ICT (formerly known as Indian Country Today) is a nonprofit, multimedia news platform that covers the Indigenous world, with a particular focus on American Indian, Alaska Native and First Nations communities across North America. Founded in 1981 as the weekly print newspaper Lakota Times, the publication's name changed in 1992 to Indian Country Today. After periods of ownership by the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and the National Congress of American Indians, ICT has been under the ownership of IndiJ Public Media since March 2021.

History

The Lakota Times was founded in 1981 by journalist Tim Giago (Oglala Lakota). The newspaper was based on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and operated independently of tribal government. In 1989 the newspaper's offices moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, and in 1992 Giago changed the publication's name to Indian Country Today. In 1998, Giago sold Indian Country Today to Standing Stone Media Inc., an enterprise of the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, and the newspaper's headquarters moved to Central New York. In 2011, operations moved to New York City and Indian Country Today became Indian Country Today Media Network. In 2013, the printed newspaper ceased publication, replaced by digital-first online reporting and a weekly news magazine available online and in print. On September 4, 2017, publication of new content was temporarily suspended to explore alternative business models. In October 2017, the Oneida Indian Nation donated Indian Country Today to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). In early February 28, 2018, after a hiatus during the transfer of ownership to NCAI, Indian Country Today announced its return. The site resumed regular publication, with Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock) as editor and Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk) as associate editor. In February 2020, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians awarded a grant of $1 million to Indian Country Today and became founding partner for a national news broadcast about American Indian and Alaska Native issues. In March, Katie Oyan (Oglala Lakota) was announced as the publication's first managing editor. She was on loan from the Associated Press, and upon returning to the AP in February 2021 she was succeeded by Jourdan Bennett-Begaye (Diné), who had served as Indian Country Today's Washington, D.C. editor and, later, assistant managing editor. On March 26, 2021, ownership of Indian Country Today was transferred from NCAI to an Arizona 501(c)(3) organization, IndiJ Public Media, led by Karen Michel (Ho-Chunk). In January 2022, Jourdan Bennett-Begaye assumed the role of executive editor, taking over from Mark Trahant. On June 23, 2022, Indian Country Today was renamed to ICT.

Notable stories

ICT carries original news reporting on issues of interest to Native Americans and other readers interested in Indian country.

Television and broadcasting

Awards

ICT has won numerous awards at the Native American Journalists Association. In 2014, the publication earned 17 awards, including Best Digital Publication for its 12-page digital newsletter and first place for General Excellence. In 2013, ICTMN won 11 awards at the conference.

Notable writers, editors, contributors

Some current and former Indian Country Today staff writers and contributors include: