Charly Edsitty
The UNITY News Online

Friday night’s Native American Journalist Association banquet was all about community.

Instead of hosting a lavish party at a five star hotel, NAJA opted for a simple event with good food and music surrounded by local Native Americans Friday night.

NAJA members packed into a tiny auditorium at Chicago’s American Indian Center.  The transformed Masonic temple still has subtle hints of what it used to be, but now welcomes an eclectic community of Native Americans.

Planning for this year’s banquet started last Aug. 1, explained Ron Evans, office manager for NAJA.  Evans was a part of  a three-member committee that took on the challenge.

Once plans for the Chicago location were finalized, the search for a location began.

“We thought it would be great to showcase (the center), it’s a great little community,” Evans said. “We wanted to do something closer to the community, closer to the heart.”

The building, originally built in 1926, spreads over an eighth of a block the Uptown Square Historic District and once served as a nuclear fallout shelter during the Cold War.  It was purchased by AIC in 1967 and is the only Indian center in the state of Illinois.

Guests dined on traditional cuisine, listened to the rhythmic beat of a drumming performance and came together celebrate the journalistic accomplishments of fellow members.

The location was suggested by member Minnie Two Shoes, who has been a member of NAJA since its start 24 years ago. She watched the transformation of the center from the very beginning and has a personal connection with the site.

“I learned how to pow wow (dance) in that auditorium,” said Two Shoes of the room where guests sat during the two-hour event.

Two Shoes explained that the center is the one of the oldest and largest Indian centers in the United States and was pleased to see money going from the event helping support the center and their need for renovations.

Paul DeMain, past president of both NAJA and UNITY, attended the event and explained that the decision to move the location farther away from the downtown area is symbolic and shows that NAJA isn’t hesitant to mingle with the locals.

“It was a good chance to have a meal together,” DeMain said. “Coming here is good for the people of the community. “ 

By Cindy Von Quednow
The UNITY News Online

Does the ideal newsroom exist? It does once every four years in a selected city in the United States.

It includes hungry reporters and photographers, video editors, producers and camera people for print, web, radio and TV from all over the nation. You name it, we’ve got it. The UNITY News, that is our name, convergence and diversity is our game.

But we’re forgetting the final element to this newsroom of the future: mentors, also known as overseers, helpers, guides and masters of a craft who have taken time away from their personal and professional lives to help aspiring journalists hone their skills and their futures.

It was our mentors’ jobs to come up with newsworthy story ideas in the “Windy City”, assign stories, shape stories and edit the final product.

“I wanted to give back to the next generation of mentors,” said Tracy Jan, a reporter for the Boston Globe and a mentor in the print track.

“I know that some of my reporters this week were probably frustrated at times… I’m sure they thought I was a pain, but I‘m hoping that they got something out of it.”

Editorship requires management and patience. “She’s been tough but she’s never been mean,” said Virginia Torres, a student who is currently Jan’s mentee in the UNITY newsroom. “If anything [Jan's] been really patient and helpful.”

Those characteristics are required in any field of journalism, and it’s easier to acquire them when you have someone guiding your steps.

“Jerome’s been one of the best mentors I’ve ever had, he’s been really hospitable,” said Martha Flores, a radio student working with mentor, Jerome Vaughn. “He goes beyond the extra mile to help students and I’m pretty sure that if he wasn’t a mentor, he’d still be helping me.”

During this unique experience I have met journalists with all kinds of backgrounds and goals. The fact that we have had the privilege to be mentored by seasoned professionals who have been through the same grinder and are now working for prestigious organizations is impressive.

Experience and practice is nice and all, but reassurance, guidance and just a simple pat on the back or a kick in the tush can go a long way.

This is a collective “thank you” to our mentors, for guiding us through this tough but worthwhile endeavor of media convergence. Your diverse backgrounds, stories and lives completed our utopian newsroom, and I hope that the four organizations that come together once every four years will continue working hard to make the eclectic newsroom in the McCormick center a reality.

And who knows, maybe we’ll see you in four years!

The UNITY 2008 student project has come to a close. We want to thank all of the dedicated students, mentors and staff of UNITY and the alliance organizations for your support and encouragement!