24
S moke S ignals
SEPTEMBER 1, 2017
Smoke Signals receives five NAJA awards
Smoke Signals, the bimonthly
newspaper of the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde, won five
awards from the Native American
Journalists Association for stories
and photos published in 2016, as
well as the 2017 Elias Boudinot
Free Press Award.
The Boudinot Free Press Award,
named after the 19th century editor
of the first Native newspaper The
Cherokee Phoenix, was awarded
to the Grand Ronde Tribe because
of the Independent Tribal Press
Ordinance, which was approved
by Tribal Council in December and
became effective in mid-January.
The ordinance codifies the guar-
antee of a free press that is included
in the Tribal Constitution. It also
established a five-member Editorial
Board to oversee operation of the
Tribal newspaper and ensure there
is no undue influence regarding ed-
itorial content from elected officials.
“Freedom of the press has always
been a constitutional right that
members can and should expect,”
Tribal Council member Chris Mer-
cier said. “It’s a right that they have
as Americans, so why not Grand
Ronde Tribal members?
“My hope is that we can be a
model for other Tribes nationally to
follow and emulate. Unless Tribes
start allowing greater access to
their internal affairs to outside
newspapers and media, Tribally
owned outlets need to fulfill that
watchdog role, and the one sure
Smoke Signals file photo
Tribal Cultural Outreach Coordinator Bobby Mercier carries the first salmon
after he harvested it at Willamette Falls for the Tribe’s fourth annual First
Salmon Ceremony that was held at the McLean House in West Linn in May
2016. This photograph won a second-place award for Best News Photo in
the Associate Division of the Native American Journalists Association’s 2017
Native Media Awards.
way to do that is to promise non-in-
terference. It can be tempting to
want to maintain that control, but
if we truly respect our membership
then ensuring Tribal leadership is
not censoring or not looking over
the shoulders of Tribal news report-
ers is the only way to go.”
Mercier is a former employee of
Smoke Signals.
In addition to the Free Press
Award, Editor Dean Rhodes took
first and second place in the Best
Need something notarized?
Tribal Court staff is available at no charge for notaries 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. Monday though Friday with the exception of noon to 1 p.m.
Please be sure to bring a photo ID with you. If you have any questions,
contact the court at 503-879-2303.
When: Wednesday’s
Sept. 6 through Oct. 11
TIME: 10 a.m. -12 p.m. (lunch & childcare provided)
WHERE: The Community Center
9615 Grand Ronde Rd. Grand Ronde, OR
Registration Deadline: Sept. 1, 2017
RSVP: Aliea Finney 503-879-2041 or aliea.finney@grandronde.org
Facilitators: Aliea Finney & Carmen Mercier
Coverage of Native America cate-
gory in the Associate Division for
his stories “On the Rocks,” which
was about Grand Ronde Tribal
members harvesting salmon at
Willamette Falls for the first time
in more than 100 years, and “Gen-
eral Council debates mascot issue”
about the March 2016 General
Council meeting, respectively.
Tribal photographer Michelle
Alaimo won a second-place award
for Best News Photo in the Asso-
ciate Division for her photo “Tribe
honors this year’s first salmon”
that appeared in the May 15, 2016,
issue.
Former Smoke Signals staff writ-
er Brent Merrill received a third-
place award in the Best Feature
Story category in the Professional
Division for the “Trail of Tears
accounting” story that appeared in
the March 15, 2016, issue.
Associate members of NAJA are
non-Tribal members who work for
Tribal publications. The Profession-
al Division is for Tribal member
writers and photographers.
The annual competition recog-
nizes excellence in reporting by
Native and non-Native journalists
in the United States and Canada
and received more than 700 entries.
Judging was conducted by mem-
bers of the Society of Professional
Journalists, University of Arkan-
sas staff and journalists who work
for Indian Country news outlets.
Smoke Signals competed amongst
publications with a circulation
between 5,000 and 10,000 copies.
The awards will be handed out
during NAJA’s annual convention
being held Saturday, Sept. 9, in
Anaheim, Calif.
In July, Smoke Signals also
received three awards from the
Oregon Newspaper Publishers
Association, including a first place
in the Target Audience category.
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