The Daily Bulletin Archive

The American Indian Policy and Media Initiative (AIPMI), sponsored by the Communication Department, investigates how the media covers Native American issues and works with tribes to get their stories told. It is the only higher education–sponsored project of its kind in the United States, according to project director Ron Smith, professor and chair of the department.

“As an academic institution, Buffalo State brings expertise and credibility to look at issues without a vested interest,” said Smith. “Sometimes reporters can be quick to accept news from government entities without questioning it or fully understanding the tribe’s point of view. We just take an objective look at the reporting of information.”

Founded in 2005 and funded heavily by grants, the AIPMI already has many accomplishments. It has hosted a number of public forums both on campus and around the country in places like Washington, D.C., and Santa Barbara, California, on topics such as television programming, gaming and taxation, and diversity. Smith works with his department’s research and reporting classes to conduct focus groups and surveys. He and his staff also develop and place opinion pieces from American Indian writers in media outlets nationwide, and provide content analysis and coverage. For example, Smith analyzed how some reporters portrayed a 2007 vote by the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma to determine citizenship as a race and civil rights issue, without putting historical facts in context.

Most recently, Smith and Kara Briggs, the AIPMI’s associate director, co-edited Shoot the Indian: Media, Misperception and Native Truth. The book is a provocative collection of important speeches, original research, and news reports examining the intersection of tribal America, government, and the media. According to Smith, it may be added to the recommended reading list for members of the United States Congress.

As the AIPMI’s project director, Smith is responsible for building the initiative’s funding base and working on academic projects. He says his role accounts for about 10 to 15 percent of his time at Buffalo State.

“The initiative formed because it was the right place and right time to do so,” he said. “It’s a practical implementation of the commitment of both the Communication Department and Buffalo State to diversity, community involvement, and professional service.”

Briggs is a full-time staff member, and colleagues José Barreiro and Timothy Johnson (a former Buffalo State faculty member) act as senior advisers. Barreiro and Johnson are senior staff at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Smith and his team hope to create a research template for the 32 tribal colleges in the United States that enables each to examine how its local media report on issues. They also would like to assemble a national group of key Native American media leaders who are qualified to discuss issues.

With processing support from the Buffalo State College Research Foundation, the Taft Organization recently awarded the AIPMI a $30,000 grant that will help the initiative develop educational programming for the National Museum of the American Indian. Additionally, members of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications cited the AIPMI as a key strength of the Communication Department during a recent visit to campus—which Smith said will go a long way in helping the department earn accreditation.

“There is something of national significance beginning with this initiative,” he said. “This can put Buffalo State ‘on the map’ in a new way.”