CoJMC alumna makes impact in the Native American community

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - 1:30pm

by Molly Chapple

Rebekka Schlichting, a 2016 master’s grad from the CoJMC professional journalism track, is using her journalism skills to tell stories of Native American people.

The CoJMC hosted a multicultural homecoming celebration the week of Sept. 23-29. Six women visited the CoJMC to speak to classes and answer students’ questions about life after graduation. Schlichting was one of the women celebrated.

Schlichting was born and raised on the Sac and Fox Reservation in Kansas. She completed her bachelor of science in journalism at the University of Kansas in 2014.

After graduation, she knew she wanted to expand her knowledge in journalism and work to help fight for Native rights.

During her time at the CoJMC, Schlichting was a graduate assistant and played a major role as project coordinator for the depth reporting class that produced “The Wounds of Whiteclay: Nebraska’s Shameful Legacy.” The Wounds of Whiteclay project examined the issues surrounding four beer stores in Whiteclay, Nebraska, adjacent to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is illegal and where alcoholism, fetal alcohol syndrome and poverty are widespread.

The project took home various awards, including the grand prize at the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards ceremony in 2017, marking the first time in the event’s 49-year history that the top prize went to a college group. The coverage also played a role in the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission’s discussions leading to a vote to repeal the liquor licenses in the four stores in Whiteclay. The stores stopped selling alcohol in April 2017.

Schlichting said her time as a graduate assistant at the CoJMC helped her make connections and gain confidence.

“It helped me to be comfortable in large amounts of people at once and gave me invaluable research skills, amazing opportunities and life long friends, not just with the students but with the professors, too,” she said.

Schlichting currently works as assistant director at Vision Maker Media, a broadcasting company in Lincoln focused on telling Native American stories. In this role, she manages film contracts, serves as an executive producer and works on fundraising and grant writing.

Schlichting was recently recognized with a  40 under 40 award from The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. According to its website, the 40 Under 40 is a prestigious award which recognizes 40 emerging American Indians from across Indian Country who have demonstrated leadership, initiative and dedication and who have made significant contributions in business and/or in their community.

In addition to her work on Native American filmmaking, Schlichting also serves as chairwoman of the Ioway tribe pow wow, is involved in the Native American church, helps with the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs and serves as a faculty adviser for the University of Nebraska Inter-Tribal Exchange (UNITE).

Schlichting said her experience as a multicultural student has given her cultural knowledge and the ability to give feedback on projects that are culturally appropriate to the Native American community. She emphasized her passion for missing and murdered indigenous women, and said she wants more attention called to it.

“Growing up on the reservation and being surrounded by elders, they always told me to go get an education and then come back and help my  people,” she said. “That’s what my passion and focus has always been.”

Rebekka Schlichting
During her time at the CoJMC, Schlichting was a graduate assistant and played a major role as project coordinator for the depth reporting class that produced “The Wounds of Whiteclay: Nebraska’s Shameful Legacy.”