The new documentary bad press (2023) delves into the trials and tribulations of freedom of the press laws for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma through the eyes of Angel Ellis, journalist for Mvskoke Media.
Although freedom of the press is enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, these rights do not apply to Indian Country (Native nations and communities across the United States). There are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes, each with tribal sovereignty and his own government. As sovereign nations, they make their own laws and constitution. Only five tribes, including the Muscogee Nation, have established laws that protect freedom of the press.
That is, until 2018, when Muscogee Nation government officials dealt with accusations of embezzlement during a major election cycle. Although the tribal government passed a freedom of the press law in 2015, it was repealed by the tribal government in this election. Mvskoke Media, the tribe’s only reliable news source, was not consulted in this historic decision and lost its right to independent journalism overnight. Ellis set out to seek justice for his community, rallying allies for a voter-backed constitutional amendment and exposing corruption in local government.
Why is there still such censorship of the free press in the Muscogee Nation and in almost every newspaper in Indian Country even today?
“The Muscogee people have been told that the Indian is ‘too stupid and too insignificant to care for themselves.’ There is a fear that this stigma will be passed back to us. That’s why we want to show the world how good we are because this world is designed to bring us down,” Ellis notes in the documentary while going through 1970s issues of Mvskoke Media which now reads like pure propaganda.
“If I looked at the newspaper from 30 years ago, I wouldn’t think there was ever a problem in the tribe,” she said. “It wasn’t a free press yet in the 2000s…we were still doing our ‘joy joy joy’ thing.”
There are particularly poetic and emotionally resonant moments throughout the film, such as when Ellis reflects on what life might have been like for her and her son had she chosen a career that brought in more money and required less time. her emotionally. This film is particularly timely in the current political climate given the relentless censorship of independent journalism and the prolific circulation of fake news, propaganda and disinformation. The journalists and editors who have returned to Mvskoke to continue to fight through the turbulent election cycle despite the lack of press freedom are particularly inspiring given this dire backdrop.
bad press co-directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker (Muscogee Creek) – who is also executive director of the Native American Journalists Association – and filmmaker Joe Peeler cleverly contextualize this paradox in the film, highlighting the importance of the sovereign press in education future generations of tribal citizens.
bad press shines a light on what is at stake for free speech today, not just for Indian Country but for America as a whole. Using a contemporary perspective, this film presents stories of Indigenous journalists as they pursue their ongoing and complicated battle for a free press with sensitivity, humor and grace.
bad press will be projected on Saturday, July 15 at 2 p.m. (CT)) At Circle Cinema Film Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in addition to a private screening during the National Indigenous Media Conference 2023 on Friday, August 11 at 6:30 p.m. (CT), at the Met Theater in Winnipeg, Canada.
