Help us fund Indigenous affairs reporting in Washington state

Your support has been critical as we started our journey to cover Indigenous affairs in Washington state.

Reporter Natasha Brennan already has shared many stories about the Tribes’ impact on our local communities, environment and politics, as well as traditions, culture and equity issues.

I hope you’ll continue to support this important work.

Early donors to this effort understood the need for this coverage:

“We support our local newspaper and their important work for our community. This donation we hope will expand coverage of indigenous communities and their issues that impact the entire state,” said one Tri-Cities donor.

“I know little of our native Americans. I’d like to understand more plus to better appreciate the skills and knowledge in their communities,” said another.

As we ask for your continued support.

Natasha joined us in June, in partnership with the community and Report for America, which is placing about 300 journalists in more than 200 newsrooms this year. Report for America pays a portion of the reporters’ salaries; local newsrooms cover the rest.

Natasha was 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.

She’s written stories for PBS Native Report and Indian Country Today. You can follow her on Twitter @natasha_marie_b. She’s a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Native American Journalists Association.

Here are just some of the things she’s done in her short time with us:

• She’s written about Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III being considered for director of the National Park Service. Sams, an enrolled member of the Cayuse and Walla Walla — Tribes part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation — will be the first enrolled Tribal member to serve as Director of the National Park Service since its creation in 1916.
• She’s driven up and down the coast, from Peace Arch Park in Blaine, for a story about the call for an investigation into the boarding school era, south to the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, for a story on the U.S. Interior Secretary and climate change on coastal tribal communities.
• Natasha’s also reporting on topics important to all Tribes in the state from fireworks sales and sports betting to a salmon and orca summit.

And, we’ve recently started a weekly newsletter featuring news affecting Native American communities in the Northwest. You can sign up online.

I hope you’ll help us continue this important work.

Your donation is 100% tax-deductible and will be made to Journalism Funding Partners, our partner nonprofit foundation. You can make a donation online at tricityherald.com/donate.

Or, you can mail a donation with checks payable to “Journalism Funding Partners” or “JFP” and include The Tri-City Herald in the memo line. Please include your email address so we can send you an acknowledgment email. Send your check to McClatchy, 1601 Alhambra Blvd, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95816.

This story was originally published October 25, 2021 at 11:06 AM.