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PAGE A-12 THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2011
The Native voice
National Native News radio program offers cross-cultural awareness, indigenous perspective
BY ISAIAH MONTOYA
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
ALBUQUERQUE - National
Native News, hosted by Antonia
Gonzales, Dinf, is one of Koahnic
Broadcast Corporation's four
nationally syndicated radio
programs and it provides public
radio listeners with a regular,
timely and balanced source of news
about Native issues.
The program covers the social,
economic and cultural issues that
affect many communities, and
attempts to help radio listeners
understand the interconnectedness
between Native people and their
non-Native neighbors.
Fittingly, Gonzales is immensely
interested in such issues. She
encourages youth and Natives
to pursue a career in broadcast
journalism.
Gonzales produces the daily,
five-minute program, gathering
and writing news and using news
stringers across the nation and
world. National Native News is
distributed by Native Voice One
and is produced in Albuquerque.
The program is linked to the Public
Radio Satellite System at 1 p.m.
(ET).
Gonzales was born On the White
Mountain Apache Reservation of
Arizona.
"That happened because it was
the nearest Indian Health Service
hospital," she said.
She was actually from and lived
in Lakeside, Adz. When she was
10 years old her family moved
to Gallup. In high school she
played trumpet for the Gallup High
Bengals band.
She was not into journalism at
the time.
Finding a mentor
Then she applied for scholarships
and was accepted into the
University of New Mexico.
"But I 'didn't know what I
wanted to do, so I started taking
communication classes," she said.
"I liked talking to people and
hearing their stories."
Gonzales interned for three
Albuquerque television stations,
channels 4, 7 and 13. At channel 4
she met one of her main mentors
in Conroy Chino, Acoma.
"He was an investigative reporter
so he really helped show me the TV
way" she said.
He also introduced her to the
Native American Journalists
Association, for which she is
currently finishing up her last term
as board member.
"I didn't know about NAJA
when I was in college until I was
a senior," she said, "but I credit
NAJA for getting me a career in
broadcasting.
"After a weeklong student
project, where professional Native
journalists worked with us hands
on, by the end of the camp I had
tapes, which helped me get my first
job in Carlsbad," she said.
The small Carlsbad TV station
was, according to Gonzales, "The
best experience I ever had. I was a
one-woman band reporter. I had to
find my own stories, shoot stories,
conduct interviews, write scripts
and send thena to the producer."
On the other hand, she was apart
from her husband of only a year.
"It was hard," she says. "I was
away from my family, but in the
end, being a one-woman reporter
was invaluable and I wouldn't
trade it for the world."
Gonzales is still a one-woman
reporter of sorts as she produces
and anchors National NAtive News.
But she still felt she needed a
change.
"I was driving back and forth
every weekend from Carlsbad to
Albuquerque for the job, which
I did for a year," she said, "I felt
though my marriage was more
important. Also, I missed my
biggest fan - my mom."
She moved to Albuquerque and
had her first child. Then she took
a year off.
Antonia Gonzales
Anchor position
Soon, she had the opportunity to
work at Native America Calling
as a part-time associate producer.
Next, Gonzales was backing up the
anchor of National Native News
and then 'started filing stories.
Eventually she moved into the
anchor position.
"I was always interested in Native
American issues but growing up
I think a lot of stuff we saw was
always negative," she said. "One
of the national news organizations
did a story in Gallup called 'Drunk
Town USA.'
"A lot of racism was involved, so
I was programmed to think Indian
was a dirty word," she said. "I do
not think that today. Our mission
at National Native News is to get
Native voices to the world and to
bring an indigenous perspective
through all of our stories."
National Native News is a
stringer-based program, acquiring
news from 50 journalists across
the country.
"There are people who
unbelievably do not even know
Native people are still alive today,"
remarked Gonzales. "So National
Native News gets our issues out
there and lets people know what's
going on in Indian country."
According to Nola Daves Moses,
National Native News anchor Antonla Gonzales interviews actor Wes Studi at the 2010 Roswell UFO Festival
in Roswell, N.M. Studi was the Grand Martian. (Courtesy photo - National Native News)
national station and audience
relations representative for Native
Voice One, "National Native News
is broadcast on 277 radio stations
across the U.S. and Canada, and
online across the world. Less than
40 of the stations are tribal and the
rest are public."
"We are all connected with our
issues in a way," Gonzales said.
"We can identify with each other.
Aboriginals and Natives from
across the world say they need
economic development, and some
fear the destruction of their lands."
Struggles continue
Recently in Canada, First
Nations women lost their Indian
status if they married a non-First
Nations man, so the government
is amending it to get the status
back to the women. In Australia
the Aborigines do not have federal
recognition status.
"They are still fighting with land
rights," Gonzales said. "They do
not have the relationship with their
government that we do. We have
sovereign Indian nations here, but
in Australia the Aborigines have no
such status."
In 2010 Gonzales received a
phone call from an Australian
listener of National Native News
who invited her to come to World
Press Freedom Day in Brisbane. At
the event she and other journalists
discussed the indigenous press.
"I was the only American Indian"
says Gonzales. "The goal was
to actfieve accurate reporting for
indigenous people of Australia and
elsewhere. There have been recent
instances in Australian news where
they still use N-word to describe
the Aborigines."
Gonzales is now affiliated with
Indigenous Voice, which is a
project run.by the University of
Queensland School of Journalism
"and Communication to develop
cross-cultural awareness.
Some students in the project
have already produced news that
has been aired on National Native
News.
"I encourage students into
broadcasting and journaliSm as
a whole because the lmmber of
minority journalists is decreasing,"
Gonzales said. "If aNavajo student
wants to be journalist, I say do it,Y.
because we need to be the people
who tell our stories. It is really
and it is a lot of fun.'i
important
Information: www.nativenews.
net.