Allison Herrera, Indigenous Affairs Journalist and author of Tribal Justice: The Struggle for Black Rights on Native Land

Transcript

Allison Herrera: I have a really non-traditional path to journalism, in that I didn't go to journalism school, I decided that I wanted to be a reporter, because I got my start at KFAI. I really wanted to explore indigenous history in the state, particularly in the Twin Cities. I didn't really hear a lot of that on any other station, and so I wanted to pioneer that. I thought that was really important.

Cole Premo (host): Boozhoo, hello. Welcome to Native lights, where indigenous voices shine. I'm your host, Cole Premo.

Leah Lemm (host): And I'm your other host. Leah Lemm. Thank you for joining us. Native lights is more than a podcast and radio show, at its core, it's a place for native folks to tell their stories. Each and every week, we have captivating conversations with great guests from a bunch of different backgrounds, musicians, artists, doctors, community leaders, healthcare advocates, you name it. We have a great mixture of passions, and we talk to them about their gifts and how they share those gifts with their community. And it all centers around the big point of purpose in our lives. I can't wait to continue amplifying Native Voices today. Cole, how are you doing?

Cole Premo: Doing great, excellent. It's been a minute since we've recorded a session here, so I'm excited to get back into it, ready to go. How are you doing?

Leah Lemm: I'm great, as you will notice, because you can see me. Yeah, I'm in a redone--how about that?--office space? Yeah, I spent many hours painting and moving furniture. I got a new rug, just whole new setup. You know, when you actually put art up on the walls, it feels really good. There's art up on the walls. So I feel very accomplished. And yes, it is in the style of Lord of the Rings. Gandalf inspired. I'm looking at Lord of the Rings art right in front of me. I painted a Lonely Mountain that's up on the wall. I got a Frodo Funko Pop, is that what that is? And there's a bunch of stuff around. Just trust me, I have a dragon hook.

Cole Premo: Nice!

Leah Lemm: They're on the wall. There are a lot of little touches that that remind me of Middle Earth whenever I look around.

Cole Premo: Living the dream.

Leah Lemm: I said, why not?

Cole Premo: Glad you finally made it happen. You're living it. I like it. Looks great, awesome. Well, how about let's get at it, huh?

Leah Lemm: All right, right into it. Let's get going. Well, I'm really excited today we're talking with Alison Herrera. Allison is an expert Indigenous Affairs journalist. Her indigenous ties are from her Xolon Salinan tribal heritage, and her family's village is in the Toro Creek area of the Central California coast. She's currently a reporter with APM reports, and I have the opportunity to work with her from time to time, and she splits her time between Oklahoma and Minneapolis. She has a really long bio, so I'll let her take care of that when we get to it. Allison is here with us now, Boozhoo, Allison.

Allison Herrera: Hello, Leah. My name is Allison Herrera. My mother's name is Margaret Lunt or Margaret Herrera. My grandmother was Anna Herrera, and she was born in Templeton, California, and then most of her family lived in the Toro Creek area between Atascadero and Morro Bay in California. And I'm really happy to be here. So thank you so much.

Leah Lemm: Awesome. Thank you, Allison. We always like to ask, how are you? How's the family?

Allison Herrera: My family's doing pretty good. I mean, my daughter right now is at work. This is her final year of high school, so she's a senior at Roosevelt, and she is currently just deciding where she wants to go to college. And so that's a reallybig deal. That's a really big transition in her life, a transition in our relationship, and a transition in you know, how I think of myself as a mother and a caretaker, and my relationship with my daughter. My mom lives in Redding, California, and she is in her mid 70s. The last I spoke with her, I sent her some coffee and a Joan Baez book of poetry, very excited to get. I have two sisters and I have a brother, and they're all younger than myself, and they do various different things, and I have two really funny and very cute nephews that live in Seattle.

Leah Lemm: Thank you. And sometimes we like to start off our conversations a little light, a little lighter. Is there's anything you're concentrating on or thinking about these days or geeking out perhaps about anything?

