CPB has issued a two-year $500,000 grant to IndiJ Public Media to help expand the company’s programming.
A nonprofit news organization, IndiJ Public Media owns ICT, formerly known as Indian Country Today. The grant will support ICT Newscast with Aliyah Chavez, which airs daily on 40 public television stations nationwide, in hiring two full-time producers and a marketing manager.
ICT Newscast with Aliyah Chavez is carried by the First Nations Experience network, based in San Bernardino, Calif., and is distributed by National Indigenous Television in Australia. It also reaches parts of Canada. Arizona PBS is ICT Newscast’s partner and presenting station.
Chavez became the program’s anchor last year. She joined ICT as a reporter and producer in 2019. She was also co-host of Break It Down, a public affairs and culture segment produced by Arizona PBS.
“ICT is grateful for the support from CPB,” said Shirley Sneve, ICT’s VP of broadcasting, in a news release. “We carry the legacy of Indian Country Today forward to public broadcasting audiences and Indigenous communities. As a nonprofit digital and broadcast journalism organization, we tell stories through the lens of our ancestors.” (Sneve is a member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and is of Sicangu Lakota descent, according to the release.)
“ICT is a go-to source of trusted news and information by, for and about Native Americans,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB’s SVP of radio, journalism and CSG services. “CPB is proud to support this vital news organization, which provides a deep understanding of history and culture that adds important context to their reporting.”