I recently had the opportunity to attend the Native American Journalists (NAJA) convention in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was happy to see several young Indians pursuing their writing, radio and television dreams. Studies have found that American Indian voices are vastly underrepresented in mainstream media outlets throughout the country, so the fact that NAJA has taken steps in recent years to include and foster youth voices is especially appealing.

Aspiring high school journalist Neil Chaparro, a member of the Northern Ponca Tribe who attends Fremont High School in Nebraska, told me that he plans to go to college to study journalism. During a Project Phoenix Rising Voices workshop before the convention, he wrote articles on Indian activists like Leonard Peltier, and the ability for Native Americans to succeed in journalism. The NAJA program is intended to help high school students learn the basics of news writing and photojournalism.

“Politicians need to try harder to understand Native issues—that should be one of their top priorities, I think,” said Chaparro. Aiding in that process, he told me that he hopes to better inform his peers about Native issues by writing for the school paper this year.

If you know of young American Indians in your community who might have an interest in getting involved with NAJA, please send me an email: rob@connectforkids.org