians and Alaska Natives to work in the media, both tribal and mainstream." His work takes the reader on a journey through Native American journalism history from the publication of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first tribal newspaper, in 1828 to media coverage of the Hantavirus epidemic in 1993.

Along the way, the reader finds interesting historical accounts of a number of "firsts" in Native journalism: the Cherokee Phoenix, the first tribally owned newspaper and its first Native editor, Elias Boudinot, whose editorial policy led to the first clash between tribal governing authority and a tribal editor; John Rollin Ridge (Cherokee), one of the first successful Natives in mainstream journalism, among whose achievements was the first editorship of the Sacramento Bee; 

Elias C. Boudinot (Cherokee), who wielded his editorial pen in mainstream publications against his father's old political enemies; Myrta Eddleman (Cherokee), perhaps the first Native American woman to own and publish a mainstream newspaper, the Muskogee Daily Times in 1897; her sister, Ora Eddleman Reed, a journalist and editor in her own right, who, in the 1920s became the first Native American to host a radio talk show; Tanna Beebe (Cowlitz and Quinault), one of the first Native Americans to enter mainstream television newsrooms; and Hattie Kauffman (Nez Perce), the first American Indian to work at a national network.

Trahant's narrative, however, is not simply a factual recounting of historical events. He uses the life stories of these and other journalists to highlight issues such as conflicts between editorial freedom and official tribal governance policy that beset some tribal newspapers today, just as they did the Cherokee Phoenix in the 1820s. The stories of journalists who have worked in mainstream media also illustrate the difficulties of not only finding acceptance in mainstream media but of maintaining oneself as both tribal person and professional journalist in a media environment that is often ignorant of, and at times hostile to, Indian Country. Trahant shapes his history to drive home the point that Native journalists are necessary in mainstream news media. One of his most telling arguments is his account of how journalists rallied to contain and counter act bias in mainstream coverage of the Hantavirus epidemic in the Navajo Nation in 1993.

Though Mark Trahant does not use his own story as part of his text, he could well have done so. His career in both tribal and mainstream journalism has eminently qualified him to write this work. A member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, he began his journalism career at his tribal paper, the Sho-Ban News and later edited the weekly Navajo Times, which he brought to daily publication as Navajo Times Today in 1983. In the latter capacity, he experienced first hand and dramatically the conflict between editorial freedom and tribal government authority, which has beset the Navajo Times once more in recent years. During the past decade Trahant has worked as the national-desk reporter at the Arizona Republic, as executive news editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, and, currently, as a columnist for the Seattle Times. He has earned numerous awards for his reporting and editorial work, has served as president of the Native American Journalists Association, and has been a fellow at the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, during which tenure he wrote Pictures of Our Nobler Selves.

The book, though small, must be read by those seriously interested in the history of American journalism, for it tells a part of the story not found elsewhere. Copies can be obtained by writing The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, 1207 18^th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. Search http://www.fac.org to reach the Center's website.

Written for juvenile readers, Kae Cheatham's Dennis Banks opens with an account of the clash between American Indian Movement (AIM) members and local law enforcement officials at Custer, South Dakota, in early 1973. Cheatham recounts how AIM was in Custer at the request of Many Bad Heart Bull, who had sought the organization's help in pushing the investigation of her son's murder. The aftermath of the conflict, Cheatham says, "greatly affected the rest of his life."

Cheatham then retreats to Banks's early life, recounting his early years, education, encounters with law enforcement and the criminal justice system, and role in the founding of AIM in 1968. Through her accounts of the Red Power movement, AIM's early cultural awareness programs, the occupation of Alcatraz, and the March on Washington in 1972, Cheatham shows how Banks emerged as not only a leader but a major spokesman for AIM.

Cheatham's narrative demonstrates how developments escalated in the wake of the take over of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, setting the scene for the confrontation at Custer, South Dakota, and, a few days later, the occupation of Wounded Knee.

Cheatham traces Banks's continued activism, despite his trials on charges resulting from Custer and Wounded Knee, throughout his years of sanctuary in California and in the Onondaga Nation in New York until his surrender in 1984 and imprisonment on charges resulting from the Custer confrontation. Cheatham traces Banks's career from his release to the present, showing how, in recent years, he has continued his activism for Native American legal rights, directed his Sacred Run Foundation's campaign against alcohol and drug use, and developed an acting career in the movie industry.

Cheatham's narrative, which is presented in language at an appropriate level for young readers, does more than simply chronicle the life of Dennis Banks and the development of the American Indian Movement. She places Banks's story in larger contexts: for example, placing the American Indian struggle for legal rights in the context of other struggles, such as the farm workers' movement and protests against war in Vietnam, and orienting the reader to the landscape of Banks's life by locating and giving background on reservations and other places of significance in the story.

Kae Cheatham is a freelance writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Her Dennis Banks, which was a runner-up for a Westerners Spur Award, is the sixth title in Endlow's Native American Biography Series. Copies can be obtained by writing Enslow Publishers, Inc., 44 Fadham Road, Box 699, Springfield, NJ 07081.