Allison Herrera: You know, I really love Oklahoma indigenous history, and I am reading this book. It's called the Ghosts of Crook County. My friend Russell Cobb, who is ahistorian and a journalist, wrote this book about this man named Charles Page, who is the founder of this small town in Tulsa County, right outside of Tulsa and the Muskogee nation called Sand Springs, and he ran a home for widows and orphans that he started at the turn of the 20th century. He was a Pinkerton agent detective, and then he moved to Oklahoma during the old boom and made his fortune discovering oil on from and then the book is about his relationship with this woman named Minnie Atkins, which was this Muskogee woman, and how he forced her to lie and say that she had a son named Tommy Atkins. So the the whole book kind of revolves around, rather this son of hers really existed, and the tale of that in, like, his scheming to get part of that allotment land so. Well, it sounds like you can get immersed in the universe of the time with writing like that. He's a really colorful writer, and where one reader or writer might think like, oh, we didn't need to include this stuff about the Kerr glass factory, he sees everything as like really important, and puts it into the book.

Leah Lemm: All right, so let's take a journey through your bio. Talk about some of your experiences.

Allison Herrera: I have a really non-traditional path to journalism in that I I didn't go to journalism school. I decided that I wanted to be a reporter, because I got my start at KFAI, which is the community radio station in Minneapolis, and I was really drawn to just the eclectic mix of music and personalities, however exhausting they may be there at KFAI, I mean, really a great station and the news department I worked in was Ann Alquist, and she really just taught me how to cut tape and do interviews and voice my script. And so I just was really drawn to it, and I just decided I'd like to give it a try. And so I started volunteering in the newsroom where I covered all kinds of things, like elections, school board meetings, movies, all kinds of things. And then I started working for Ampers, actually, you know, for the Association of Minnesota Public and educational radio stations. I worked in MN 90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds. I worked for Twin Cities Public Television, and I worked for TPT and the show called Minnesota Original as their like communications, like our community outreach person. My passion is really for journalism and radio, and the work that I did at MN 90 was just really interesting. Like to have to be able to condense what could have been a five to 10 minute piece about Minnesota history into 75 seconds. I worked on Minnesota Native News, also for Ampers. I think it was like in its first iteration of that. And then, you know, when the Legacy Amendment passed, there was a lot of funding to do projects that revolved around Minnesota history and culture. And, you know, at KFAI, I really wanted to explore indigenous history in the state and particularly in the Twin Cities. I didn't really hear a lot of that on any other station, and so I really wanted to, I really wanted to pioneer that I thought that was really important. I worked for the Uptake covering the Minnesota State Capitol, which was also fun and exhausting and but you know, for the most part, like really exciting to be stationed at the Capitol withall these other reporters, you know, from WCCO to NPR to the Star Tribune, to all these places, and like, get to be in the scrum, and like, live stream Governor Mark Dayton's press conferences, and like, scurry around and try to get interviews and stuff. And so I was the editor for the Twin Cities Daily Planet for a hot minute before I started going down to Oklahoma, which is where I really feel like my reporting career really kicked off, and that was in 2015 I got this opportunity through Association for Independents in Radio or AIR to do this project called Local. What they did was they paired reporters with a radio station, and it was a national project to do a combination of reporting, community engagement and to just do something that the station had really wanted to do but never had the funds or the chance to do. And so I remember. Were, I wanted to do a project with boys for treble radio, but the organizers of air was like, there's this station in Oklahoma, this NPR station in Oklahoma that really wants to do more reporting on Native communities, because Oklahoma has 39 tribes, 38 federally recognized tribes, and they don't have somebody to do that, and you've been doing that here in Minnesota. And so I went down there, and I got to work with Sterling Harjo. He had his own production company, and we made a series of short documentary films together about different people and subjects in Oklahoma. And I was just at the station, and I got to meet all of these people and go to all these places, and received this really warm welcome down in Oklahoma, covering everything from Free Press in indigenous media to water rights in southeast Oklahoma, just Meeting really incredible people. And I never thought I would want to move down to Oklahoma, but I think the moment I stepped off the plane the next day, when I was walking around, I just was like, Oh, this place, this feels like home, like I really enjoyed being there. And then when my nine month project ended, I I was so sad I don't want to stop coming here, and I just didn't.

