Standards and Policies

Buffalo’s Fire produces independent journalism to enhance the quality of life for Native communities through news coverage that informs and engages American Indians and lifts up our stories to the broader culture.

Preamble

Buffalo’s Fire is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news site covering American Indian stories. Buffalo’s Fire upholds the values of free speech and a free press for all American Indian people and their communities. As a result, American Indian communities are better informed to improve all aspects of community wellness, including health, governance, economics, and culture. Whereas, American Indians are distinct people grounded in culture and tradition, our reporting shall respect and not diminish culture, traditions, and sacred values. Whereas, American Indian nations have the right to self-determination, Buffalo’s Fire shall uphold their inherent sovereignty by seeking truth and exercising the public’s right to information. Therefore, Buffalo’s Fire is resolved to maintain the highest standards of credible, ethical and independent journalism in service to American Indian communities.

Code of Ethics

Buffalo’s Fire adheres to ethical policies and standards set forth by the Society of Professional journalists. These standards shall apply equally to Buffalo’s Fire employees, freelancers and all others engaged in gathering information on behalf of the digital news site. All receive a copy of these ethical standards. The Code of Ethics includes the following principles. (You can find the full Code of Ethics here at SPJ.)

Seek Truth and Report It

Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.

Minimize Harm

Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.

Act Independently

The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public. We understand a conflict of interest can arise even “even if nobody misbehaves and nobody means harm.” It is our duty as a newsroom to present news with integrity and to avoid perceived or real conflicts. We have “a story behind the story “ section on our digital news stores where we can disclose real or perceived conflicts. Our other option is to write opinion pieces. We adhere to these media guidelines for avoiding conflict of interest. To date, we’ve not taken, received or requested financial assistance from any tribal government, including the Three Affiliated Tribes located on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

Be Accountable and Transparent

Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.

Please see our Staff page.

Buiffalo’s Fire was founded in 2016 under the umbrella of the nonprofit Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance. Buffalosfire.com is the first Native American news site to become a member of The Trust Project, an international consortium of news organizations dedicated to integrity, transparency and accountability in the news industry. The project assists the public in making informed news choices within a free and responsible press.

Buffalo’s Fire is published by the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit media organization with articles of incorporation in North Dakota. Buffalo’s Fire was established with its own mission and maintains editorial independence. We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News: Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions. We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content. Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $1,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.

Transparency is critical to our credibility in American Indian communities. But not all Native communities are afforded full First Amendment protection for free speech and a free press. Misuse of tribal sovereignty often trumps citizens rights. There are times when reporters need confidential sources to serve our communities and their right to self-governance. Responsible journalism in the public interest may depend on confidential sources who give journalists information that powerful people seek to keep secret. We make every effort to pursue information on the record. Best Practices in journalism dictate that we use appropriate sources and fully identify them. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to determine the reliability of sources. Buffalo’s Fire encourages whistle-blowers to securely send us tips and information that could be of public concern ― videos, photos, story tips and documents. Our goal is to expose wrongdoing by companies, individuals and governments anywhere in the world. Buffalo’s Fire guarantees the protection of our sources. Our ability to protect sources allows people with important information to come forward and expose matters of public interest. If we do not properly protect our confidential sources, potential sources will not trust us. This compromises our ability to expose abuses of power in tribal, state and federal governments. The repercussions to sources in tribal communities could be legal, job-related retribution or personal safety. Those risks often extend to their sources’ families. We know readers may be skeptical of anonymous sources, wondering whether they are credible or what may motivate them. When the press overuses or abuses the use of unnamed sources, the public loses trust. We understand the skepticism and value the public’s trust, which is why we have a process in place to vet sources before they appear in a news story. We do not provide anonymity to those who attack individuals or organizations or engage in speculation. Unnamed sources are not allowed to be the sole basis of the story. Anonymous sources are a last resort, but some stories cannot be told without allowing sources to go unnamed.

How we decide on anonymity

• When a source requests anonymity, reporters first seek to change the person’s mind and to determine the reason the person wants to go unnamed.
• The material is information and not opinion or speculation, and is vital to the report.
• We weigh the potential impact and importance of the information on the lives of American Indians and its potential influence on public policy.
• We determine if the source is reliable and is in a position to have direct knowledge of the information.
• We consider the extent of personal or professional hardship and possible danger the source may face if his/her identity becomes known.
• Reporters will then try to find other sources willing to be named. If that approach fails, an editor becomes involved. Buffalo’s Fire editor decides whether to grant anonymity.
• Potential dangers and terms of use should be agreed upon by the journalist and the source.

In addition, we follow the Associated Press Protocols for identifying sources, which include the following definitions. These ground rules will be set at the onset of the interview with a source. These are the AP’s definitions:

On the record. The information can be used with no caveats, quoting the source by name.

Off the record. The information cannot be used for publication.

Background. The information can be published but only under conditions negotiated with the source. Generally, the sources do not want their names published but will agree to a description of their position. Buffalo’s Fire reporters should object vigorously when a source wants to brief a group of reporters on background and try to persuade the source to put the briefing on the record.

