APTN Investigates to be recognized during 2021 National Native Media Awards virtual ceremony Oct. 28
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma — The Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) named the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) Investigates staff as one of three 2021 Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism recipients as part of the 2021 National Native Media Awards.
The NAJA Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism recognizes groundbreaking work by journalists that creatively use digital tools in the role of community watchdog and includes a $500 cash prize for the individual or team selected.
APTN was nominated for its coverage of “The Death Report” series for APTN that explores Canada’s child welfare system and its impact on Indigenous children.
The coverage was led by Cullen Crozer (Gwich’in/Dene/Métis) and Kenneth Jackson.
The APTN team will be recognized for the LaCourse award alongside the High Country News staff and Mary Annette Pember (Red Cliff Ojibwe) with Indian Country Today during the 2021 National Native Media Awards virtual ceremony on Oct. 28 at 3 p.m. CT via Zoom and registration is available here.
“The selection committee was very impressed by these three entries,” NAJA Vice President Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton said. “All three were deeply researched and are leaving long-lasting imprints on Indian Country. Rather than single just one out from a particularly strong class of entrants, we agreed it was best to honor all three.”
The Coverage Team
| Cullen Crozier Crozier is a video journalist and documentary producer with APTN Investigates. He is Gwich’in, Dene and Métis based out of his home community of Somba K’e, Denendeh (Yellowknife, NT). Cullen’s work focuses on injustices facing Indigenous people in Canada, he has reported on the forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Saskatchewan, the forgotten residential school survivors of Newfoundland and Labrador and the ongoing child welfare crisis in Ontario. |  |
| Kenneth Jackson Jackson is a crime reporter and television producer in Ottawa, Ont., with nearly two decades in the business. In recent years, Jackson has focused, almost exclusively, on the child welfare system. |  |
About NAJA
The Native American Journalists Association serves more than 900 members, including media professionals working in tribal, freelance, independent and mainstream news outlets, as well as academia and students covering Indigenous communities and representing tribal nations from across North America. For more information, visit: www.naja.com.