Red Media, also known as the Red Media Collective, is the publishing arm of the left-of-center Indigenous advocacy group, Red Nation. 1 2 Red Media is published under the Common Notions publishing company. 3
Red Media publishes materials that advocate in favor of causes for Indigenous communities within the United States. 4 The group has also released publications supportive of Palestinian nationalism while criticizing the State of Israel. 5
The Red Nation, Red Media’s parent group, is a coalition of activists, educators, students, and community organizers that advocate in favor of indigenous community policies, social justice organizing, and environmentalist movements. 6
Background
Red Media and its parent organization, Red Nation were founded following a string of police killings in 2018 within Albuquerque, New Mexico it claimed were “brutal slayings of Indigenous people by settler vigilantes.” 7 In response to the killings, Red Media declared itself to be “a revolutionary, Indigenous-led organization” to advocate Indigenous community interests. 8
Initiatives
Red Media maintains several initiatives that promote Red Nation’s own left-of-center positions on on race, LGBT identity, and Black and Indigenous liberation from what it calls “capitalism and colonialism.” 9 10
Red Media operates an online publication and blog posting forum where it publishes media including biographical and fictional stories, poetry, photography, and creative writing. 11 12
Red Media also manages several podcasts on Indigenous community interests including Red Nation Podcast. 13 Nick Estes, host of the Red Nation Podcast, holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of New Mexico and works as a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. 14 15
In April 2021, Red Nation released a climate response agenda called the Red Deal which it claimed would be intended to replace the Green New Deal in terms of its left-of-center climate policy proposals. The Red Deal plan was announced as part of the release of The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save our Earth, a novel was authored by Red Nation’s board president Melanie Yazzie and board vice president Uahikea Maile. 16
One of Red Media’s initiatives is Free Leonard Peltier, Free All Prisoners campaign. The campaign was started to raise awareness and to release Leonard Peltier, a Native American man convicted for murdering two FBI agents in 1975. 17 18
Leadership
Melanie Yazzie is the board president of Red Media as well as the co-founder of Red Nation. Yazzie is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and an assistant professor of Native American studies and American studies at the University of New Mexico. She has co-authored the book Red Nation Rising: From Bordertown Violence to Native Liberation 19 as well as Red Media’s publication The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save our Earth. 20
Uahikea Maile is the board vice president of Red Media. He is a Kanaka Maoli scholar and activist from Maunawili, Hawaii and an assistant professor of Indigenous politics at the University of Toronto. He is co-author of The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save our Earth. 21
Finances
In 2023, Red Media reported $332,453 in revenue, $319,468 in expenses, and $378,209 in net assets. 22
References
- About Red Media. Red Media. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://redmedia.press/about-red-media/
- “Nick Estes, PhD.” Marguerite Casey Foundation. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.caseygrants.org/2020-freedom-scholars/nick-estes-phd
- “The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save our Earth.” Common Notions. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.commonnotions.org/the-red-deal
- About. The Red Nation. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://therednation.org/about/
- “The Red Nation stands with Palestinians in their struggle for decolonization and land back.” The Red Nation. October 13, 2023. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://therednation.org/the-red-nation-stands-with-palestinians-in-their-struggle-for-decolonization-and-land-back/
- “Beyond Borders Caucus.” The Red Nation. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://therednation.org/caucuses/beyond-borders-caucus/
- About Red Media. Red Media. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://redmedia.press/about-red-media/
- About Red Media. Red Media. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://redmedia.press/about-red-media/
- Political Ed. The Red Nation. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://therednation.org/political-ed/
- About. The Red Nation. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://therednation.org/about/
- About Red Media. Red Media. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://redmedia.press/about-red-media/
- Blog. Red Media. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://redmedia.press/blog/
- Red Media Podcasts. Red Media. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://redmedia.press/red-media-podcasts/
- “Nick Estes.” University of Minnesota. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/nestes
- “Nick Estes, PhD.” Marguerite Casey Foundation. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.caseygrants.org/2020-freedom-scholars/nick-estes-phd
- Goodman, Amy. “The Red Deal: Extended Interview with Red Nation Members About an Indigenous Plan to Save Our Earth.” Democracy Now! April 22, 2021. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.democracynow.org/2021/4/22/the_red_deal_extended_interview_with
- “Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier denied parole for 1975 killings of 2 FBI agents.” NPR. July 2, 2024. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.npr.org/2024/07/02/nx-s1-5026755/leonard-peltier-denied-parole
- Freedom to Read. Red Media. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://redmedia.press/freedom-to-read/
- Gilger, Lauren. “’Red Nation Rising’: How Anti-Indigenous Violence Persists In Towns That Border Tribal Lands.” KJZZ Phoenix. June 9, 2021. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.kjzz.org/2021-06-09/content-1690089-red-nation-rising-how-anti-indigenous-violence-persists-towns-border-tribal-lands
- Goodman, Amy. “The Red Deal: Extended Interview with Red Nation Members About an Indigenous Plan to Save Our Earth.” Democracy Now! April 22, 2021. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.democracynow.org/2021/4/22/the_red_deal_extended_interview_with
- Goodman, Amy. “The Red Deal: Extended Interview with Red Nation Members About an Indigenous Plan to Save Our Earth.” Democracy Now! April 22, 2021. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.democracynow.org/2021/4/22/the_red_deal_extended_interview_with
- Red Media – 2023 Federal 990 Form. ProPublica. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/853396783/202441359349313674/full