Lakota Publisher Tim Giago: Journey Well My Friend

Lakota Publisher Tim Giago: Journey Well My Friend 

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

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It is with sadness we share the news of the passing of Tim Giago.

As publisher of Indian Country Today, he gave me a great opportunity to travel with the Zapatistas. During all the years that I worked for him as a reporter at Lakota Times and Indian Country Today, we didn't talk much.

Tim left me alone to cover the news. He gave me the open road, from Big Mountain to the border and beyond. Tim never censored me.

While I was posting articles on Censored News yesterday, I thought, Tim would like these. Tim passed this morning, may his journey be a good one on that vast open road.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Casinos, crime, Indian country media, Israel

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
copyright

The exposure of the new owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reveals the ties between casino-owned media, crime and influence. It also reveals a connection with Israel.
Further, the exposure reveals a connection to the Oneida Nation in New York, which is wealthy from casino revenues, and is the owner of Indian Country Today.
The new owner of the Las Vegas newspaper is Sheldon Adelson, casino owner and Israeli newspaper owner.
Follow the money:
In a bizarre exposure, Adelson and the owners of Indian Country Today are linked by being the top donors to the ultra conservative Patriot Prosperity, as revealed by opensecrets.org
Adelson's Drug Clinic, and his Sands Casino, were the top donors to Patriot Prosperity in 2012.
The Oneida Nation was the top donor in 2014 to Patriot Prosperity.
As previously revealed by Censored News, Israeli corporations have been gaining major US contracts in the Southwest.
US Homeland Security gave the southern border surveillance contract to Israel's Elbit Systems, responsible for Apartheid security surrounding Palestine. Elbit is now constructing spy towers on the Arizona border and is targeting traditional Tohono O'odham with new spy towers.
The construction of the mega solar project Ivanpah in the Mojave Desert in the Southern California Desert, desecrating Sacred Salt Song Trail, was done by Israel's BrightSource.This was exposed after President Obama claimed the construction was proof of a rebounding US economy.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal's new owner's identity was previously secret and now the editorial staff is fighting for its journalistic soul.
Read the article in 972 Magazine, which includes a bizarre crime scenario:
http://972mag.com/lessons-from-israel-for-sheldon-adelsons-new-journalists/115130/
The Indian country issues requiring unbiased coverage in Nevada include the theft of Pyramid Lake Paiute water rights; the threat of nuclear waste storage on Western Shoshone's Yucca Mountain; and the widespread contamination in Western Shoshone communities, and throughout Nevada, from the Nuclear Test Site.

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Economic Blackmail: The New McCarthyism in Indian Country News

John Kane, Mohawk

Does truth-telling in the media now mean that you have to work for free in America?

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Dutch translation by Alice Holemans, NAIS Gazette

It is sad that John Kane, Mohawk, can not find any sponsors to keep his radio show, 'Let's Talk Native,' going.

Is this what happens now to the truth-tellers in the media? Does telling the truth in the media now mean that you have to work for free in America?

During the Boarding School Tribunal in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it was John Kane who called in to provide radio coverage. The only media there was Govinda of Earthcycles and Censored News. None of us are paid for our work. In fact, as John's message below shows, we can't even attract enough donations to cover our expenses to keep going.

The point is that the media has collapsed and a form of economic blackmail is present. It is just as serious as the blacklisting of McCarthyism. It is just carried out in a different manner.

At the same time, this black hole of journalism has created a door for heroes to walk through. It offers us the chance to be present and cover the stories that no one else will, a chance to broadcast the ideas that could transform this planet.

Surely future generations will look back for kernels of truth, and will celebrate those that survive.

With the high costs of travel, equipment, radio airtime and more, the truth-tellers, even when they offer their labors of love for free, are finding there is no way to keep going.

The problem with grants and advertising is that neither are free. Each comes with a price.

As Hopi elder Dan Evehema told me years ago, "Don't ever take grants, or they will own you."

As for big money advertisers, look at the effects that casino, mining and CIA ads have had on Indian country news. The majority of what you have today is either plagiarism by stay-at-home reporters, or fluff by writers surfing and re-writing the web. 

Those stay-at-home reporters have also found cash bounty in the good-hearted activists who pay their own way to share the news. Those stay-at-home plagiarizers get a paycheck from what they seize from the web.

What you have today in the news is the void remaining from the issues that are censored.

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John Kane posted this message on Sunday:

Tonight is to be my final "Let's Talk Native…" program. WWKB would like me to stay on but the cost of paid programming has always been a challenge and the lack sustainable funding has made the show in its existing form and location unsustainable as well. I will make a plea tonight to continue to support my costs associated with travel to NYC for my show there and I will make what will likely be my final pitch to cover the costs for the billing cycle I am completing with my show here in Buffalo. I have been asked if I would be willing to continue through the month of April and I will say that if there is support for me to continue through next month, with firm commitments to cover the airtime on a weekly basis I would consider doing so.
But join us tonight with your calls and thoughts as we look back on this show and look for future opportunities to keep the conversations going.
Let's Talk!

