Native News Online
Independent daily news outlet covering Native American affairs since February 2011, founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by Levi Rickert, a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and read as a Native-led source of record across Indian Country.
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- Location
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Country
- United States
- Industry
- Online news — Native American and Indigenous affairs
- Founded
- February 15, 2011
- Founder, publisher and editor
- Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation)
- Parent
- Indian Country Media, LLC
- Sister publication
- Tribal Business News
- Coverage
- Education, health, sovereignty, environment, arts and entertainment
- Revenue
- Advertising, donations, sponsorships and grants
Overview
Native News Online is an independent daily news outlet covering Native American affairs in the United States, founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by Levi Rickert, a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (Local Media Association; Hope College). Launched on February 15, 2011, it is part of Indian Country Media, LLC, which also publishes Tribal Business News, and it covers education, health, sovereignty, environment, and arts and entertainment for millions of readers a year, including American Indians and Alaska Natives (Local Media Association).
What sets it apart from a general-interest outlet with a Native beat is its position in the chain of record: tribal governments use it as an announcement channel, mainstream institutions cite its publisher as an expert on American Indian affairs, and its own reporting is a cited source for FactsLedger’s profile of the All Pueblo Council of Governors (Hope College; National Press Club).
A Native-led daily newsroom
Rickert launched the site on February 15, 2011, and its first week drew only 16 viewers (Local Media Association). By 2021 readership had grown to more than 3 million unique visitors a year with over 5 million page views, and by 2023 Hope College described it as having more than 5 million annual readers and being one of the most-read daily Native American publications in the country (Local Media Association; Hope College). The outlet’s stated premise is that readers want accurate and consistent Native American news, and that it can provide that accuracy because it has a Native American-led newsroom publishing every day of the year (Local Media Association).
Rickert himself is the outlet’s most visible asset: a Grand Rapids resident and Prairie Band Potawatomi citizen who has reported from dozens of reservations as well as from Alcatraz, Standing Rock, White House tribal nations summits, and congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. (Hope College). Other media outlets call on him as an expert to discuss American Indian affairs, and he writes a weekly op-ed alongside the news operation (Hope College; Local Media Association). His individual recognition includes the Native Media Award for Best Column in 2021 from the Native American Journalists Association and the West Michigan chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s Social Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (JEDI) of the Year award in June 2023 (Hope College). He also hosts the outlet’s weekly Native Bidaské (Spotlight) feature on people making news and leading change in Indian Country, and co-hosts the Hope + Healing podcast with the National Indian Health Board (Hope College).
| Year | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Launch, February 15; 16 viewers in week one | Local Media Association |
| 2020 | Facebook Journalism Project grant; “Local Impact” series begins | Local Media Association |
| 2021 | 3M+ unique visitors, 5M+ page views; Best Column award | Local Media Association; Hope College |
| 2022 | Joins URL Media as first Indigenous-led member | Tribal Business News (sister publication) |
| 2023 | 5M+ annual readers; JEDI of the Year award | Hope College |
From advertising-only to grants, donations and a network
Before 2020 the outlet relied exclusively on advertising revenue (Local Media Association). The turning point was a Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund grant in 2020, which paid for a managing editor and several freelance journalists spread across different tribal territories (Local Media Association). Rickert had almost not applied, because the outlet is national rather than local — but, as he put it, the grant would help a national outlet covering Indian Country localize its coverage much better (Local Media Association).
The grant funded “Local Impact,” a series of dozens of deep dives into underreported tribes and tribal citizens during the pandemic (Local Media Association). The need was structural: Rickert noted 574 federally recognized tribes and about 400 state-recognized tribes, very few of which had anything more than a newsletter as a credible news source (Local Media Association). The pandemic coverage grew the audience, including to 400,000 Facebook followers by 2020, and reader donations at the foot of each article later kept the managing editor on full-time after the grant expired (Local Media Association). By 2021 the revenue mix had broadened to advertising, donations, sponsorships and grants, and the extra staffing let the outlet concentrate on topics including the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis and Indian boarding schools (Local Media Association).
The next step was collective rather than solo: the outlet joined URL Media, a network of high-performing BIPOC-owned and operated media organizations, as its 10th member and first Indigenous-led member, according to its sister publication Tribal Business News (Tribal Business News). URL Media had launched in January 2021 with eight companies and aims to expand revenue opportunities and share content, distribution and resources among its members (Tribal Business News). Its chief executive, S. Mitra Kalita, said she sought the partnership after the outlet’s coverage of the role of Native elders in helping their communities through the COVID-19 pandemic resonated with her (Tribal Business News).
