Page 6 - July 2002 • Southern California Gaming Guide

THE SAN DIEGO GAMING GUIDE
Native American Journalists TAssociation Convenes in San Diego
he Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) held its annual convention in San Diego from June 19-22 with conferences, seminars, awards and celebrations. To help journalists give insight and context to
stories on Native American issues, NAJA and the Foundation for American Communications sponsored the workshop, “Covering Native America: Insights into Indian Country.” Coverage of Native American issues is virtually nonexistent in some markets. And much of this coverage only chronicles festival and holiday events. Few stories give readers or viewers much depth and historical perspective. Yet some of the most complex issues a reporter will cover, such as sovereignty, involve Native American issues. Speakers included: Dr. Manley Begay, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; and Anthony Pico, former tribal chairman of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians.
Also, the McClatchy Co. and Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education sponsored a media-convergence project to cross-train students to prepare stories simultaneously for newspapers, broadcast and the Web. Participants learned to write, report, shoot and edit video and produce stories for print, broadcast and the web. This workshop offered storytelling strategies and technical training in using multimedia platforms to deliver the news.
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, NAJA has a unique and challenging mission. Its primary goal is to improve communications among Native people and between Native Americans and the general public. The work of the association addresses the entire spectrum of Native com- munications and encompasses a wide range of issues and concerns affecting the survival and the development of the Native media and Native communications.
The Gaming Guide is a member of the Native American Journalists Association.
“Windtalkers” Film Tells Story
of Navajo Code Talkers
Moviegoers can get a history lesson with the ctional account of the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II by creating a code based on their native language. Released on June 14th, the lm’s director, John Woo said he hoped the lm would bring global attention to the key role the Navajo had in winning that war.
The code was developed in six-seven months by 29 Navajo men. Once the code was created, more than 300 Navajos were recruited to join and learn the code from the original 29. They memorized the code and were shipped out to the Paci c where they provided communication for every major assault against Japan. The code was the only one never broken by the Japanese.
In 2001, President George Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to the ve surviving members of the original
29 code talkers.
The lm features panoramas of the Navajo Nation plus
Salteaux actor Adam Beach, and Navajo actor Roger Willie, an artist and former paratrooper. Albert Smith, a Code Talker who served as an advisor to the director, has a cameo role. Hollywood actors Nicholas Cage and Christian Slater also star. The lm’s storyline was based on interviews with some of the original 29 Code Talkers.
Tribes in the News
Page 6
July 2002