Authors and Editors Sign Books

Barnes and Noble Bookstore on campus hosted a book signing for a new publication of the Communication Department's American Indian Policy and Media Initiative.

The authors and editors of a newly published book that examines the intersection of tribal America, government and the media, signed copies of the book on Sept. 27.

Edited and authored by Kara Briggs, an award-winning journalist and writer, Ronald D. Smith, chair of the Communication Department of Buffalo State College and José Barreiro, an author, scholar and activist, "Shoot the Indian: Media, Misperceptions and Native Truth" is a provocative collection of important speeches, original research and news reports. Illustrated by Navajo artist Frank Salcido and with a preface by former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, "Shoot the Indian" presents a new perspective on today's important Native issues.

Smith and Briggs serve as director and co-director of the American Indian Policy and Media Initiative respectively.

Chapters in the book examine a number of significant issues of national and historic import, as well as issues especially germane to the Western New York area, including tribal gaming. A speech by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye to the Tribal Leaders Forum of the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians-owned U.S. grant hotel in San Diego, on Jan. 8, 2007, speaks to the ongoing issues of Native sovereignty and stimulating economic growth. A chapter by Buffalo State Associate Professor Michael Niman looks at the local anti-gaming movement directed solely against Native gaming.

"Reclaiming Traditional Knowledge for Our Futures," the late John C. Mohawk's speech at "Hear Our Stories: Communication and Contemporary Native Americans," a conference in Washington, D.C., in 2006, was his last. The noted Haudenosaunee scholar, author and professor in the Center for the Americas at the University at Buffalo, died as the book was being prepared for publication.

The American Indian Policy and Media Initiative, sponsored by the Communication Department at Buffalo State College, provides an independent, academic and dignified venue to address the intersection of the journalistic practices of mainstream media and their representation of American Indians, as well as a range of public policy issues affecting American Indians, such as taxation, sovereignty, government jurisdiction, gaming, repatriation, archaeology, cultural policy and related matters.
Activities of the initiative include:

* Public forums featuring lectures, conferences and presentations on topics focusing on mainstream media and public policy issues related to American Indians,

* Media analysis projects focusing on research and examination of topics similar to those associated with the public forums,

* Media planning seminars to assist tribal leadership and other Indian entities develop comprehensive strategic communication programs, and,

* An educational component that involves students and faculty in research, planning and training activities.

The initiative also stands as a practical implementation of the commitment of both the Communication Department and Buffalo State to diversity, community involvement and professional service.