"The shootings on the Red Lake Nation made an avalanche of media descend on this rural and isolated Chippewa reservation, just as the Columbine school covered Littleton, Colo., with media. Journalism is my profession, too, but I must say that the national media coverage was far more aggressive than I am used to. They were in-your-face tough.

At a press conference March 22 in Bemidji, as I waited for the Herald's reporters and photographer to get the latest information, one of my Native American friends had a telling description of the media - of us. We, the media, are like flies buzzing around a picnic basket full of fried chicken, he said.

I looked around and saw the many cameras, the long poles capped by fur-covered mikes, the people with notebooks hovering and then darting into position when a potential interview subject came near."

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Media questions play a vital role (The Grand Forks Herald 3/30)

Relevant Links:
Red Lake Net News - http://www.rlnn.com
Red Lake Nation - http://www.redlakenation.org
Red Lake High School - http://www.paulbunyan.net/rlschools/hs.htm

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