Cole Premo: You're listening to native lights, where indigenous voices shine. Native lights isproduced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Today we're speaking with Allison Herrera. Allison is a journalist with indigenous ties to the Holon Salinantribe. Her family's village is in the Toro Creek area of the Central California coast, and she is currently a reporter with AMP Reports.

Leah Lemm: How do you describe native journalism, the role of native journalism, or reporting on Native communities in the United States now, how do you view that?

Allison Herrera: It's a lot about listening and it's a lot about relationships. If you really want to tell a good story, if you really want to have people that trust you, or have people that want to talk to you, I think how media has framed Indigenous stories in the past has been very harmful and very detrimental. And I'm not saying that like it's all better now. It's an ongoing conversation, and I think it's also one that sometimes doesn't fit within the confines of what we think is like, you know, the institution of journalism, which is a white institution. It's about carving our own space in that especially now, because we are in the midst of this really big upheaval in the federal government. And I think the way that we are able to tell the story about how federal cuts and downsizing is impacting communities and is impacting the trust relationship is really important. As indigenous journalists, we're in a unique position to talk about that, you know, you go into another community, and it's about showing respect and not being the person who like knows everything and is the expert, which is kind of like the opposite of what we are taught as journalists in the institutions that we work in, there will always be a tension between what we do in our circle in native news and the larger newsroom.

Leah Lemm: I do. I do think that. There's a different approach to I don't feel like we are the center of the story in its telling. It's like I feel more of my job is to push things aside or obstacles aside, and make space for the stories that need to be told. Instead of trying to be the star, the person who's like doing the telling I'd I'd much rather hear from people who are living their stories than trying to retell a story. But what drew you to journalism?

Allison Herrera: Well, I really liked documentary filmmaking. That was a big draw. And I guess also, you know, hearing my grandmother talk, I recognize like she just had a lot to say. And I feel like I spent my whole life trying to drag the truth out of her about what, like, our own history. I think just from a young age, I was just, like, really curious about her and her life, and the life of our people, and my great grandmother and her relatives, and that's a story I still am telling, and want to tell in a bigger way, I guess, also drawn to a sense of, if you say something true against something that's a lie, that there's a sense of justice about it right, like you can correct it. You. And make it right, you can make a change. I still think that, even though I feel sometimes that our industry lacks some empathy and compassion, and I think that sometimes we get things wrong, I still believe in the power to tell a truth against a lie and make things right. And in particular, when it comes to reporting in Indian country, I think that's really important.

Cole Premo: What would you say drives your work? Are there any experience you'd like to mention that have kept you on your path?

Allison Herrera: I think about my grandmother, and I think about her family and her story, andI think that's a really big motivator. I work on other stories, but then from timeto time, I pick that one back up and I work on it a little bit. You know, I was talking about that book I I'm reading. It's also just about when you drive in Oklahoma, there's just no way to not see that place as through a native lens, through just the people that you meet, through the Turnpike, that you drive down, through the dusty roads that you go through, and all that is just such a drop. Oh, I get to, you know, go down to, you know, OK, Mogi or Henrietta today, or, I don't know, like, the power of connecting with people to tell their story, or like a few weeks ago, I did this maybe a month ago now. I did this story about this basketball team in Minneapolis, the red bears basketball team, and I just fell in love with those kids on the team and like their coach and their commitment to making this sport that is really trying to transform people's lives. And then last fall, the story that I did about the former felons who got the right to vote, they deserved a second chance. And I maybe I'm getting off topic, but I think native people are like the treaty making, and the foundation of our country is because of native people like the United States, was just this struggling like a drift country, and they needed us. They needed us to form this democracy. And I don't ever want to let them forget that, you know. I don't ever want to let anybody forget. And I think that is one of the biggest drivers, you know. And I think that all of those things that I talked about, from telling the story about my grandmother and her family to all of these other stories that I do are all fit into that fabric, fit into this quilt, and then other people's stories also fit into that as well.

