Meet the fellows
The nine students of the Indigenous Journalism Fellowship are gathering this week in Portland, Oregon, during the Indigenous Media Conference.
Bella Trigg (Yup’ik), left, stands near an exhibit of her senior thesis in New York. Trigg, who recently graduated from the New School, is among nine emerging storytellers participating in this year’s Indigenous Journalism Fellowship.
This year's Indigenous Journalism Fellowship has brought together emerging Indigenous storytellers with a shared commitment to serving their communities through journalism. Meet four members of the 2026 cohort who represent different Indigenous communities and universities across North America and the Pacific.
Lauryn Callis
As part of her master’s program in Indigenous Studies at the University of Kansas, Lauryn Callis, of the Muscogee Nation and Cherokee Nation, is focusing her thesis on the intersection of Black and Indigenous peoples. “There are long histories of tribes accepting and adopting enslaved African peoples within their communities and nations, thus creating Afro-Indigenous people,” Callis said. “As I carry both sides within me, I hope my work in journalism heals generational scars and continues to bring us closer as one braid again.”
“I'm looking forward to learning how to cover specific areas such as the queer community, Pacific Islanders, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives epidemic. Going into this upcoming semester, I plan to use what I learn during Good Morning Indian Country coverage and reporting,” Callis said.
— Connor Arakaki
Joseph Morales
Joseph Morales, of the Tohono O’odham Nation, grew up in Coolidge, Arizona, and has focused his reporting on tribal affairs in Southern Arizona. As his journalism has evolved, he has come to see visual storytelling as an essential part of the reporting process. “I’ve always been really interested in writing, but I realized that's only half of journalism,” Morales said.
During the Indigenous Journalism Fellowship and conference, Morales hopes to strengthen his skills while building relationships with other Indigenous journalists. “Where my Nation is, it's right by the U.S.-Mexico border, and the border actually cuts our Nation in half,” Morales said. “We don't even have a publication or media, so this is a great opportunity to bring awareness to where I'm from, while also elevating other communities along the way.”
— Bella Trigg
Trina Tsinnie
Tsinnie, a Dinė radio, broadcast and print journalist, is a student at Haskell Indian Nations University born and raised in Page, Arizona. At Haskell, she is a DJ and host for KJHK, a producer for Good Morning Indian Country, and the secretary of the student newspaper, Indian Leader. Most recently, she reported on Algeria’s national soccer team arriving in Lawrence, Kansas, where they officially set their base camp for the 2026 World Cup.
Now a senior, she reminisces on the first story that she wrote for Indian Leader about Haskell students attending Comic Con in 2023. “At that time, Haskell’s book club president pitched to me the story, and I was able to get 50 Comic Con tickets for students. I was like…you know what? I’ll write about that. I got a lot of photos, and it was a fun article for my first to ever turn in.
— Connor Arakaki
Bella Trigg
Trigg, an Alaska Native journalist who graduated in 2026 from The New School, worked with her mentor Joseph Lee (Aquinnah Wampanoag) on exhibiting her senior thesis essay and photobook, Homesick, at the American Indian Community House in New York City. At the Indigenous Media Conference, she looks forward to deepening her knowledge of Native photography and learning from other storytellers from Indigenous communities.
“It is always a privilege to be in community with other Indigenous peoples, but to share a common practice and one that serves us all, is a gift. As we go into this gathering, we are carrying our communities, our land and our people with us, while embracing the new stories and dialogues that will emerge from it,” Trigg said.
— Connor Arakaki