Indian Country Today
ICT (formerly known as Indian Country Today) is a daily digital news platform that covers the Indigenous world, including American Indians, Alaska Natives and First Nations.
| Type | Daily digital news platform |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | IndiJ Public Media |
| Founder(s) | Tim Giago |
| Publisher | Karen Michel |
| Editor | Mark Trahant |
| Managing editor | Jourdan Bennett-Begaye |
| Founded | 1981 (print newspaper The Lakota Times) |
| Language | English |
| Relaunched | 2018 (daily digital news platform) |
| Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona |
| City | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Country | USA |
| ISSN | 1066-5501 |
| Website | indiancountrytoday.com |
| Free online archives | Yes |
It was founded in 1981 as a weekly print newspaper, The Lakota Times; the publication's name changed in 1992 to Indian Country Today. It was acquired in 1998 by Four Directions Media, an enterprise of the Oneida Nation of New York. In January 2011, ICT became Indian Country Today Media Network (ICTMN), an online multimedia news platform. In June 2014, ICTMN had 1,009,761 unique monthly visitors, according to Google Analytics; and Indian Country Today's Facebook page received more than 500,000 likes. In addition to the online news site, ICTMN published a weekly news magazine and special sections available online and in print. The name changed to ICT News in June 2022.
On Labor Day 2017, publication of new content was temporarily suspended to explore alternative business models. In October 2017, the Oneida Indian Nation of New York donated ICT to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). Vincent Schilling, ICT's former arts and entertainment editor, maintained the site and published articles until Indian Country Today came back online under NCAI's ownership.
On February 28, 2018, Indian Country Today resumed regular publication, with Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock) as editor. Gradually new staff was added, with a renewed focus on Native American writers and editors.
In March 2020, Katie Oyan (Oglala Lakota) was announced as the publication's first managing editor. She was on loan from the Associated Press, and upon returning to the AP the first week of February 2021 she was succeeded by Jourdan Bennett-Begaye (Diné), who had served as Indian Country Today's Washington, DC, editor and, later, assistant managing editor.
In March 2021, the publication became independent from the NCAI. "This is an exciting time for Indian Country Today to become fiscally independent and to continue its tradition of an autonomous free press," NCAI President Fawn Sharp said in a press release regarding the change. "This is a new day for ICT, which has a long history as a premier source of news for and about Indigenous communities, written and produced by Indigenous journalists." The publication's current president and CEO is Karen Michel (Ho-Chunk).