Deep background. The information can be used but without attribution. The source does not want to be identified in any way, even on condition of anonymity. If Buffalo’s Fire publishes information from an anonymous source, we will explain in the story, in as much detail as possible, why we agreed to anonymity. Buffalo’s Fire relies on an Associated Press wire service for some of our stories. The Associated Press has its own policy for anonymous sources.

All of our news stories indicate the name of the correspondent or staff member who reported and wrote about the news. The bylines also include a link to information on how to contact the journalist. On some articles you will see bylines from news agencies rather than our staff. We trust these news organizations to help us cover the world as fully as possible and to adhere to the highest journalistic standards. As a member of the Associated Press Storyshare, Buffalo’s Fire publishes news created by other members in the news cooperative. Those stories are identifiable through a byline that indicates the publication and the journalist who wrote the story. The Associated Press Storyshare helps news outlets around the country to connect with each other in the interest of preserving local and state news coverage for their communities. Buffalo’s Fire is a partner in the Indigenous news Storyshare. The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business.

Inclusiveness is at the heart of thinking and acting as journalists. When we include voices from more segments of our communities in our coverage, the result is more accurate and nuanced storytelling. Our commitment to diversity extends to our own staff, where different backgrounds and experiences enrich our approach to news coverage. As a national digital news service covering Indian Country, our staff and reporters need an immensely broad understanding of American Indian life and issues that can range from federal law to health to culture. At the community level, our reporters must have respect for and knowledge of each tribe’s history, values, and traditions. Without this understanding and indigenous ways of knowing, stereotypes will be perpetuated and sacred traditions may be violated. Therefore, we place the utmost importance on hiring reporters and contributors from different tribal backgrounds and experiences. As a new nonprofit, we have the opportunity at Buffalo’s Fire to build an equitable, inclusive, ethical, respectful and anti-racist workplace from the ground up. We are dedicated to forming a team based on diverse experiences, with equity, belonging, trust and respect as our core organizing principles. We are an equal opportunity employer.

Diverse Staffing Report

Below is a breakdown of staffing data at Buffalo’s Fire. We determine the composition of our staff by asking them to self-identify. It is based on a newsroom of five as of August 2024. The majority of the staff are ages 55 and below with three staff members under the age of 30. All five identify as heterosexual. We also work with two contributing editors over the age of 55. Both contributing editors speak Spanish, and all five staff members speak English only at home. For race/ethnicity, four staff members self-selected as American Indian and one staff member selected White. The four American Indian staff members reported association with the following Native American tribes:

• Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes
• Spirit Lake Oyate
• Mniconjou Lakota
• Chippewa Cree

Every single article we publish is checked for accuracy and credibility. Buffalo’s Fire reporters have primary responsibility for reporting, writing, and fact-checking their stories. In addition, before a story is published, the reporter reviews all facts and sources with an editor. In our news stories, facts must be traced to a primary source. Journalists are expected to write with fact-checking in mind, and should be ready to provide source material and to discuss and respond to questions. We take many steps to ensure accuracy:

• We investigate claims with skepticism; question assumptions; challenge conventional wisdom; confirm information with subject-matter experts; and seek to corroborate what sources tell us by talking with other informed people or consulting documents.
• We verify content, such as technical terms and statistics, against source documents or clearly identify the source of the information.
• We may share relevant story components with a primary source or an outside expert to verify them.
• We provide hyperlinks in the story to facts and any source material found online.

We stand by the information as accurate, and if it’s not, we will change it as quickly as possible and be transparent with our readers about the magnitude of the error.

Buffalo’s Fire is committed to accurate and factual news. We will tell our readers when an error has been identified, the magnitude of the error, and the correct information, as quickly as possible. We distinguish between corrections (for mistakes) and clarifications (for vague or misleading content). If you believe a story we have published is inaccurate, please contact the editorial team. You can:

• Email: contact@imfreedomalliance.org
• Write to The Editor, P.O. Box 1, Halliday, N.D. 58636

Once verified, we will correct the story on the website as soon as possible. The fact a correction has been made will be noted at the bottom of the corrected story and on the Corrections and Clarifications page. The correction will include the correct information, a reference to the incorrect information, and the time and date of the correction.

We believe that news organizations have a responsibility to engage with the public on the values, issues and ideas of the day, and that we have much to gain in return. Our readers are frontline witnesses to life in American Indian communities. They have a stake in maintaining and improving the quality of life in Indian Country. Their knowledge and insights help us decide what to cover and how to cover it. We invite your comments and complaints on news stories, suggestions for issues to cover or sources to consult. We have a variety of ways to listen to readers, including our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. On our website, we invite story idea submissions and have an online form for Whistleblowers. For more ways to contact us, see our Contact page. You may also contact us by email, phone, or mail: Jodi Rave Spotted Bear, Executive Director : jodi@imfreedomalliance.org Phone: (701) 301-1296 Address: P.O. Box 1, Halliday, N.D. 58636