Contact John at jmkane1220@aol.com

Brenda Norrell has been a news reporter in Indian country for 33 years, beginning at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She served as a freelance reporter for AP and USA Today covering the Navajo Nation and federal courts. After being censored and terminated as a staff writer for Indian Country Today, she created Censored News, now in its 9th year with 3.8 million pageviews.

brendanorrell@gmail.com

Failure of Indian country news is crime against humanity

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News

It should be considered a crime against humanity for salaried reporters, supposedly covering national Indian news, to stay home and plagiarize instead of being present in DC. 

Those reporters are failing as watchdogs to prevent the theft of Indian water rights, and Indian land rights. Real reporters in Indian country could do a great deal to protect land and water rights for future generations. However, by deceiving readers, engaging in plagiarism, and focusing on fluff, they have no moral ground to stand on. These 'reporters' can only be viewed as violators of the ethics of journalism.

While Native American tribal leaders were engaged in photo ops, public relations spin and opulence at the Tribal Leaders Conference in DC this week, Congress was attempting to steal Apache land rights and Paiute water rights. Sen. McCain is pushing the legislation to steal Apache land rights for copper mining. Efforts are underway in Congress to steal Paiute water rights to Pyramid Lake. 

These are only two examples of what is going on in Congress, and much more is happening behind closed doors. A leaked document exposed former Interior Sec. Ken Salazar, and former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, attempting to steal Navajo water rights. Grassroots Dine' (Navajos) halted the water rights theft and Salazar left office.

Don't expect Indian Country Today reporters to do the job. Don't expect those reporters to bend to the pressure and leave their homes in order to be present and cover the news. 

While I was a staff reporter at Indian Country Today, the editors censored issues because of the agendas of the owners and editors. Because of the pressure by politicians and the political agendas, both locally and nationally, issues were censored. There was also control by the gambling and casino industry. The censored issues included gambling addiction and non-Indians profiteering from Indian casinos. 

Bahe Katenay of Big Mountain was censored by Indian Country Today when he described the destruction of Dine' sacred places by the oil and gas industry. Louise Benally of Big Mountain was censored when she compared the forced Longest Walk to the US war in Iraq. 

Buffy Sainte Marie was even censored by Indian Country Today editors when she described how her anti-war stance led to US presidents putting her out of the music business. Lenny Foster, Dine', was censored when he described how Leonard Peltier's religious freedom rights were violated in prison.

Also censored was the fact that Raytheon Missiles has a factory on the Navajos' commercial farm, Navajo Agricultural Products Industry near Farmington, N.M. NAPI, which grows corn and other crops for commercial sale, also used the genetically modified seeds of Monsanto, affecting traditional Navajo crops in the area. The ICT editor told me, in writing, that I was forbidden to even research Raytheon Missiles and Monsanto on NAPI. 

When the Denver Post exposed the fact that Sen. Ben 'Nighthorse' Campbell was Portuguese, and not Northern Cheyenne as he claimed, ICT refused to publish the facts. The two editors responsible for the censorship at Indian Country Today then left the newspaper and went to work for the National Museum of American Indians, and the Smithsonian, which Campbell had been raising funds for. 

San Carlos Apache were also censored, which brings us to today. Many of those censored defending Apache sacred land from the massive telescopes of the University of Arizona in Tucson and the Pope, have passed to the Spirit World. San Carlos Apaches continue to fight for their land today as Sen. John McCain and his corrupt circle target the theft of Apache land for copper mining. 

Today, Indian Country Today owners are extremely wealthy and can afford to have reporters present on news stories, instead of sitting at home and plagiarizing from the web, or focusing on distractions and fluff. Still, it has proven unrealistic to expect ICT to carry out authentic journalism. It has created a void and today there are no reporters present in Washington to expose the bottom line and report the truth.

Future generations depend on the creation of new Indian country media to be clear and present, and to report news with accuracy as it is happening. Future generations will suffer if the watchdogs of journalism fail and continue to violate the ethics of journalism.


Brenda Norrell has been a reporter in Indian country for 32 years, beginning with the Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. After serving as a longtime staff reporter for Indian Country Today, she was first censored then terminated. As a result, she created Censored News, now in its ninth year. There are no salaries, grants or advertising at Censored News. Censored News is a whistleblower site for the media, human rights issues and Indigenous Peoples news.

Read some of the news articles by Brenda Norrell which were censored by Indian Country Today 2004 -- 2006: http://bsnorrell.tripod.com/ 

Plagiarism at Indian Country Today: Depp and Wounded Knee

In the rush for glory, news reporters and newspapers rely on plagiarism, theft and deceit

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News, July 10, 2013

Plagiarism has become the accepted form of journalism at Indian Country Today Media Network. The most obvious example of this collapse in journalism and ethics is ICT's coverage of Johnny Depp's offer to purchase Wounded Knee in South Dakota and return it to the Lakota people.

Even newspapers that should have known better were quickly quoting the plagiarizer Indian Country Today, rather than the source, the Daily Mail.

In a second example of plagiarism, Indian Country Today plagiarized an article on horses dying of drought on the Navajo Nation. The article is plagiarized from Navajo Times, but has an Indian Country Today byline on it. It appeared on Google News under the name of Indian Country Today, rather than Navajo Times.

