November News Byte 2023

The momentum is pivotal

Happy Native American Heritage Month, Verified News Community! From my Native American - Irish American family to yours.

I’m VNN’s Brittany Harlow with your quick November News Byte!

It was Indigenous news aplenty this month. Let’s start with the good news!

VNN’s sold-out Exploring Indigenous Allyship Community Dinner was as enlightening as it was enjoyable. Dozens of Native and non-Native community stakeholders gathered at Philbrook to respectfully discuss Indigenous challenges. Stay up to date with this innovative concept on our newly designed webpage. 

Some of the challenges discussed included Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers beginning to ticket tribal members with tribal tags who live off reservation. Osage Nation said they are working to develop a tribal compact in response. 

Muscogee Creek Nation announced a lawsuit against the city of Tulsa and its leaders this month, alleging the city is unlawfully prosecuting Creek Citizens for traffic violations. 

And on a lighter note, VNN’s Rachael Schuit told us about the legacy of Native Americans in the Great Lakes State. 

In election news, voters went to the polls in Oklahoma and New York. 

In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, voters approved a $52 million school bond. 

And in Binghamton, New York, voters elected a new district attorney and new city councilors. 

Voting won’t be the only way you can make your voice heard in 2024. We’re taking VNN’s slogan “Giving News Back To The People” to another level with the launch of our Citizen Journalism Project.  

Designed for underrepresented people who want a stake in news storytelling in their communities and funded thanks to a grant from the Oklahoma Media Center, applications for Tulsa citizen journalists will open up in December. 

Discover more news from all of our VNN collaborators in the free VNN app, on our YouTube channel, and by signing up for our email news and updates if you haven’t already. 

Thanks for tuning into this month’s News Byte. For VNN, I’m Brittany Harlow.

See you at the end of the year!