Please help us continue this important work covering Indigenous affairs in Washington state
Your support has been critical as we started our journey to cover Indigenous affairs in Washington state. I’m so excited about the work reporter Natasha Brennan has done, covering the Tribes’ impact on our local communities, environment and politics, as well as traditions, culture and equity issues.
I hope you’ll continue to support this important work that includes coverage of the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe.
Early donors to this effort understood the need for this coverage:
“Our friends and neighbors in the tribal community deserve to have writers that have knowledge of their unique history, and current culture and their contributions to our society which are often overlooked. Thank you for bringing this position to our paper.”
“Congratulations on this new position! The Herald has increased my awareness and appreciation my Lummi and Nooksack neighbors; I’m looking forward to even more of the same now.”
As we ask for your continued support, I want to tell you about what we have done so far.
Natasha joined us in June, in partnership with the community and Report for America, which is placing about 300 journalists in more than 200 newsrooms this year. Report for America pays a portion of the reporters’ salaries; local newsrooms cover the rest.
Natasha was inspired to specialize in writing about Native American culture and issues as a child visiting her father’s family on the Cahuilla Reservation in southern California.
She’s written stories for PBS Native Report and Indian Country Today. You can follow her on Twitter @natasha_marie_b. She’s a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Native American Journalists Association.
Here are just some of the things she’s done in her short time with us:
▪ She’s driven up and down the coast, from Peace Arch Park in Blaine, for a story “WA Indigenous communities remember boarding school era, call for federal investigation,” south to the Quinault Indian Reservation on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, for a story “U.S. Interior Secretary sees climate change effects on coastal tribal communities.”
▪ Another of her favorite stories is from Lummi Nation, where she was up early for the totem pole journey and her story “‘Red Road to D.C.’ calls for tribal consultation on projects that impact Native resources.” Report for America listed it as one of its Top 10 stories, too.
▪ Natasha’s also reporting on topics important to all Tribes in the state: “‘This is the new fishing, this is the new hunting and gathering’ for some WA tribal families” on the importance of fireworks sales; “These Washington tribes take next steps in allowing sports betting by the NFL season;” and “Here’s how Two Spirit and Indigiqueer people are reclaiming space in Washington tribes.”
And, we’ve recently started a weekly newsletter featuring news affecting Native American communities in the Northwest. You can sign up online.
I hope you’ll help us continue this important work. You can support this reporting position through our fall donation campaign.
We’ve been honored to receive your past donations. A special thanks to the Rotary Club of Bellingham for their generous support.
As always, your donation — whether it’s $10 or $1,000 — is 100% tax-deductible and will be made to Journalism Funding Partners, our partner nonprofit foundation. You can make a donation online at bellinghamherald.com/donate.
Or, you can make your donation to The Bellingham Herald’s Fall 2021 Campaign right here.
Or, you can mail a donation: Please make checks payable to “Journalism Funding Partners” or “JFP” and include The Bellingham Herald in the memo line. Please include your email address so we can send you an acknowledgment email. Send your check to McClatchy, 1601 Alhambra Blvd, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95816.
As we all work and live on the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who have called this land home since time immemorial, we invite you to join us on this journey.
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
