During the first week of April, I had the opportunity to participate in a climate storytelling workshop organized by the Associated Press at the 2025 Skoll World Forum in Oxford, United Kingdom.
To start, I never imagined my first trip overseas would be for something I love so much — storytelling. On my 10-hour flight to the U.K., I reflected on how I, a kid from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana, was being flown across the world to share my reporting and learn from others doing similar work. It’s still hard to believe. I am incredibly thankful.
I am deeply honored and humbled to have been one of the 10 Indigenous affairs reporters from around the world invited by the AP to participate in the workshop. A special thanks to Bryan Pollard (Cherokee Nation), grants manager at the AP and former president of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), now the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA), for recommending me. I am so appreciative of my IJA family for continuing to create opportunities for members like me to connect with other journalists, grow as professionals and learn how to improve our work for a global audience.
Our group included brilliant reporters from Africa, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, and the United States. It was truly inspiring. It made me happy to know that these talented and dedicated people are doing important work for Indigenous communities worldwide, and doing it in a good way — which is so needed and valued.
It was comforting to see familiar faces among the cohort, like Pauly Denetclaw (Diné) with ICT and Taylar Dawn Stagner (Arapaho and Shoshone) with Grist, whom I had met through IJA years prior.
We each had the opportunity to present our work to the cohort and AP editors. I shared my coverage of land and water defenders’ opposition to the Thacker Pass lithium mine along the Oregon-Nevada border, and the community efforts to clean the neglected Chemawa Cemetery, which had become an overgrown dumping ground.
Pauly’s story, “Colorado River, stolen by law,” highlights how U.S. water policies have historically marginalized Indigenous nations by denying them equitable access to Colorado River resources.
Taylar’s story, “‘It’s about control’: Why Trump changed Denali’s name to Mount McKinley,” explored how the Trump administration’s 2025 executive order to revert the name of the Alaska mountain to Mount McKinley faced opposition from many Alaskans, including politicians and residents, who favored keeping the Indigenous name “Denali,” which means “The High One” in the Koyukon Athabascan language.
I admire and respect both of these Indigenous women and their work as reporters. Sharing a cohort with them was an honor — proof of the power of Indian Country’s journalism networks and the Indigenous Journalism Fellowship.
Amelia Schafer (Wampanoag and Montauk-Brothertown Indian Nation descent), with Rapid City Journal, shared about her 5-month-long investigation into the Immaculate Conception Mission School on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota.
Anna V. Smith, with High Country News, shared her multi-month long investigation called “States own lands on reservations. To use them, tribes must pay,” which examines how many U.S. states own lands within Native American reservations and require tribes to pay to use them, creating financial and sovereignty challenges for Indigenous communities.
Aaron Hemens, with IndigiNews, shared about his work to highlight the expansion of cherry orchards in Kelowna, British Columbia, which raises concerns among Indigenous peoples and conservationists about potential harm to a vital wildlife corridor, as urban and agricultural development encroach upon this crucial habitat.
I can’t wait to be reunited with these folks from Turtle Island at the annual Indigenous Journalists Association’s 2025 Indigenous Media Conference, Aug. 13-15, in Albuquerque, N.M.
We also met Brazilian powerhouse reporters like Alexandre Hisayasu and Jorge Abreu (Tucuju). I’m in awe of the work they’ve done to shed light on the Indigenous experience in the Amazon. I was overcome with emotion hearing Alexandre share more of Jorge’s story with the group — so inspiring. Jorge is the only Indigenous reporter for his publication in Brazil.
Vickram Sombu (Rote), a phenomenal photographer out of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, shared the stunning photo book he’s spent years working on, and I can’t wait until it’s released for the rest of the world to see. Seeing the sequencing and photo selections, and how they told a story, made me excited for my own photo book project currently in the works.
Diana Taremwa Karakire (Musingo from Western Uganda) and I had several meaningful conversations about the parallels between Indigenous communities in Africa and Turtle Island — especially around mining and resource extraction. It opened my eyes to the possibility of covering global Indigenous affairs more intentionally in the future.
