THE REPORTING PROCESS
This multimedia story was produced by two convergence students at the Missouri School of Journalism, Tatum Pugh (senior) and Caroline Watkins (junior). This was a portfolio assignment for 4806, a multimedia editing and producing class that is part of the convergence curriculum. The purpose of the assignment was to create a feature piece that students would work on over the course of one semester.
We were drawn to a concept story exploring Native American culture. After conducting some research, we quickly realized that the federal recognition process plays a powerful role in the shaping of identities between tribes in the Native American community. Unfamiliar with the recognition process and the extensive historical roots of Native American presence in the state of Missouri, we wanted to learn more.
Due to the fact that the assignment called for two perspectives of the story, we decided that we wanted to tell two different stories about the federal recognition process. For our first story, we wanted to know why people such as those in the Northern Cherokee tribe are drawn to a non-federally recognized tribe. What were their emotional connections to the tribe? Why and how did they join the community? For our second story, we wanted to talk to experts about the federal recognition process—we wanted to know how members of federally recognized tribes can benefit from their status as recognized members.
We traveled across the state of Missouri and called experts from across the nation, from tribe members to historians to sociologists and more. We asked them to share their stories and experiences related to how they are affected—or how little they are affected—by the federal recognition process.
This website is the culmination of multiple months of research and reporting.