Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA)

Founding and History

The Native American Journalists Association was originally founded in 1983 as the Native American Press Association in the wake of a meeting of Native American journalists and academics at Pennsylvania State University. Following the preliminary meeting, the group was officially established at a second meeting in 1983. In 1990, the group changed its name to the Native American Journalists Association, which is still the group’s legal name and is used on its website. In 2023, the group also adopted the name Indigenous Journalist Association, which is used on its logo. ^{1  4}

Financials

For the 2023 fiscal year, which ended September 2024, the Native American Journalists Association reported $1,305,641 in revenues. Of that amount, $827,987 stemmed from contributions and grants, $455,285 from program service revenue, and $13,256 from investment income. It did not report any government funding. ⁵

It reported $1,607,035 in expenses, of which $455,836 was spent on employee salaries and compensation. $209,003 was spent on travel, $120,814 on travel or entertainment expenses for government officials at any level, $38,098 for administration, and $27,183 for dues and subscriptions. ⁶

NAJA ended the fiscal year with a loss of $301,394 and net assets of $446,186. ⁷

NAJA received a grant in December 2025 from the People-First AI Fund sponsored by OpenAI to promote indigenous voices in media regarding engagement with AI technology. The amount of the grant was not specified, though the announcement from OpenAI stated that $40.5 million would be disbursed as unrestricted grants to 208 nonprofits. ⁸

Organization Philosophy

The Native American Journalists Association states that it works to promote diversity in media, especially Native Americans in journalism. ⁹ In 2020, NAJA released a statement condemning the use of Native American logos and mascots for sports teams, calling them racist and harmful, and claiming that they promote stereotypes. It also called for such teams and their logos to be treated as racist symbols in reporting. ¹⁰

Projects and Initiatives

The Native American Journalists Association hosts an annual Indigenous Media Conference to promote networking and information sharing among Native American journalists. ¹¹

NAJA provides reporting guides to help guide news coverage of Native issues and a “bingo” sheet it encourages reporters and editors to use to determine if coverage is what NAJA would consider stale or stereotypical. ^{2  12}

Additionally, NAJA runs online trainings and seminars geared towards increasing journalist familiarity with Native American issues and terminology, as well as for lay people to more effectively communicate their stories and issues of concern to journalists. ^{13  3}

Leadership

Rebecca Landsberry-Baker is the executive director of the Native American Journalists Association, a position she has held since 2015. She previously worked as the association’s membership and communications manager. ^{14  15}