Martyn Palmer at the UK's Daily Mail actually wrote the Depp interview:

Palmer wrote, "Such is Depp’s commitment to the Native American cause, he is planning to spend millions of his own money to return land, Wounded Knee, in South Dakota, to their ownership. 

"The site, the scene of an 1890 massacre, is up for sale for $3.9 million. Local Native Americans say they cannot afford to buy it. Depp is outraged."

Read more of Depp's interview at the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-2356133/Johnny-Depp-life-Vanessa-Paradis--cheating-death-The-Lone-Ranger.html
 
In South Dakota, Last Real Indians has an update on Depp's offer to buy Wounded Knee. Read it here:
http://lastrealindians.com/explosive-white-clay-walking-out-on-nebraskas-gov-johnny-depp-buying-wounded-knee-oglala-president-bryan-brewer/

Brandon Ecoffey at Native Sun News first reported the news of the sale of the Wounded Knee site. Ecoffey reported that talks were underway to purchase the 40 acre tract of land at the national historic site of Wounded Knee and another 40 acre lot at Porcupine Butte. The two sites were put up for sale by land owner Jim Czywczysnki for a total of $4.9 million on Pine Ridge Oglala land.

Read Ecoffey's articles: http://www.indianz.com/News/2013/009888.asp

http://www.indianz.com/News/2013/010063.asp

Meanwhile, the Rapid City Journal's article on Depp and the Wounded Knee sale is not written by Rapid City Journal. In tiny letters at the top is the real author and credit: Kevin Abourezk at Lincoln Star Journal.

The Lincoln Star Journal reported the land owner has greatly inflated the price. “We just hate to see that guy get rich off us,” Oglala President Bryan Brewer told the Lincoln Star Journal. Read it here: http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/tribe-johnny-depp-wants-to-buy-wounded-knee/article_5d823cc8-d972-5198-8ecd-4ceefa477317.html

There are actually Lakota reporters in South Dakota who are present and cover the news. Among those newspapers is Native Sun News, which is often plagiarized online.

Meanwhile, writers who sit home and plagiarize the hard work of others for money are not reporters. They are opportunists and profiteers. Indian Country Today is still using a reporter/editor in the west that I haven't seen out on a news story in the past 30 years. I have seen her plagiarize.

Real reporters sacrifice huge amounts of time doing research, and actually showing up on news stories. These days reporters are often using their own money to travel to do real news. Then someone comes along like the 'reporters' at Indian Country Today, and either totally plagiarizes their work, or does a rewrite with a quick phone call in a few minutes time and collects a big paycheck for it.

Don't fall for plagiarism and the theft of others work. Since yesterday when the plagiarism was exposed, Indian Country Today has been busy having their armchair journalists do phone call interviews to cover their tracks on the plagiarism.

Media Watch: Newspaper cheerleads for rape of Mother Earth

The road into New Town, North Dakota, on the land of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations (Fort Berthold, July 31, 2011.) Photo by Brenda Norrell/Censored News
Media Watch: Indian Country Today hits a new all time low
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

NEW TOWN, North Dakota -- The newspaper Indian Country Today didn't show up to cover the Protecting Mother Earth Gathering and now has an article cheerleading the rape of the earth and the ongoing devastation by the oil and gas industry.

Perhaps the newspaper would have been less likely to publish a press release, during the newspaper's downward spiral, if its reporters or editors had been present at the Gathering and listened to the people here, and witnessed the carnage by the oil and gas industry.

Perhaps if Indian Country Today had listened to Kandi Mossett tell of how her 23-year-old friend was killed by one of these trucks here, the newspaper would not have been so careless in what it posts for profit.

"We can't drink the oil," Kandi said, as the tears fell from her eyes, remembering her friend and others being driven off the road by these trucks.

Maybe if Indian Country Today had listened to Kandi, and the other Native youths, and elders here of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations, speak of how the land, water and air is being poisoned, how the truck diesel and pollution spills onto the land, the newspaper would not have been so irresponsible.

Perhaps if the newspaper's staff had listened to the elders here tell how greed for money is destroying the nation today, it would not have carelessly published an article cheering for the oil and gas industry and the elected politicians.

Perhaps if the newspaper's staff had heard the elders speak of how the Three Affiliated Nations at Fort Berthold, were devastated by colonizers during the smallpox genocide, the editors would have taken their responsibility more seriously to both show up for the Gathering of Indigenous Peoples from across the Americas, and then publish the facts.

Maybe if the staff of Indian Country Today had been there, choking on the dust and gagging from the gas flaring, the staff might not have rushed to support President Tex Hall's ongoing publicity campaign.

The minimum for a newspaper is to show up and report the facts.

For Indian Country Today to engage in a counter campaign to this Gathering, and carelessly support the destruction of the earth, while publicizing its favored politicians, is what this newspaper does best.

The newspaper hit an all time low.

Please continue to boycott this newspaper.
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Please listen to the audio files from the Protecting Mother Earth Gathering, on the land of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara, of the Indigenous Environmental Network, July 28-31, recorded by Earthcycles and Censored News:http://www.earthcycles.net/ienearth

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