StoryKeepers returns with STEM focus for Native and ally youth

(TVLSE, Okla.) The next generation of young storytellers can now apply for Crosswinds News’ second cohort of StoryKeepers. Applications are open to Native and ally youth ages 12 to 20 through Sept. 1.

The 10-week program will begin in October and will be led by Crosswinds Co-founder and Senior Journalist Brittany Harlow. The curriculum was designed by Dr. Rosemary Avance, managing editor for Crosswinds News and a professor in the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University.

StoryKeepers is designed to connect young people with news and empower them to tell stories that matter to Native communities.

Crosswinds trained its first cohort of StoryKeepers earlier this year. For the second cohort, Crosswinds is partnering with the AISES Green Country Professional Chapter, with participants focusing on stories related to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.

Dr. J. Alexa Barnes, a licensed psychologist, holistic health educator and decolonization advocate, recently became president of the Green Country chapter. She hopes the program will help young people become more familiar with STEM fields and topic areas.

“We need more Native folks going into STEM professions desperately,” Barnes said. “I think this project is awesome because there’s so much going on in the professional world that the public does not know about, and if the public did know about it then we might be able to fix some things.”

Avance said the StoryKeepers curriculum has two primary learning objectives. The first is helping participants better understand how news is produced.

“The first one would be that all participants, no matter how old they are, come away with more understanding of how news works, where it comes from, and what counts as real news and not just more noise,” Avance said. “Because there’s so much information that we’re inundated with all the time, on social media especially.”

The second is preparing StoryKeepers to become trusted sources of information in their communities, helping to fill news gaps particularly in places and on topics that receive little coverage.

“The fewer journalism sources we have as a society, the less we are able to actually work as a functional democracy,” Avance said. “You can't vote in your own best interests if you don't actually know what's going on. So even a small story about a small thing that's happening or an upcoming event, all of that is information that we all should have access to.”

Both Avance and Barnes see the STEM-focused cohort as an opportunity for participants to explore how emerging technologies and scientific issues affect Native communities, including topics such as artificial intelligence and data centers.

“I hope that one of the students decides to do some reporting over AI's integration into STEM because that's a really important topic right now,” Barnes said.

Participants will also have opportunities to report on climate and environmental issues in Oklahoma that affect Native communities and tribal lands.

“Here in Oklahoma, where most of our land is tribal reservation land and where many of the citizens have citizenship in a tribal nation and they have a stake in tribal outcomes and wellness and sovereignty, it’s sort of shocking when you start to think about how little of a voice Native American people have in technology and science,” Avance said.

Training will also focus on multimedia storytelling, ranging from podcasting to video and even social media carousels. Participants will be able to produce their final project in the format of their choosing.

“The cohort for this StoryKeepers iteration has been born into a world with social media,” Avance said. “They know about the TikTok trends, they know about what catches attention among their own generation and so that might be helpful for getting this kind of stuff not only out there but so it’s also accessible to their peers.”

Barnes also hopes the experience will expose participants to potential career paths in journalism, STEM or a combination of the two.

“I would have loved to have done a project like this when I was their age because it helps you understand whatever field you’re going to go into,” Barnes said. “If somebody had had me do this project over the field of psychology when I was their age, I would have gotten a very different picture of it.”

Participants who complete the cohort and publish a story in a multimedia format will receive a $300 stipend. They will also be eligible for consideration for future reporting opportunities with Crosswinds News.

Native and ally youth ages 12 to 20 can apply for the second StoryKeepers cohort through Sept. 1 here.