Jim Kent: Lakota youth journalists find success with newspaper

Monday, February 14, 2011  

The following column by Jim Kent appears in the current issue of the Lakota Country Times. All content © Lakota Country Times.

I've been interviewed over the years, but not too often. With both my print and radio work, I'm the person asking the questions.

So, it was a bit out of the norm to be sitting in front of a high school class while Nicky Oulette's student journalists grilled "that voice on the radio" and "that face in the paper". Okay, grilled is a blatant exaggeration. But the juniors and seniors in Little Wound School's journalism class did have an extensive interview list ranging from "where were you born" to "what's the biggest challenge in your job?"

Of course, my real reason for being there wasn't as guest speaker. My primary goal was to interview the kids about what they do - which is pretty unique. You see, besides learning how to write a newspaper story, the journalism students at Little Wound get to have their work published every other week.

No big deal, you say. Lots of high schools have their own newspapers. Well, that's true. But not too many- none in the area, that I'm aware of - get to then have their newspaper circulated throughout the region as part of a larger professional publication.

So - in western South Dakota - if it's Wednesday, that means the New Mustang News is likely on the stands within the Lakota Country Times.

Although Little Wound School has had a newspaper in the past, it's been quite a while since students and their parents received regular reports on "Mustang" happenings. (Yes, that's the school's team name). But Oulette's arrival last fall, along with federal stimulus dollars, afforded the reservation school the chance to return - so to speak - to its storytelling roots. And that's where superintendent Linda Hunter plans for Little Wound to remain.

The idea for including the Mustang News as part of the Lakota Country Times was the brainchild of Hunter and Connie Smith - owner and publisher of the Native American weekly. Smith's goal that her publication be, first and foremost, community-oriented was a perfect mesh with Hunter's desire to revive what had been a key element of the Little Wound School environment.

What began as a publication with substantial administration and teacher input has rapidly developed into a newspaper created, almost entirely, by the students themselves.

For "seasoned" high school journalists, this also isn't that big a deal. But for adolescents who are, literally, just several weeks into their familiarity with the newspaper process, it's a testament to the creative abilities of the Little Wound journalism team as well as the interest and dedication of their teacher.

That Oulette's class is comprised almost entirely of young ladies is a puzzle. I'm not sure why there aren't more young Lakota guys interested in telling the Little Wound story, but to each his own. Jared Reddy more than makes up for their absence with his fine photography.

As for news, the female journalists do it all: from hard news to sports to cultural events - like Brooke Chase Alone's coverage of the annual Big Foot Ride. Madeline Buckman's upcoming weekly commentaries will add a further professional edge to the students' increasingly popular publication.

In the end, Connie Smith's goal is to have a newspaper in every school on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

She also wants to provide more forums for all the positive stories about life on the rez. Contrary to the mainstream media view, there's actually a lot of good that take place across Pine Ridge.

If you need directions, just ask Nicky Oulette's journalism class