In 2024, Noeledrich staff traveled all across the Pacific Northwest, sharing stories from Native nations and Indigenous communities throughout the region: from another year at Canoe Journey to learning about salmon reintroduction work above the Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams by Upper Columbia River Treaty Tribes to the return Miss Indian Northwest Pageant to a story about the 100-year anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act.
Underscore reporters stayed busy, bringing stories to our readers throughout the year. Below are a few of our favorites.
Staff Picks
In January, Jarrette Werk and Nika Bartoo-Smith attended an Indigenous-led sunrise ceremony in solidarity with Palestine. They published a piece called “Portlanders Shut Down City Council Meeting, Demanding Ceasefire.” This piece added on to reporting from 2023 by Luna Reyna, following Indigenous solidarity with Palestine. In November 2023, UNN published “Native Solidarity with Indigenous Palestinians Helps Delay U.S. Warship.” In December 2023, UNN published “Indigenous Water Warriors Call for Global Solidarity Against Genocide.”
Jarrette and Nika dove into more solidarity with Palestine reporting in May with “A Powwow for Palestine,” about Native students from Portland State University and the broader Native community organizing a powwow in support of Indigenous Palestinians and for recognition for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.
In February, Luna spent time at the Chinook Indian Nation, reporting on how the federal government awarded the nation over a half a million dollars to settle a long-held land claim. The piece, “Chinook Indian Nation Land Claim Settlement Awarded, Nation Could be Closer to Federal Recognition,” detailed the nation’s fight for federal recognition and the importance of the land claim settlement.
In March, Jarrette helped announce a major land back win for the Future Generations Collaborative with the story “Barbie’s Village Officially in Hands of Native Organization.”
In April, Nika wrote a story about newly announced legislation that could end a decades-old policy that violated rights of Native nations to establish their own citizenship requirements with the story “Eliminating Blood Quantum Requirements for U.S.-Canada Crossing.”
In May, Jarrette traveled to Salem on Memorial Day to join community members gathering to clean the neglected graves at Chemawa Cemetery. He wrote a piece about the day and the history of the boarding school called “Honoring the Lost Kids of Chemawa Indian School.”
In June, Nika joined the Cowlitz Indian Tribe along the Cowlitz River, sharing a story about how “This Year’s Cowlitz First Salmon Ceremony Is About Future Generations” as youth were taught to prepare and cook the salmon.
In July, Jarrette joined thousands of Indigenous youth as UNITY came to Portland. He wrote about the “Largest Native Youth Gathering in Nike History,” where youth spent the day at Nike headquarters for a day of activity and empowerment.
Later in July, Underscore Indigenous Journalism Fellow Aislin Tweedy attended an award ceremony at the Yakama Reservation for Patsy Whitefoot. In “Yakama Elder Awarded Honorary Doctorate,” Tweedy details why Washington State University awarded Whitefoot the honorary degree, in part for her work and advocacy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Jarrette took photos for the story.
In August, Underscore posted two investigative pieces by Luna about MMIP cases and the lack of data in transparency in Oregon. “A Yaqui Woman’s Disappearance in Portland Exposed Policing Flaws in MMIP Cases” told the story of the disappearance of Wilma Acosta and her family’s critiques of the Portland Police Bureu, namely how they cited Acosta’s suicidal ideations despite the family’s denial of these claims. Luna followed that story with “Secrecy and Data Issues Impede Progress on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.”
In September, Luna traveled to Nooksack and wrote “Failed Federal Housing Commitments Leads to Evictions for Native Families,” detailing the 2016 disenrollment of 306 Nooksack Indian Tribe citizens and the recent approval from an appeals court to evict three families living in Nooksack housing.
In October, Luna wrote “New Book Details Resistance and Resilience of Alaska Natives” about Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from World War II, by Holly Miowak Guise, an Iñupiaq author and doctoral student at Yale University. The book includes oral histories and research examining World War II life in Alaska.
In November, Nika wrote “Native Opera Debuts Script Reading in Portland” about the performance of a comedic opera at the Center for Native Arts and Cultures Foundations, with photos by Jarrette. The piece is co-directed and written by Danielle Jagelski, Oneida Nation/Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe, and Rhiana Yazzie, Navajo.
In December, Jarrette wrote about the new OSU-NAGPRA Facility in his piece “A Collaborative Model for Repatriation,” while Luna brought readers a story about a collaboration between artist Louie Gong, Eighth Generation and Huy to raise awareness for incarcerated Indigenous people in “Transformative Art Supporting Indigenous Prisoners’ Rights.”
Noteworthy Collaborations
Throughout the year, Noeledrich stories were widely redistributed across the country. Thanks to a strong partnership with ICT, including two shared reporters, every piece ran in ICT.
Many pieces were also picked up by The Oregonian and OPB, as well as by many tribal papers from Native nations across the region.
In May, UNN and ICT partnered with High Country News, running a story by Nika about the removal of the Klamath Dams and what it means for Native nations along the river. The story, “Undamming the Kalamath,” ran as a cover story of the monthly High Country News Magazine, May 2024: A River Returns.
In July, Nika co-authored a story with Isabella Breda, a staff reporter at The Seattle Times who covers the environment. Jarrette took photos for the story, “The Pacific Northwest is Littered with ‘Deadbeat Dams’” which ran as a collaboration between Noeledrich, ICT and The Seattle Times. Another dam removal story, this piece highlighted how Native nations are at the forefront of dam removal efforts across Washington state.
In the fall, UNN reporters worked on a four-part Two-Spirit series with support from the Poynter Institute with funding from the Gill Foundation. In September, Nika wrote about a community gathering at Barbie’s Village celebrating the new book, Cosmo, From the Stars. Read more in the piece, “New Children’s Book Tells Story of Young Two-Spirit Person,” which also features Jarrette’s photos.
In November, the final three stories in the series published: “Becoming Shuína Skó” by Jarrette; “Learning and Laughing with ‘Your Two-Spirit Aunties’” by Nika; and “Building a Model for Gender Affirming Care at Cowlitz Indian Tribe” by Luna.
As the year draws to a close, many exciting stories are already on the horizon for 2025. Don’t forget to follow our work and donate to support our reporting in the new year.
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