The Vital Role of Indigenous Language Journalism
Indigenous languages often stand as unique threads in the study of linguistics—rich cultural heritage, tradition, and identity are a part of any language, but are especially important when that culture or identity has been targeted for oppression, or worse, extermination. The story of indigenous languages, their vitality, and their relevance in contemporary society often go untold, underscoring the crucial need for indigenous language journalism.
English words may not translate into Indigenous languages, which is why indigenous speakers are necessary to create this content. For instance, the Zapotec language lacks a direct translation for "labor trafficking." Several Mam dialects spoken by Indigenous people in Guatemala do not have a word for "mental health," and in Mixteco, spoken by the Mixtec people of Puebla and Oaxaca, there is no word for "virus." Instead, the language re-conceptualizes “virus” as "a little bug that eats away at the body." These linguistic gaps become especially problematic in countries like the United States, because English language information may not correctly translate to indigenous communities.
This problem has intensified in the last 40 years: since the mid-1980s, the United States has witnessed an increase in immigration from Indigenous communities in Mexico and South America. Many of these individuals migrate due to economic upheavals, land degradation, and other pressing issues in their home countries. In response, a growing number of news organizations in the U.S. have recognized the importance of translating seemingly untranslatable concepts–though this has been met with varying levels of success.
Antonieta Mercado, a transnational media scholar at the University of San Diego, said that these communities are well aware of the shortcomings of information tailored to indigenous consumers. “There has always been a preoccupation [among these communities] to have a media outlet or a communication outlet, even before social media,” said Mercado. “And this is precisely because they never see their stories reflected in national or media outlets.”
El Tímpano, for instance, was founded in 2018 as a bilingual (English and Spanish) community news outlet and has since developed programming in Mam, a language spoken by Mayan communities in Guatemala and southern Mexico. Tumil El Tímpano, the name of the program, serves the 10,000 to 20,000 Mam people in the Bay Area, and has become a valuable resource for the community by providing content through video broadcasts on social media. Literacy levels are statistically lower in indigenous and immigrant populations, which puts journalists in a position of rethinking how they should deliver this information. Audio and video broadcasts offer the most effective means of delivering news and public service announcements.
To build trust with their audiences, many Indigenous-language media outlets employ hosts from the communities they serve. This approach not only broadens the language base and reach but also transforms radio hosts into "megaphones" for their communities. Recent initiatives have even seen community members trained to become DJs and newscasters in their native languages, further strengthening the connection between the media and their audience.
These media outlets do more than just deliver information; they play a pivotal role in cultural preservation and connection. They prepare special broadcasts for cultural events, establishing a transnational link that binds Indigenous communities together. The revitalization of the indigenous languages for younger generations is a central part of this mission, ensuring that ancestral languages continue to thrive. In addition, this media contributes to the larger national conversations surrounding indigenous people and immigrants in the United States. “Marginalized groups are essential to the conversation about who we are as a nation,” Mercado said. “They have had to use those outlets to question both nations to say, ‘We are also part of this.’”
Indigenous media outlets fill a critical gap, amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and contributing to a more inclusive and enriched national narrative. Indigenous language journalism is not just a conduit for news; it is a bridge between the past, present, and future of these communities, reaffirming their significance in the tapestry of humanity's linguistic diversity–as well as bringing indigenous conversations into U.S. society, where it is sorely lacking.
