By BROOKLYN BROWN BIGMEAT
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Cherokee One Feather Editorial Board held their monthly meeting on the morning of Oct. 15 in the Ginger Lynn Welch Large Conference Room. Members present included Robert Jumper, editor; Scott McKie Brings Plenty, assistant editor; Brooklyn Bigmeat, gahvsgi (chairperson); Dawn Arneach, taline gahvsgi (vice chairperson); Tina Laws, subscription clerk; and Sheyahshe Littledave, executive office appointee.
The Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) appointed board position remains vacant.
Gahvsgi Bigmeat called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. The first agenda item was approved unanimously, which was an Editorial regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and journalism submitted by Jumper.
The North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) is forming a working group of journalists throughout North Carolina to discuss and monitor the growing use of AI in journalism. Jumper asked NCPA if a representative from the One Feather can serve on the working group remotely; if so, the One Feather will most likely appoint a representative to the working group.
The second agenda item was a question from Littledave about the process of the Editorial Board providing feedback on commentaries. The question was prompted by a commentary written by Jumper, which Jumper forwarded to the board requesting feedback. Littledave said the request for feedback was sent without much of a window to allow for review prior to publishing. Jumper expressed that his request for feedback is a courtesy, and he uses the feedback to inform his opinions for commentaries moving forward.
The third agenda item was a proposed ordinance change submitted by Brings Plenty regarding substitute ordinances and the required waiting period of 25 days for ordinances. The change reads,
“(g) Once the proposed ordinance has met the required 25-day waiting period, Tribal Council may make minor floor amendments only to include grammatical and/or clerical errors. Further amendments and/or additions or subtractions constitute a new ordinance, and the introduction process must begin anew. Substitute ordinances also constitute an entirely new ordinance and must meet the 25-day waiting period before being acted upon.”
The board will take a formal vote on whether to submit the proposed ordinance change to Dinilawigi at the next Editorial Board meeting Nov. 19.
The final agenda item was an interview request from an Appalachian State University student wishing to interview Jumper about ethics in journalism. The board unanimously encouraged Jumper to participate in the interview.
In open discussion, the board discussed One Feather coverage of the 114th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair. Overall, the board felt that Fair coverage went well. Brings Plenty and Bigmeat suggested focusing next Fair on writing feature articles about various people behind the scenes.
The One Feather also shared in open discussion that the staff will not be participating in any upcoming Halloween events as a program but Brings Plenty will be present for coverage of the events.
The meeting adjourned at 10:48 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. in the Ginger Lynn Welch Large Conference Room.
