{"id":131541,"date":"2026-06-02T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southern-ute-drum-editor-reflects-on-lessons-learned-at-tribal-newspaper\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:00:00","slug":"southern-ute-drum-editor-reflects-on-lessons-learned-at-tribal-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southern-ute-drum-editor-reflects-on-lessons-learned-at-tribal-newspaper\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Ute Drum editor reflects on lessons learned at tribal newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Former
Former Southern Ute Drum editor Jeremy Wade Shockley recently left the tribal newspaper after nine years at the helm. (Courtesy of Jeremy Wade Shockley)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Producing a community newspaper requires being part of the community \u2013 a lesson Jeremy Wade Shockley learned repeatedly during his 14 years at the Southern Ute Drum<\/em>, the biweekly newspaper serving the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.<\/p>\n

Shockley, who recently stepped away from his role as editor-in-chief after nine years in the role, said his time covering the Southern Ute Tribe gave him a deeper understanding of journalism, community and trust.<\/p>\n

He said the work taught him that meaningful reporting cannot come from the outside looking in.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t drop in as an outsider, you know, and tell those stories,\u201d he said. \u201cYou really got to be part of it, and I think that was a big tie and connection for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For him, that long-term presence \u2013 showing up at cultural events, listening more than talking, and staying over many years \u2013 is the foundation of his years of work.<\/p>\n

Much of that trust, he says, was built outside the newsroom in spaces like the Bear Dance and other cultural gatherings.<\/p>\n

The Bear Dance, an annual spring ceremony that dates back centuries, became a formative experience for Shockley because he was invited to participate rather than remain on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you take part in these bear dances, you see all these familiar faces and friends and people that you might be working with on stories,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when you get there, it\u2019s all about the bear dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shockley said the experience became one of the most meaningful parts of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become such an important part of my life in a way that I never would have expected, and so even though I\u2019ve left my job, I\u2019ll still be part of the bear dance,\u201d he said. \u201cThat part\u2019s not going to go away. As a non-Ute, I find it really powerful to be included.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the stories and cultural moments Shockley covered have stayed with him over the years.<\/p>\n

One story he said he will always remember involved a centuries-old cottonwood tree that served as a meeting place for generations of Southern Ute tribal leaders.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, the city of Delta, where the tree stood, decided it needed to be removed. Tribal members gathered to be with the cottonwood during its final moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a really significant thing to be witness to, both as a writer and a photographer, to be there and listen to those words,\u201d Shockley said. \u201cThat was very powerful, and even though it was six or seven years ago, I think about it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those experiences shaped how he thinks about journalism in tribal communities. In those spaces, trust is something journalists earn and then work constantly to maintain, he said.<\/p>\n

It can include revisiting editorial decisions, examining how stories are framed and ensuring he approaches his work \u201cwith as much authenticity\u201d as possible \u2013 both to his subjects and himself.<\/p>\n

Trust and authenticity are inseparable, he said. If a journalist breaks trust in order to meet a deadline or chases a story in a way that feels inauthentic, he believes that damage is hard to undo, especially in a small community.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou earn trust, but you have to keep trust,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, Shockley said, that means choosing not to publish a detail, not to push a source, or to walk away from an angle that would make for a splashy read but harm relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018It always comes out better to say, \u2018No, I\u2019ve got to take the higher road on this one if I can,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI know it\u2019s tough, and I know journalism gets tough that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of responsibility extends to how he thinks about the Drum<\/em>\u2019s function in a community where tradition is fundamentally oral. Many elders\u2019 stories begin as spoken narratives shared in living rooms or community halls, and only afterward become print, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tradition is an oral tradition that gets passed on. I think the newspaper is a part of that,\u201d he said. \u201cIf an elder can tell their story and we can represent that story in the paper, that\u2019s sort of a megaphone to amplify that story.\u201d<\/p>\n

That amplification only works, he said, if the original storytellers feel their words were carried faithfully and respectfully into print.<\/p>\n

Shockley said he is especially proud of the work he and his staff did to organize and expand access to the tribe\u2019s underused 50-year archive, turning it into a resource that reflects \u201ca huge part of who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s especially proud that those archives fed major outside projects, like History Colorado\u2019s \u201cWritten on the Land\u201d exhibit, where he says more than half the visuals came from the Drum<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But Shockley is ready to step out from behind the desk and spend more time in the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs time went on and our team got bigger, I was doing less of the journalism, and I\u2019m really passionate about being the one out there telling the stories, especially with a camera,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He plans to remain in the area and keep his ties to the tribe as he returns to freelance life and the pursuit of long\u2011form projects he\u2019s been thinking about for years \u2013 especially on water and drought in the West.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to reconnect with younger Jeremy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

jbowman@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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