Tri-Cities adds community-funded reporter to cover indigenous communities. Here’s how to help

The Tri-City Herald, along with sister papers in Tacoma, Olympia and Bellingham, is adding a reporter to cover indigenous communities in Washington state.

Natasha Brennan starts June 1. Her coverage will focus on tribes in the state of Washington, their impact in our local communities, environment, politics and more.

Natasha said she became inspired to specialize in writing about Native American culture and issues as a child visiting her father’s family on the Cahuilla Reservation in southern California.

Natasha is joining our regional staff in partnership with Report for America, which is placing about 300 journalists in more than 200 newsrooms this year and simultaneously working with those newsrooms to develop their philanthropy efforts. RFA pays a portion of the reporters’ salaries and local newsrooms cover the rest.

That’s where we need your help. Through community fundraising, we need to raise money to support her position. So we’re launching our spring fundraiser at TriCityHerald.com/donate. Donations are tax-deductible through Journalism Funding Partners.

Your donations directly support this position in an effort to expand journalism resources in our region.

Natasha comes to Washington state after graduating with her master’s degree from the University of Southern California, Annenberg. She’s written stories for PBS Native Report and Indian Country Today. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/natasha_marie_b. She’s a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Native American Journalists Association.

“I am very excited to join the McClatchy family at The News Tribune in partnership with The Olympian, The Bellingham Herald and The Tri-City Herald,” Natasha said.

“To cover Washington’s vibrant Indigenous community is an incredibly important task I’m honored to be chosen for. I’m ready to get to know Washington’s tribes and Indigenous people, and help the state of Washington get to know them better, too.”

While there are thousands of examples of why this coverage is important to our community, former Senator Rick Santorum’s viral comments this week highlight the growing need for our communities to better understand our Native American communities.

If you can, please support these reporting positions through our spring donation campaign as we look to add more journalism resources to better serve our community.

This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 3:19 PM.