Independent news from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

Native flute, dancing liven up music classes

JT Shining Oneside shared stories about her Ojibwe and Anishinaabe inheritance during the Native American Heritage Month Celebration on Nov. 15. She spoke about the coming-of-age and traditional birth ceremonies. (Photo credit/ Adrianna Adame)

Music classes are now available at every elementary school in the 509-J School district through the expansion of the Ethos music program. Last year, the district partnered with the nonprofit Ethos Program, which provides AmeriCorps volunteers, who are trained musicians, to teach music. The district’s cost is $7,550 per Ethos volunteer, a fraction of the cost of a certified music teacher. The two newest instructors are Blythe Olson and Joe Baumann, who have joined original Ethos instructors Laurel Crafton and Sarah Goff.
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Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.