Native American Journalists Association

About IJA

The Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA)’s mission centers accurate and contextual reporting about Indigenous people and communities as essential to overcoming biases and stereotypes portrayed in popular and mainstream media. Expanding access to accurate news and information is essential to an informed citizenry and healthy democracy, across tribal, local, state and national levels. 

For more than 40 years, Indigenous journalists across the United States and Canada have worked to support and sustain IJA. Originally formed as the Native American Press Association in 1983, the organization has grown from just a handful of reporters to a membership of nearly 600, which includes Indigenous journalists, associates, educators and partners.

IJA empowers members representing tribal, nonprofit, freelance and mainstream media professionals in promoting accurate coverage of Indigenous communities, supporting newsroom diversity and defending challenges to free press, speech and expression. IJA addresses these challenges by fostering the development of new talent and activating a powerful membership. IJA is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

In 2023, the membership voted to change the organization's name from the Native American Journalists Association to the Indigenous Journalists Association. This change recognizes the need to develop relationships, contacts, and cooperation across international borders and reflects a desire to align terminology with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

There is no other organization dedicated to addressing accurate coverage of Indigenous communities. It is essential for media organizations to understand historical context, expel racial stereotypes and report ethically. IJA provides essential newsroom training for Indigenous and non-Indigenous journalists and education resources for producing ethical and accurate coverage of Indigenous communities. 

Through annual programs like the Indigenous Media Initiative (formerly the Red Press Initiative), the Indigenous Journalism Fellowship, Newsroom Trainings and the annual Indigenous Media Conference, IJA continues to deliver free press, equity and ethics training, leveraging the collective experience of diverse trainers to facilitate newsroom leadership development and education. IJA develops critical resource reporting guides for newsrooms, improving and increasing the accurate representation of Indigenous peoples in media. To learn more about IJA please visit www.IndigenousJournalists.org.