OUR STORY
Who Is Indij Public Media
IndiJ Public Media was incorporated in November 2020 as an Arizona nonprofit organization and received its 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS in August 2021. We are governed by a seven-member board of directors with aspirations to advance IndiJ Public Media’s influence in the news media landscape. IndiJ Public Media was formed initially to serve as the owner and fiscal sponsor of ICT, formerly Indian Country Today, LLC, which has a long history of serving Indigenous communities with news and information. Now through IndiJ Public Media’s backing, we strive to build on that deep history and tradition by creating a new model for the news media industry based on Indigenous values.
History
IndiJ Public Media serves as the parent nonprofit company of ICT, which delivers news, entertainment, and opinion reporting from across the Indigenous world. We began as a for-profit news enterprise in July 1981 by the late, legendary journalist Tim Giago of the Oglala Lakota Nation. The paper was then purchased by the Oneida Nation of New York in 1998, and transitioned to an online operation by 2013. In 2017, it was donated to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and temporarily went dark. It relaunched in 2018 as a nonprofit digital news organization under the editorial leadership of Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock. In March 2021, NCAI transferred the newsroom’s control to IndiJ Public Media, and in 2021, Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Diné, succeeded Trahant as the top editor.
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ICT launched as The Lakota Times, a for-profit news enterprise by the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota.
1981 - The Lakota Times
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The Lakota Times changed its name to Indian Country Today to reflect its national focus.
1992 - National Expansion
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Indian Country Today was sold to the Oneida Indian Nation in New York, which continued to operate it as a news magazine and website.
1998 - A New Home
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After 35 years of award-winning reporting, Indian Country Today was donated to the National Congress of American Indians and went dark.
2017 - End of An Era
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To fill the resulting gap in Indigenous journalism, Indian Country Today was revived by the National Congress of American Indians as a digital startup under the editorial leadership of Mark Trahant.
2018 - Rebirth
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Ownership was transferred to IndiJ Public Media, and Indian Country Today evolved into ICT, a digital and broadcast public news organization.
2021 - A Vision Forward
Who Is ICT
What began more than 40 years ago as a weekly newspaper by the late Tim Giago, Lakota Times is now ICT, a multimedia news organization. ICT, formerly Indian Country Today, is a division of IndiJ Public Media, a national 501 (c)(3) public charity, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
In an effort to reach Indigenous populations that receive little to no journalistic coverage, ICT strives for Broadcast Excellence through Compelling Storytelling while empowering the Next Generation of Indigenous journalists. ICT disseminates news stories through free, accessible, digital and broadcast channels, providing millions of people with news about Indigenous communities – amplified by our social media presence.
We provide a spacious channel for information, serving Indigenous audiences with newsworthy stories about ourselves and the world. We deliver trustworthy, informed, and compelling Indigenous narratives, amplifying Indigenous voices to reach audiences far and wide. More expansively, our reporting helps to better educate broader audiences about Indigenous peoples and our issues. We’re also dedicated to fostering talent and expanding opportunities for the Indigenous community, particularly by ensuring a clear career path for our youth.
Through this approach, we honor our ancestors and future generations through stories that make Indigenous peoples come alive.
