Why I started Fry Bread Media

Dagot’éé Friends and Relatives,

If’ you’ve seen the news lately, you may understand why, as a 30 year veteran of news media, I was ready to leave the media circus behind. But, with so much experience, I also wanted to make sure to pass on what I know–in a healthy way–to the next generation.

And so, with the help of good friends and colleagues, Fry Bread was born. 

Through this digital vehicle, each term we work with new reporters and storytellers, many from the University of Kansas, who are just starting their careers, or who are taking a break from the heavier weight of the daily news cycle.

Fry Bread is our platform–a place where new storytellers can learn how to conduct interviews and research, practice thoughtful editing, and learn new skills, including website and newsletter management, analytics, and more.

In the process of this creation, we uplift Native and Indigenous art and artists, and opportunities for them to find support for their work–and for allies to connect with and learn from them.

It’s a win-win all around, as they say in business school. At Fry Bread, we just ask, how can we help? What can we do? 

And then, usually after a term or two, our interns, writers, and editors move on to new positions, with new skills and fresh perspectives, and we turn our attention to the next storyteller, who is seeking to learn the noble trade of truth-telling through journalism. 

We share this with you now, because over the next few weeks, you are going to be asked to donate to various causes.

Repeatedly. 

We know donor fatigue, especially in donor-supported media. We are told in the non-profit and business sectors to “ask, ask, ask, and then ask again” for money.

For Native people, it is always Giving Season. We understand that prior to colonization, gifting was our way of life—the way of our communities, and the world around us.

So today, and every day, we say: Thank you. Every day is a day for which to give thanks.

We thank you for giving when your heart moves you, for that is the gift, the giving, with energy behind it.

The work we do and the knowledge we share is valuable, and we give it to you, because that is what is in our heart, what we are called to do. We hope you find value in what we do, too, and in the quest to pass on some hard-earned media skills and history to the next generation in a meaningful, healthy, and uplifting way. 

Thank you for your support–in financial contributions, word of mouth praise, digital shares and clicks, and more–now and in the times to come.

Art has the power to change our lives and restore our humanity.

We are so grateful you are part of our story.

Thank you.

Ahiy’é.

Valerie Vande Panne

Founder and Publisher, Fry Bread Media