At the Lakota Media Summit, hosted by advocacy group Thunder Valley CDC, youth and professionals are taking the moment to make connections and meaningfully learn more about local culture.
For Tatewin Means, executive director of Thunder Valley, the inclusion of the next generation is a bright sign of what’s to come for the conference.
“Having a youth-specific track is really adding a new dimension and gives a little bit more depth to the conference," Means said. "It’s nice to be able to provide a lot of different opportunities for our youth.”
But ultimately, this is also an opportunity for professional development.
“One of the original intentions of the Media Summit was specifically to build those relationships with our non-indigenous allies in media," Means said. "Growing up in the Rapid City area, in South Dakota, we understand how harmful deficit narratives and invisibility of the positive aspects of our community – how harmful that can be to our communities.”
A panelist from the Rapid City Journal and South Dakota Public Broadcasting journalists attended the event. Means said she’s disappointed more regional media didn’t attend.
“It’s so important for our local media to want to be a part of the change," Means said. "It’s disappointing that after a second year of inviting local stations - like KOTA and KEVN - we just don’t get a response from them about attending. They may say we’ll provide you opportunities to advertise the summit, but when it comes time to actually learn and put ourselves in an uncomfortable situation – that’s where I think we have some room to grow.”
Means says Thunder Valley will continue to extend invitations to media outlets across South Dakota. If you or your organization is interested in attending the next summit, you’re encouraged to get in touch with Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation.