I was fired as media director of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. It started when I wrote an opinion and was ordered to remove it. It ended when I reported allegations made by a former employee against tribal administration — allegations I did not make. I reported them. Within an hour of the tribal administrator learning the story was set to run, I was gone. They called it a reorganization.

I have covered this community for more than two decades. I know what harm looks like. A reporter doing his job is not it.

Censorship happens in Indigenous communities too. Some leaders smile like politicians and act only for themselves. The people deserve better.

I am standing up for Indigenous press freedom, defending the constitutional rights of UKB members, and continuing to report while unemployed and raising a family.

A year later I am still trying to recover. Your support goes toward living expenses and keeping this work and my family alive. The next generation of Keetoowah Cherokee people is watching what we do right now about whether truth has a place in this community.

It does.