Toastie Oaster’s first-ever feature made them a finalist in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. Now a staff writer on the Indigenous affairs desk at High Country News, Toastie focuses on stories that highlight social and environmental justice for Native nations and the consequences of colonialism in the West. 

In this episode of The Lead, we’re talking about why having Native stories told by Native journalists is important, and how non-Native people should report responsibly on Indigenous communities.

Toastie’s feature that we talk about (and that was a finalist in the National Magazine Awards) is called “Underwater Legends.” It’s about the relationship between the Pacific lamprey and Native nations in the Northwest, and it can be found here.

“Reporting on Native issues, if you allow it to, will challenge your worldview. And it should.”

Guest: B. “Toastie” Oaster, staff writer on the Indigenous affairs desk at High Country News.

Jacqueline GaNun is a graduate assistant in the journalism department at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.