Cole Premo: Thank you so much. So you mentioned your grandmother. Are there other people you'd like to acknowledge that have helped you along the way? Mentors?

Allison Herrera: Well, my mom, obviously, and my friend Ziva Branstetter, who is the editor forProPublica, she was a really big inspiration for me. I mean, my Uncle Frank, my aunt Leona and my uncle George, who live in Hawaii. I mean, I love all of my aunts and uncles very deeply, but my family, like really helped take care of me and like, helped take care of my brother and sisters. I just want to acknowledge them and how much I love them and that I miss them, and that I wish that I could just take a month off to go and visit all of them right now and leave my work behind. But I cannot.

Cole Premo: Awesome. You work in both radio and print. Is there a preferred medium, or is it refreshing not to be pinned down to one or the other?

Allison Herrera: It's refreshing not to be pinned down, you know? And it's all about like, I think just getting I mean, radio is really great because it's ephemeral. You know, people turn on the dial and they listen to it, or they listen to it online. I think that that's really exciting. But, you know, I mean, digital is also really immediate, right? Like, you put it up there, people read it. It's out there, you know? So I don't know. I don't like to be tied down to one or the other.

Leah Lemm: And what amazes me about you is that you go between Oklahoma and Minneapolis, what is it like every other week?

Allison Herrera
Yeah, I do drive, and it's a little insane. It's about 10 and a half hours, and I go down 35 and I go through Iowa, I go through Missouri. I think by the time that I hit the Will Rogers Turnpike in Oklahoma. It's like, oh my god, oh my gosh. Do you get work done driving? Yeah. I mean, I interview people, or I'll take phone calls, or like that one Sunday when we were waiting for the Peltier, really like, okay, and this is not safe, and please do not ever do this, but I was slacking. You checking my email while I was driving down I 35 which was very dangerous and don't, don't drive that way at home.

Leah Lemm: Just feel free to call me whenever. Don't worry about text or Slack.

Allison Herrera: I know, and on top of that, that was like Biden's last full day in office. So I was listening to these Martin Luther King celebrations to see if he was going to say something about Peltier. So it was like, you know, trying to pay attention. And then I was also refreshing the White House press Announcements page because I thought, okay, you know, it'll, it's going to be here, like, and then I'm gonna have to pull over. I mean, I have definitely filed from the road many times, like putting the coat over my head in the car and filing the thing. It's not ideal, but it gets the work done.

Cole Premo: Yeah. So I was going to ask about, you know, how was covering the homecoming event in North Dakota?

Allison Herrera: I mean, it was electric, you know, he was, I think I said in my story he was still very defiant. I mean, I think he has still a long list of grievances against the Bureau of Prisons that he's not really gonna let go of, and rightfully so. Like, you know, I was actually just texting with his lawyer about an hour ago, and he told me that he had a two hour conversation with him over zoom, and they were talking about, you know, his health and, like, you know, whether he can file suit against the Bureau of Prisons. But, yeah, it was exciting to be there. I mean, like, I, you know, grew up as a young girl, hearing about Leonard Peltier. That was my introduction to, like, Indian journalism and activism. Was like hearing about his case, he had not done it, you know, and then just following that. And I never thought I would ever get to interview him, right? It was just crazy. Yeah. I mean, it was very exciting, and I look forward to our interview with him, and asking him about his life and how his view towards activism has changed, and about his family, and if he's had any time to reflect on the American Indian Movement that he's been in prison. And if he's ever considered, you know, if he's ever wanted to criticize some of their actions as, I think, over the years, people's understanding of AIM, I think that people have leveled some criticism at the American Indian Movement over the years, and I'm just curious to hear his take on it, you know, being in prison and everything.

Cole Premo: So, so you're going to be interviewing him?

Allison Herrera: Yeah, I put in my request, and so if anybody from the Sunshine Sachs press agency hears this interview, just know that I have got my I've got my book that I'm reading. I've got my I've got everything.

