The Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) serves as a collective group for Native Americans. Native Americans are a minority in the field of journalism and the site serves as a sort of gathering place. They can join and bounce ideas off of each other related to their culture as well as promoting job opportunities.
NAJA is a huge networking site to recognize and promote Native cultures in journalism and in the workplace. The representation of Native American journalists is underrepresented and so the NAJA is working towards Native Americans being shown in mainstream media.
It extends not only to college students in the field, but even high school students aspiring to enter the field of journalism in any way. They focus on encouraging Native American students to look into the field, and realize how broad it is, and how open it is for change.
How much they can bring to a newsroom or radio broadcast with their history and culture. They don’t want Native American high school students to think that journalism fields are primarily white. They want them to realize that Native Americans do have a place in the media. A growing one, that NAJA is willing to continue to cultivate.
They also hold conferences and host speakers to increase notice in Native American affairs, as well as giving scholarships to help Natives get through college. They offer several opportunities and resources to the advancement of Natives.
This site is an important tool because it allows for the continued press for representation of Native American media students. The discrepancy of hiring and representation of Native events is significantly one sided. NAJA focuses on righting this imbalance.
It also focuses on eliminating stereotypes that permeate the newspaper. NAJA don’t want focus to just be on local news, but regional and even national news relating to Native Americans. They include all areas of media, including radio and television.
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