OUR STORY – IndiJ Public Media

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. Our Indigenous-led organization strives to build on that strong history and tradition by creating a new model for the news media industry based on Indigenous values.

We are creating a different kind of news media company that puts coverage of people and their issues ahead of profits. The digital era transformed the way people consume news and affected the business model of advertising-supported news. Our nonprofit organization gets funding through philanthropic sources — such as grants, individual contributors, and major donors — and earned revenue.

The name IndiJ (pronounced In-DIDGE) is shorthand for Indigenous Journalism. IndiJ Public Media exists because a group of Indigenous journalists — rarely seeing our communities reflected in mainstream news coverage — wanted to demonstrate that a news organization can succeed in doing so. The future is bright. The future of media is Indigenous.

IndiJ Public Media

To honor our ancestors and future generations through stories that make Indigenous peoples come alive.

IndiJ Public Media

Respect, humility, integrity, wisdom, truth, courage, and compassion.

Get To Know Us

History

IndiJ Public Media is the parent organization of ICT an independent, nonprofit newsroom serving Indigenous communities with news, entertainment, and opinion. 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.

ICT launched as The Lakota Times, a for-profit news enterprise by the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota.

1981 - The Lakota Times
The Lakota Times changed its name to Indian Country Today to reflect its national focus.

1992 - National Expansion
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
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
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
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 over 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, an Arizona 501 (c)(3) public charity.

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. ICT disseminates news stories through accessible, free, digital, and broadcast channels, providing millions of people with news about Indigenous communities, which is amplified by our social media presence.

In creating a spacious channel for information, our goal is to serve Indigenous audiences with stories about ourselves and the world. We amplify the voices of our readers and viewers. Our secondary goal is to educate the world about Indigenous peoples and our issues. A spacious channel also means developing talent. It’s essential that ICT expand opportunities for the Indigenous community, especially making certain we create a career path for our youth. We honor our ancestors and future generations through stories that make Indigenous peoples come alive.

ICT

To share more stories from Indigenous communities, told by Indigenous voices.

ICT Media

Self-sustaining journalism platform covering stories of our Indigenous ways.