Yakama Nation Review and Confederated Umatilla Journal also win big with 11 awards combined
CRITFC’s Public Information Specialist Jill-Marie Gavin placed second for Best Feature Photo with this photo she snapped during the 2024 Delta Park Pow Wow. ▣ J Gavin/CRITFC
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) entered the annual media award contest for Indigenous news services and journalists its second time this year. According to the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA), the annual competition “recognizes excellence in reporting by Indigenous and non-indigenous journalists across Turtle Island.”
CRITFC brought home five awards in this year’s contest, besting its awards from last year when the CRITFC Public Information Officer Jill-Marie Gavin won second place for Best Feature Photo and third place for Best Multimedia .This year, Gavin won four awards and CRITFC Communications Director Jeremy FiveCrows (Nez Perce) won his first IJA award.
Jeremy FiveCrows (Nez Perce) won his first Indigenous Journalist Association Media Award this year for his columns about fish, sovereignty and climate for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC). FiveCrows is the Communications Director for CRITFC.
FiveCrows placed third for Best Column in Division I (circulation below 5,000). His award entry was for his column Native American Heritage Month: Celebrating Resilience, Sovereignty, and Democracy.
He has been working at CRITFC since 1998 where he started as the webmaster, writer, and graphic designer.. FiveCrows wears a second hat as editor-in-chief of CRITFC’s growing news service.
“Native culture is built on storytelling,” said FiveCrows. “Being able to share in our own words, through our own worldviews, and stories that have meaning to us is not just a part of our traditions, it’s good journalism. I am so impressed of all this year’s awardees and their work furthering the representation, understanding, and awareness of Native people and issues both to our own communities as well as the wider public. I am also especially proud of the award recipients from CRITFC and our member tribes for their incredible work sharing Columbia Plateau cultures, issues, work, and celebrations that make our region special.”
Public Information Specialist Jill-Marie Gavin and Public Affairs Specialist Andrea Tulee contribute to the online news outlet. CRITFC’s website critfc.org posts news, opinion and feature articles. Their coverage includes stories, photos and videos about tribal communities living and fishing along the Columbia River, the Portland metropolitan area and reservations of the four member tribes Yakama Nation (Yakama), Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and the Nez Perce Tribe.
Jill-Marie Gavin, Cayuse, lives on and reports from CRITFC from the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Gavin took second and third place for Best News Story in Division I. Her story Historic Celilo Falls Photo Collection Gifted to CRITFC took second place in the category and told the story of the Matheny Family gifting CRITFC with a 73 year-old photo collection of the Celilo Falls area taken before the falls were inundated in 1957. She also placed third in the category for her story Groundbreaking Marks Start of Major Tribal Fishing Access Site Improvement about long awaited improvements getting underway at in-lieu and treaty fishing access sites along the Columbia River.
Gavin placed third for Best Feature Photo with her photo “Delta Park Elder,” featured at the top of this article. CRITFC also shares photos of pow wows and community celebrations as part of their coverage of the region.
Gavin won her second multimedia award when she placed second in the Best Video category for Mission Memorial Horse Parade. Narrated by Linda Jones (CTUIR), the video chronicles two consecutive years of the annual parade to celebrate veterans and tradition.
Yakama Nation Review takes home 6 awards
Ronnie Washines is the Editor of the Yakama Nation Review, the bi-monthly newspaper for the Yakama Nation.
The Yakama Nation Review had a strong showing in Division I with six total awards across multiple categories and staff members. Yakama Nation Review was the biggest winner the four Columbia River tribes media outlets.
Carol Craig earned second place for Best Feature Story with “Many firsts for family honored” and took third place for Best News Story with “Wishram homes powered by sun.”
Carol Craig earned second place for Best Feature Story with “Many firsts for family honored” and took third place for Best News Story with “Wishram homes powered by sun.”
Ronnie Washines placed third for Best Column with “Yakama almost special general council” and earned second place for Best News Story with “Earth turned to improve fishing site.”
Ryan Craig brought home two awards, taking second place for Best Feature Story with “Reservation to reservation run challenges dedication runner” and third place for Best Sports Story with “Bilingual basketball camp weaves Ichishkiin and sports.”
Ryan Craig (Yakama) brought home two awards this year for his sports coverage.
“It’s a humble honor to have the staff recognized for their work,” Washines said. “Carol and Ryan are continually striving to be the responsible and capable journalists that are the best to be the ones to report the stories of the Yakama people.”
As a lifetime Indigenous Journalists Association member since the inception of the Native American Press Association in 1984, Washines noted that IJA “rightly grasps a mission to have Indigenous journalists write the factual, sensitive-driven stories of people and land and to have our work recognized for following that creed is highly appreciated.” He added that since the first NAPA conference at Kah-Nee-Tah, the yearly conferences have always been “a source of interaction, networking and motivation to be able to gather with Indigenous journalists who love their work.”
Division II winner Confederated Umatilla Journal and CTUIR claim multiple honors
CTUIR Communications AV Support Specialist Lee Gavin (Cayuse) won second place for best news photo in the Professional Division II – Print/Online. He also took second place in the division’s best multimedia category with a video story about the Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon.
The Confederated Umatilla Journal and CTUIR Communications Department combined to win five IJA awards in Professional Division II (circulation between 5,000 to 10,000).
The CUJ earned third place for general excellence in Division II Print/Online and also won third place for best page layout. Reporter Chris Aadland took second place for best news story with his piece about the derailed CTUIR solar energy development.
Confederated Umatilla Journal reporter, Chris Aadland ( Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indian), took second place in the division’s best news story contest with his story about a derailed CTUIR solar energy development.
“I’m incredibly proud of the CUJ and Communications team for their talent and commitment to telling important stories,” said Communications Director and CUJ Publisher Kaeleen McGuire.
Communications AV Support Specialist Lee Gavin won second place for best news photo for his image of a spring Chinook smolt and also earned second place in the multimedia category with his video story about the Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon.
“Winning these awards really solidifies my passion for photography and videography,” Gavin said. “When I started here three years ago, I never would have thought my love to create would become a facet in my career.”
Indigenous journalism community gathers in Albuquerque
Representatives from CTUIR, CRITFC, and Yakama Nation Review all plan to send staff members to attend the August Indigenous Journalists Association conference, demonstrating the growing strength of tribal media in the Pacific Northwest. The IJA announced Albuquerque as the host city for the 2025 Indigenous Media Conference, continuing the organization’s mission to support and recognize excellence in Indigenous journalism across Indian Country.