Leah Lemm: You're listening to Native Lights, where indigenous voices shine. Native Lights is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Today we're speaking with Allison Herrera. Allison is a journalist with indigenous ties to the Xolon Salinantribe. Her family's village is in the Toro Creek area of the Central California coast. She's currently a reporter with APM Reports. So, I was going to ask if you wanted to talk about tribal justice, the struggle for black rights on native land at all.

Allison Herrera: Yeah,I just finished this podcast. It's an audiobook for Audible, and it's called Tribal Justice, the struggle for black fights on native land, and it's about this man named Michael Hill. He is a Cherokee citizen, but he doesn't have what's known as blood quantum. Cherokee Nation. Just to be clear, their tribal citizenship is not dependent on a blood quantum. It is dependent upon whether you can find an ancestor on the Dawes rules, that is Cherokee. So he is Cherokee Friedman, but he's a Cherokee citizen, and he got in trouble. He was arrested on his own property within the Muskogee nation in 2020 and this was right after the McGirt decision that handed back jurisdiction to the Muscogee nation, and then, as a result, several other tribes to be able to prosecute crimes on their own reservation. But because the state court refused to transfer the jurisdiction, transfer his case over to the Muskogee nation, because he doesn't have a blood quantum. The story is about the history behind that, and belonging and race, and how that factors into when a criminal court can make this decision based on this older decision from almost 200 years ago about who is and who isn't a native person in the eyes of the law. And I just found that to be such a fascinating and like terrible thing if you're living through that. And so I just myself and my producer. Adriana Rodriguez, we chronicled his case and his and what happened to him, and why, why it happened, and what people are doing to remedy that so that he can have his case tried in Cherokee Nation tribal court. The reason why that's so important is because as tribal nations gain. You know, as they've had jurisdiction returned, I think there's more of a push to have more like holistic justice, rather than just be very punitive. And he felt like he was robbed of that chance.

Leah Lemm: Mm, hmm. There's a lot to learn. There’s a lot of history to learn.

Allison Herrera: Yeah, yeah. You can check it out on audible.com Yeah, I'm really proud of that. I'm really excited about that, and glad that, glad that people are interested in that and interested in that history.

Leah Lemm: Yeah, you don't hear about it.

Allison Herrera: No, uh-uh.

Leah Lemm: I didn't hear about it before listening.

Cole Premo: Awesome, awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time. We like to end the conversation by just asking if you had any final thoughts, anything left that you'd want to mention, whether it's, you know, advice for people who might be pursuing a similar path, or whatever final thoughts.

Allison Herrera: Okay, I have this sign that I wrote at the beginning of the year that says, Don't go backwards. Let it go. And that's a reminder to myself to like, I guess maybe in another way, to say, don't hold on to things. And I think that's really important now to be able to move forward in our work, you know, to try to like, give ourselves some grace and humility when we're covering really difficult things. And I think for anybody that wants to be in this profession, I think you don't have to have a fancy degree. You can try it out, you know, like, I think it's important for people to realize that journalism can be forever. You know, you can be a journalist. You don't have to go to Columbia or NYU. I mean, those things are great and helpful. But like, I also think journalism is a really important medium to hold people accountable. And I think that, you know, it takes all of us to do that, so and local journalism matters too. I think it's important to recognize, like, people's commitments in their local community to telling stories. So yeah, here we are.

Leah Lemm: Thank you so much. Allison.

Allison Herrera: So we don't like to say goodbye. We say, "See you later."

Leah Lemm: Absolutely. Allison Herrera, that was great. Indigenous Affairs journalist, reporter with APM reports. She reports on everything, though very, very talented and a hard worker.

Cole Premo: Oh yes, just like the whole theme of covering these untold stories and histories. And I do like that last bit at the end. Don't go backwards, let it go. Great words to live by trying to work on that myself. Miigwech, to our guests. Allison Herrera, I'm Cole Primo,

Leah Lemm: And I'm Leah Lemm. Miigwech for listening, giga-waabamin.

Cole Premo: Giga-waabamin.

Leah Lemm: You're listening to Native Lights, where indigenous voices shine. Native Lights is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.