Shondiin Mayo, an ICT Fellow, covers Indigenous communities with talent and passion

Shondiin Mayo, an Athabascan and Navajo Native, has a deep passion for covering Indigenous communities. Having grown up in a rural Alaskan village, though, she's especially passionate about covering those in her home state.  

In partnership with the Indigenous Journalists Association and ICT (formerly Indian Country Today), the Cronkite School offers a graduate fellowship focused on serving Indigenous communities. This year's recipient was Mayo—and now, she's earning her graduate degree while serving her community simultaneously.  

"ICT is all about building the next generation of Native journalists," said ICT executive editor Jourdan Bennett-Begaye. "This partnership allows a Native student to get academic training in the classroom and apply those skills in the newsroom with our editors for a national audience with a multimedia approach."  

In her first semester, Mayo's assignments ranged from a piece spotlighting Native Alaskan Brandon Kowalski, who ran for a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives, to a story about International Overdose Awareness Day, supported by a nonprofit led by Native individuals in North Carolina. 

This fall, ICT national editor and coach Dianna Hunt sent Mayo to Laveen, Arizona, to cover then-President Joe Biden's historic apology to Native people for years of abuse in Indian boarding schools.  

"She did a great job," said Hunt. "It was really valuable for us to have her on the ground there." 

Mayo completed her undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University, earning a bachelor's in creative media and film with a focus on documentary. After graduating, she went back to Alaska and worked at a local news station, which sparked her love for journalism.  

"That's when ASU popped up," she said. "This program is practical, quick and applicable to anything. Everyone who completes the program seems to have lots of opportunities after."

Mayo said she wants a future in storytelling through many different mediums, eventually serving local communities back in Alaska. 

"Indigenous people are much like anyone else who are making decisions, but (they) have the heavy weight of deciding what's best, not only for themselves but for their community and heritage," she said.

Sheena Roetman-Wynn, education manager at IJA, said she had the opportunity to meet Mayo and was immediately impressed.

"I was immediately stuck with her brightness, intelligence, compassion and dedication to her craft," she said. "IJA is honored to partner with ASU to support Shondiin and other Indigenous journalism students."