If I’m being honest, I’ve never really had an interest in doing global coverage before, because there are so many stories from here in Turtle Island that need to be told and shared. While that remains true, now I see that there are so many commonalities with Indigenous communities globally, and I’m thinking anew about the ways I may be able to shed more light on these important stories.
We also picked up valuable tips from AP editors on sharpening both our writing and photography. A few gems I’ll carry forward:
- Circle every verb to make sure it’s the strongest choice (thanks, Katie Oyan).
- Mind your framing — don’t cut off hands or feet (shoutout Alyssa Goodman).
- In video, the first three seconds are critical, and keep it under 60 seconds (thank you, Teresa De Miguel).
The photo and video exercises were surprisingly fun — especially for someone like me who usually lives behind the camera. With this group, stepping in front of the lens didn’t feel so awkward. Pauly hyped me up like I was a model/influencer, and we were definitely serving both news and looks. Peter Prengaman, Global Climate and Environmental News Director for the AP, even said Pauly’s portrait of me was one of the best photos he’d ever seen. I was flattered — and I’ll take that compliment!
What struck me most was how similar our stories are. Across continents and communities, we’re facing many of the same struggles. Sharing space with people so passionate about uplifting Indigenous voices gave me chills. It also made me excited to know that Indigenous people’s voices and stories are being represented in the media in a good and meaningful way.
What sticks with me the most from this experience is the joy we all carry despite how challenging this job can be at times. We all laughed so much. We played card games like poker and gambled with European money. We had no idea how much the coins were worth, but we just kept playing. I even taught them all how to play one of the card games from back home called “Smutts.”
I had a really special time with really special folks, and I’m so glad that my first time in “the old country” was with these people.
The U.K. was an experience I’ll never forget: the old buildings, the history. I highly recommended attending the Uncomfortable Oxford Tour to learn about the different narratives of Oxford.
And yes — I was living my Hogwarts fantasy. I couldn’t believe I was walking through filming locations from Harry Potter. My inner child was screaming. I stocked up on Wizard merch, including my new Ravenclaw t-shirt and wand-shaped chopsticks, which I can’t wait to use.
The food? Let’s just say it took some getting used to. Even the pop tasted a little off. But the potatoes and meat pies? Always a hit. Still, I missed my home-cooked meals. I’m definitely spoiled.
I did get the chance to have one of the best cups of tea of my life at the oldest coffee house in all of England. The strawberry jam and scones were a must.
During the Skoll World Forum, we had the opportunity to hear from phenomenal speakers and changemakers like Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist who advocates for girls’ education, and Trevor Noah, former host of the Emmy Award-winning “The Daily Show.” We even got to watch Chaka Khan perform live. My mom was so jealous.
I also had a meat pie at the oldest pub in Oxford with the current and former executive directors of the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY), Tracy Goodluck (Oneida Nation) and Erik Stegman (Carry the Kettle First Nation – Nakoda), current CEO of Native Americans in Philanthropy. This totally felt like a full circle moment for me.
Back in 2018, I was selected to be a CNAY Generation Indigenous Movement Builders fellow. I had just begun taking journalism classes at the University of Nevada, Reno, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with journalism. I also had never really been involved in any youth leadership prior to CNAY. I was just a kid suffering from major imposter syndrome, but I had this interest in sharing stories from Indian Country.
Through the Gen-I MBF cohort, we created the “Reclaiming Our Narrative” project, which highlighted the work of other young Indigenous leaders from across the world and how they were helping their communities.
Looking back, that fellowship literally changed my entire life. It helped set me on the path I’m on today. It was through the Gen-I MBF fellowship that I found my voice and my purpose — storytelling.
Today, I am doing that same work and have a budding and thriving career centered around sharing our stories with the world. How special is that?
I love this life. So thankful for these experiences — to share, grow and learn! Truly blessed.
Now to rest, and get back to it.
CLIMATE STORYTELLING PHOTO GALLERY
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