Huge thanks to @azluminaria.org & Tara Gatewood + IWMF’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists for believing in this work from the beginning & the Data-Driven Reporting Project for carrying it forward. Even bigger thanks to my family for supporting me behind the scenes. Ayóó anííníshní ❤️

I share this recognition w/ all the Indigenous journalists, storytellers & grassroots organizers who paved the way for this work to be possible. This award is a reflection of what our communities have always known to be true: Indigenous storytelling is invaluable and necessary.

I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to the families and communities who trusted me with the most tender and painful parts of their lives. Your voices are the heart of this work, and I only hope I honored them. azluminaria.org/2024/05/03/1...

When set out on this project to uncover data and stories about #MMIP
in Arizona, my goal was to lend my seat in this privileged space I hold as a journalist to Indigenous people who’ve long said they don’t feel heard or seen. azluminaria.org/mmip-arizona/

That said, here's a friendly reminder: credit matters. When you lift someone's work without attribution, you're not just erasing a byline, you're erasing the community-centered reporting behind it.

*gets off soapbox*

I tried to shrug it off, but the reality is @azluminaria.org is a small, nonprofit newsroom so we don't have the same reach as corporate media. Still, I'm glad the story gained traction and I hope it helped inform GRIC citizens about upcoming plans for their community.

In an industry where Indigenous journalists remain underrepresented, it’s frustrating that our nuanced and thoughtful reporting is often what it takes to bring attention to some of these issues only to later see stripped-down versions of our work online without a single nod to us.

Despite the tribe sharing its plans a whole month prior, no other newsroom covered the story until ours went live. Multiple outlets have since published their own versions and not one credited our original reporting here: azluminaria.org/2025/08/29/g...