The Chaco test: a tribal government’s announcement channel
The outlet’s distinctive role is clearest in sovereignty coverage, where tribal bodies speak through it rather than merely being covered by it. FactsLedger’s profile of the All Pueblo Council of Governors draws on a Native News Online article for the council’s applause for the reintroduced legislation to protect Chaco Canyon — including the council’s membership of 20 Pueblos in New Mexico plus one in Texas, and its chairman attribution — making the outlet part of the documentary chain for a sovereign body’s public position, not just a commentator on it.
The legislation at issue, the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, would permanently protect federal lands within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park from new oil and gas leasing, covering about 339,000 acres of federal public lands containing thousands of significant cultural properties and sites (National Parks Conservation Association). The bill had previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019, and the council had travelled to Washington to urge the administration to protect Chaco Canyon, with the Bureau of Land Management receiving more than 80,000 public comments in support of the 10-mile withdrawal (National Parks Conservation Association). The landscape itself — dozens of ancient villages, roads and shrines built by the ancestors of the Pueblos and other Indigenous Nations who emerged and flourished in Chaco Canyon between 850 and 1250 A.D. — is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site (National Parks Conservation Association). That is why a Native-led outlet’s sovereignty beat is not a niche interest here but the primary record: the campaign is led by Pueblo and Diné organizers, and the outlet covers it from inside the community whose heritage is at stake (National Parks Conservation Association).
The same inside-out position shapes Rickert’s public argument about the wider media. At a National Press Club panel on news deserts, he said tribes typically have their own publications but there is very little collective coverage of Native Americans, and that mainstream coverage tends to paint a negative picture — citing a Native American Journalists Association survey finding that a year’s coverage dwelt on poverty, alcoholism and “the dark side of who we are as a Native people” (National Press Club). “It’s time for Native Americans to tell our own story,” he said, adding that he sees his audience as more than just Native Americans: “We have to constantly educate” (National Press Club). He also said the publication often receives calls from legislators, and that after years running “on a shoestring,” recognition — including the National Press Club’s own invitation — gave him hope for journalism in his community (National Press Club).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not claim a headquarters street address: Grand Rapids is Rickert’s home base, not a verified office address. It does not give a current traffic, staff or revenue figure — the audience numbers here are dated per source (2020, 2021 and 2023). It does not assert which name the site carried on its first day in February 2011, since sources differ between “Native News Network” and “Native News Online” for the early period. It does not merge two separate reintroductions of the Chaco legislation into one event, and it does not resolve the All Pueblo Council of Governors leadership conflict: Native News Online’s reporting, as recorded in that council’s profile, names James R. Mountain as “Chairman,” while High Country News names Joey Sanchez as “chair” for the same mid-2026 period. It does not claim the Chaco bill has passed — the record here is of reintroduction and campaign, not enactment — and it does not repeat tertiary-lead claims (a Democracy Fund description, an Oklahoma Media Center recognition, a staff award) that were not independently verified in a fetchable source this round. Finally, it does not quote the outlet’s own website, which could not be fetched in this environment; the Chaco connection rests on the council profile’s source record and the independent legislation account cited above.
Timeline
- 2011
- Launched on February 15, 2011, by Levi Rickert; the first week drew only 16 viewers.
- 2020
- Receives a Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund grant, hires a managing editor and freelance journalists across tribal territories, and launches the "Local Impact" series on underreported tribes.
- 2021
- Readership reported at more than 3 million unique visitors a year with over 5 million page views; revenue now spans advertising, donations, sponsorships and grants.
- 2021
- Rickert wins the Native Media Award for Best Column (print/online) from the Native American Journalists Association.
- 2022
- Joins URL Media as its 10th member and its first Indigenous-led media organization, as reported by its sister publication.
- 2023
- Rickert receives the West Michigan Public Relations Society of America chapter's Social Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (JEDI) of the Year award.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Early name: a Grand Valley State University exhibition text describes Rickert as co-founding "Native News Network" in February 2011, which later became Native News Online, while the Local Media Association and Hope College describe a February 2011 launch under the Native News Online name. This profile says "launched in February 2011" and does not assert which name it carried on day one.
- Audience figures are dated per source (3 million unique visitors and 5 million page views in 2021; more than 5 million annual readers in 2023; 400,000 Facebook followers in 2020). They are different years and measures, not a single current figure, and no current traffic or revenue figure is claimed.
