Dispatch from the IJA conference: As event winds down, president reflects on ‘full-circle’ moment

IJA president Christine Trudeau said this year’s theme was “Sovereignty equals Free Press.” She said it’s been challenging and complicated getting tribes to adopt clauses into their constitutions that assure their newspapers, radio and TV stations, and other media operate independently.

“It’s going to be different for every nation,” Trudeau told Buffalo’s Fire. She said IJA has offered guidance on how to get the process going but acknowledged it’s been difficult getting buy-in from officials.

Trudeau will officially wrap up her term as IJA president this weekend, and return to her position as managing editor for Underscore Native News in Portland, Oregon. She said having the conference in Albuquerque created a “full-circle” event.

“Right here in Albuquerque, I got my start. I was an intern at KUNM and I was filing a story a week while I was finishing my undergrad at the Institute of American Indian Arts.”

Trudeau said she filed radio news spots with National Native News, and one of her mentors was NNN’s host and producer, Antonia Gonzalez.

“I wasn’t getting paid at KUNM. So I was able to actually make money and write and do things that are really important, like communicate essential information for people.”

The location of the 2026 IJA conference will be announced at the end of the evening.