Register Now for the KU Native Storytelling Workshop

By Emma Saville

Registration for the University of Kansas (KU) Native Storytelling Workshop is open to all Native American high school-aged students (incoming freshman to graduating senior). 

The week-long workshop, led by Indigenous media professionals, is designed to provide practical media experiences for the next generation of Native storytellers. Throughout the week, students will learn news writing, photojournalism, podcasting, studio production, documentary filmmaking, and more.

“The idea of the workshop started with the need for more Indigenous journalists in newsrooms nationwide, both Native and non-Native media,” said Dr. Melissa Greene-Blye, one of the workshop instructors. “We find that a lot of our young people go to college and they think of education, they think of social work, they think of medicine as a way to give back to our communities. They don’t always think of journalism or media as an important way to give back to communities. It’s to introduce those young people to the idea of exploring a major in journalism or media and or going on to a career in journalism or media.”

Dr. Greene-Blye also said, the students are “learning skills that translate to a lot of different areas, and we very intentionally called it a storytelling workshop to tie back to our traditions and heritage and the students recognize that the skills they’re learning enable them to tell our stories in important ways in a contemporary.”

The workshop will be held from June 2 to June 6, 2025, at KU’s campus in Lawrence, Kansas. The registration fee is $600, and scholarships are available. 

Applications can be filled out here and are due by April 25, 2025.