Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Journalism (Communication)

This study examines the media representation of Indigenous communities in the context of environmental issues in three media outlets: Indian Country Today, High Country News, and the New York Times. By using Indigenous Standpoint Theory as a framework, the work seeks to elevate Indigenous voices in the debates on environmental justice. Through Carvalho's framework (2008) of Critical Discourse Analysis, the study considered a variety of manifest textual elements and used them to infer multiple underlying discursive strategies and ideological convictions of the journalists of the different outlets. The results of this study show that media outlets with Indigenous journalists in their newsrooms focus more on empowering Indigenous communities through highlighting their knowledge, their relationships with their lands and their grievances for justice. Providing historical context amplified Indigenous demands, while considering the power imbalances between colonizers and colonized. In contrast, the New York Times' coverage fell short in portraying Indigenous communities and their claims for environmental justice in a nuanced, contextualized way. Their reporting focused on conflict and negativity, which thwarts forms of journalism that are both more constructive and more empowering to Indigenous communities affected by the environmental crises

Committee: Victoria LaPoe (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Justice; Journalism; Mass Media; Native Americans