Alicia Hegland-Thorpe

Documenters Program Manager

alicia@imfreedomalliance.org

Alicia Hegland-Thorpe, a citizen of the Spirit Lake Nation (Mni Wakan Oyate), is the newly hired Documenters Program Manager for Buffalo’s Fire. She brings community-organizing skills to her new role that primarily focuses on civic engagement. She will be working with citizen journalists to cover local meetings. In addition, Hegland-Thorpe will put her writing, reporting and podcasting skills to work in contributing content to buffalosfire.com. She began her journalism career in broadcasting and mass media. Her first job was as an on-air radio personality in her senior year of high school. After attending the University of North Dakota and Minot State University, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and Communications and became the first Indigenous television news anchor for the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts in Minot. Her career also includes producing voice-overs for commercials, photography, reporting and writing digital content. For a brief time, she was co-host and assistant producer for the statewide radio show ‘Mainstreet’, on Prairie Public, using her platform to bring Indigenous issues and voices to the forefront of North Dakota. Alicia then worked as a consultant and freelance journalist, writing for Arts Midwest and North Dakota Council of the Arts. She’s also hosted a few podcasts. In her spare time, she’s a music performer. She can most likely be found helping to coordinate or organize grassroots efforts in her community, focusing on indigenous-led initiatives, or writing about them. She currently serves on several boards and councils focusing on education, art or civic engagement.