NAJA announces 2020 class of Native American Journalism Fellows

NORMAN, Okla. – The Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) has selected three returning fellows to participate in the Native American Journalism Fellowship (NAJF) class of 2020.

With the cancellation of NAJA’s national convention due to COVID-19, the 2020 class of fellows will participate in a virtual curriculum with selected veteran mentors. This innovative experience will be designed to leverage the advantages of online learning and hands-on professional experience while promoting the health and wellbeing of our Indigenous student journalists.

Introducing the NAJF Class of 2020, from left:

• Miranda Stiles, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma State University

• Kayla Duoos, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Gonzaga University

• Makayla Sloan, Cherokee Nation, Haskell Indian Nations University

Fellows will be eligible to receive three hours of college credit at the undergraduate or graduate level through their respective universities.

Under the leadership of co-directors Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton (Cherokee) and Frank Robertson (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), student fellows will work remotely with mentors to produce coverage of Indian Country on a range of topics throughout the year for broadcast via First Nations Experience.

Mentors for the Class of 2020 include:

• Darren Brown, CATV | Cheyenne and Arapaho Television

• Frank Blanquet, FNX | First Nations Experience

With the decision to limit participation to returning students, the selection committee has also opted to give priority consideration to a select group of applicants when the in-person student newsroom is once again offered at NAJA’s 2021 convention in Phoenix.

“NAJA’s Education Committee wanted to provide opportunities for as many students as possible this year,” Krehbiel-Burton said. “However, we also wanted to make sure that we did not over promise and under deliver on the quality, which is particularly challenging within the safety parameters of an ongoing global pandemic. We are very excited to work with our returning fellows this year and we look forward to offering a full student newsroom experience in 2021.”