In a near perfect world, the Fourth Estate would flourish in American Indian communities and elected leaders would adopt freedom of information laws. Those tribal statesmen might sound like this respect-the- press leader from the Pacific Northwest:
“The right to a free press, to objective unbiased reporting, may very well be just as important to democracy as the right to vote. In fact, even the right to vote, a defining feature of democracy, can be severely weakened if voters have no idea what is really going on in their government.
“Governments which wage war on journalists and journalism in general seldom have the best interests of their citizenry in mind. Tribal leaders should recognize that. A free press is a gift to the people, one that says as a tribal leader you are committed to letting the truth out there,” said Vice Chair Chris Mercier, an elected leader of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.