DENTON (UNT), Texas — This spring, students from the University of North Texas’ Mayborn School of Journalism engaged in a transformative reporting project in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Situated within the Muscogee Nation, Okmulgee served as a real-world setting for UNT students to hone their journalistic skills, focusing on Indigenous communities.
Under the guidance of journalism faculty members Tracy Everbach and Hoda Emam, participants in the newly established Indigenous Communities Reporting course spent a week on-site. During this period, they crafted multimedia stories emphasizing Indigenous perspectives and experiences, covering topics ranging from cultural practices to social reintegration initiatives.
The development of the course was inspired in part by the 2023 documentary ‘Bad Press,’ which highlights the Muscogee Nation’s efforts to restore press freedoms. With Emam joining the faculty, she and Everbach structured the course to emphasize ethical and culturally sensitive reporting.
“We thought, what better way to teach journalism than by taking students to a real community with real stories,” stated Everbach. “And not just sending them out, but guiding them through the process in person.”
The coursework began with eight weeks of intensive preparation, involving discussions on David Grann’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ Zoom meetings with tribal leaders, and input from guest speakers. Central to the curriculum was learning about stereotypes and building trust within the community.
UNT Junior Lauren Sicking delved into the rodeo legacy of the Roberts family. Her work revealed deep familial ties and the community’s impact through generations of engagement with the rodeo.
“At first, I thought I was just doing a story about cowboys,” Sicking remarked. “But as I interviewed Ryan Roberts, I realized this was a story about his family and the legacy they built in the rodeo world.”
Similarly, UNT student Tabitha Hidalgo focused on the Muscogee Nation’s reintegration center, detailing efforts to assist formerly incarcerated individuals as they reintegrate into society.
Upon return, students transformed their findings into video documentaries, audio features, photo essays, and long-form articles. Their work will be showcased on a newly developed website, inspired by the ‘Voces de la Comunidad’ platform, renowned for illustrating Texas-Mexico border stories. This initiative aims to perpetuate UNT’s dedication to immersive and contextual reporting, providing greater visibility to Indigenous viewpoints.
Lecturer Emam commended the experiential aspect of the program, noting, “There are important stories everywhere, and we’re training the next generation of journalists to tell them — thoughtfully, courageously, and with heart.”
Students left Oklahoma with enriched perspectives and a fervent commitment to capturing authentic narratives. As Sicking concluded, “This was the best experience of my college career. I made connections I’ll continue to carry with me, and I learned what journalism is really about — listening, learning, and honoring someone’s story.”