Tribes need free press

Tribal and mainstream press can do better job covering Native communities[T]ribal communities suffer when the media isn’t allowed to provide any checks or balances. Newspapers provide a platform to challenge the status quo. Without it, a climate persists where communities remain plagued perennially by high unemployment, stagnant economies, health quandaries and sometimes inadequate leadership.

Freedom of the press should be the lifeblood of tribal communities. But it is yet to be fully embraced. And this won’t happen until tribal communities experience it.