Former Hocak Worak editor Marlon WhiteEagle, who last month was elected president of the Ho-Chunk Nation, recently spoke with the Cap Times about what he learned working as a journalist, the importance of freedom of the press, and increasing access to information within tribal government.
photo by Ben Brewer, Cap Times
WhiteEagle decided to run for president after being fired by the tribe’s government-run newspaper, he told the Cap Times‘ Natalie Yahr. The ideals he valued as a journalist — accountability, transparency and openness — were central to his campaign.
The ideals he valued as a journalist — accountability, transparency and openness — were central to his campaign.
” … as a reporter and editor, I’d have to read all the (tribal) laws and whatnot,” WhiteEagle said. “And people would come to me and tell me, ‘Hey, this is the law, and this isn’t being upheld.’ I would get a lot of the people that just went to visit their representative and they felt like they weren’t being listened to, and they’d come to me, and I’d listen to them.”
WhiteEagle, who started at the Hocak Worak as a reporter in 2011, served as editor from 2012 until 2018. Under his leadership, the newspaper was recognized for its reporting efforts at a statewide and national level. Among the stories that received recognition was his coverage of the conviction status of Ho-Chunk Nation President Wilfrid Cleveland.