- Grand Rapids, Michigan, is given as location on the basis that Rickert is a Grand Rapids resident (Hope College) and the sister publication files from Grand Rapids; no source read states a headquarters street address or office.
- Two reintroductions are not merged: the National Parks Conservation Association account of the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act dates from the Biden-administration withdrawal debate, while the All Pueblo Council of Governors profile documents a further reintroduction in the 2025-2026 campaign. This profile uses the Association only for the bill's terms, not for the date of the latest reintroduction.
- The All Pueblo Council of Governors leadership conflict is inherited, not resolved: Native News Online's reporting, as recorded in that profile, calls James R. Mountain "Chairman," while High Country News calls Joey Sanchez "chair" for the same mid-2026 period.
- Current staffing, current editor, and current revenue are not stated: none of the sources read in full verifies them. A 2024 staff award mentioned in tertiary leads was not independently verified this round and is omitted.
Sources
6 sources (5 tier 2, 1 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Built only from sources fetched and read in full: the Local Media Association (tier2) for the founding, audience, revenue and grant history; Hope College (tier2) for Rickert's biography, awards and reporting range; the National Press Club (tier2) for Rickert's own account of the outlet's mission in the news-desert debate; the National Parks Conservation Association (tier2) for the terms of the Chaco protection legislation; and Tribal Business News (tier3, the outlet's sister publication) only for the URL Media membership, which is attributed as sister-publication reporting. Wikipedia was used only as a lead index and is not cited. The outlet's own website could not be fetched in this environment and is not cited or quoted; the Chaco reporting connection therefore rests on FactsLedger's All Pueblo Council of Governors profile, which lists the outlet's article as a source, plus the independent legislation account from the National Parks Conservation Association.
- Supports: Founded 2011; daily news organization serving millions annually including American Indians and Alaska Natives; part of Indian Country Media, LLC, which also publishes Tribal Business News; beats (education, health, sovereignty, environment, arts and entertainment); publisher/editor Levi Rickert; launched Feb 15, 2011, first week 16 viewers, 3M+ unique visitors and 5M+ page views; Native-led newsroom premise; health desk initiative; election live streams over 35,000 viewers; revenue streams advertising, donations, sponsorships, grants; staffing growth and focus on MMIW crisis and Indian boarding schools Open original source
- Supports: Advertising-only revenue before 2020; Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund grant funding a managing editor and freelancers across tribal territories; "Local Impact" series of dozens of deep dives on underreported tribes; 574 federally recognized and about 400 state-recognized tribes as cited by Rickert; 400,000 Facebook followers in 2020; audience survey findings (health care, education, jobs, economy plus sovereignty, water rights, sacred-sites protection); ongoing missing and murdered Indigenous women coverage; Rickert weekly op-ed Open original source
- Supports: Rickert founder of Native News Online and co-founder of Tribal Business News; Grand Rapids resident; Prairie Band Potawatomi citizen; February 2011 launch; 5M+ annual readers and "one of the most-read daily Native American publications"; reporting from dozens of reservations, Alcatraz, Standing Rock, White House tribal nations summits and congressional hearings; 500,000+ social following; other outlets call on him as an expert; Best Column 2021 Native Media Award; June 2023 JEDI of the Year award; book "Visions of a Better Indian Country" (April 2022); Hope + Healing podcast and weekly Native Bidaské (Spotlight) Open original source
- Supports: Rickert as publisher/editor of Native News Online and Tribal Business News and Prairie Band Potawatomi member on a news-deserts panel; his account that tribes have their own publications but little collective coverage, that mainstream coverage paints a negative picture per a Native American Journalists Association survey, that "it's time for Native Americans to tell our own story," that the audience extends beyond Native Americans, that legislators call the publication, and that it ran "on a shoestring for a long time" Open original source
- Supports: Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act reintroduction backed by the full New Mexico delegation (Luján, Heinrich, Leger Fernández, Stansbury, Vasquez); permanent protection of federal lands within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park from new oil and gas leasing; about 339,000 acres; House passage in 2019; APCG Washington trip and 80,000+ BLM comments supporting the 10-mile withdrawal; landscape built by ancestors of Pueblos and other Indigenous Nations, flourishing 850-1250 A.D.; World Heritage Site designation Open original source
- Supports: Native News Online joined URL Media as its 10th member and first Indigenous-led media organization; URL Media launched January 2021 with eight companies as a network of BIPOC-owned and operated outlets; founded by Sara Lomax-Reese and S. Mitra Kalita; Kalita sought the partnership after Native News Online's coverage of Native elders during COVID-19. Sister-publication reporting, used only for this membership fact Open original source
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