May is always a special edition because it’s our birthday, sort of, we are officially in our 26th year of consecutive publication.

This is no easy task considering everything that has happened and continues to happen in newsrooms around the country.

When I took on the role of editor, I knew it would be a tough job, but a worthwhile one and I wasn’t wrong.

Since September, I have also been working as a sessional at the First Nation’s University of Canada where I was given the opportunity to teach a print and online journalism class for the Indigenous Communication Arts (INCA) program. It has been a steep learning curve juggling two very heavy roles.

What has made teaching feel less like work is being able to provide students with an opportunity to receive their first byline.

This semester, I asked the students what they wanted to produce  and they said an Arts and Lifestyles section. In this edition we will include three student features.

The INCA 291 class was diverse and included Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The one thing they all had in common was a desire to tell Indigenous stories from an Indigenous perspective. Working with young people reminds me of when I first started out in the news business.

The enthusiasm from the students as they see their stories unfold is inspiring even for someone like me who has been in the business for more than two decades.

One of the best parts of this job thus far has been working with young writers.

In May, I will be working with another INCA intern on a different part of the news business and that is community outreach. The goal is to touch base with most if not all Indigenous and Mètis communities in the province as well as create fun interactive content for our social media platforms.

In September, an intern from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism will be joining the paper for 12 weeks. 

I sit here and think about the young writers interested in telling Indigenous stories and it fills me with pride. It is so very important to keep telling Indigenous stories whether it’s for broadcast, film, print or radio.

Former INCA student Connie Walker from the Okanese First Nation is proving there is an interest in Indigenous history and Indigenous stories. When I heard she won a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award for her podcast Surviving St. Michaels I shed tears of happiness. She has proven anything is possible and our stories need to be told. 

Congratulations Connie and to her home community from all of us at Eagle Feather News.