Buffalo's Fire

The Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-c-3 nonprofit organization founded in 2016, emerged in response to the need for independent media in Indian Country. We are working to report local news in the Bismarck-Mandan area and rural tribal communities across North Dakota. The IMFA publishes independent news online at buffalosfire.com.

The IMFA and Buffalo’s Fire are dedicated to the pursuit of truth and freedom of the press. Our collective mission goes beyond reporting the news. We are committed to strengthening tribal

sovereignty by amplifying the third critical pillar of sovereignty—the people’s voice. This amplification empowers tribal leaders to make decisions that reflect the people’s will.

Buffalo’s Fire is the first Native American news site to join The Trust Project’s international cohort of news organizations that elevate trustworthy news. We are strengthening our commitment to our readers, and building trust into our daily practice is important to our organization.

A free and independent press is vital to all democracies. An informed tribal citizenry equates to a higher quality of life for all. Before coming under the umbrella of IMFA, Buffalo’s Fire was created as a blog in 2009. It then morphed into a for-profit aggregated news site. It became inactive for a few years ending in 2015 due to the IMFA founder’s (Jodi Rave Spotted Bear) full-time employment schedule as the executive director of the KMHA radio station and the MHA Times on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

After working in the mainstream press for some 15 years, Jodi ended her daily news beat as a reporter for Lee Enterprises in 2009. She left the Missoulian newspaper in Montana to pursue several goals outside corporate media, including securing the buffalosfire.com domain site. The site is named in honor of the founder’s mother, Gertrude Janet “Gertsy” Spotted Bear (Gunderson) who died on July 14, 2003.

Gertsy loved the outdoors and particularly loved the delicate tiger lilies that grow on the North Dakota high prairie. The flowers typically bloom in July and favor the north side of the hills. It’s always gratifying to see the first tiger lily of the season here on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, homeland of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation in North Dakota. They don’t stay with us long, and their natural beauty is appreciated. The Mandan, or Nueta, language translation for tiger lily is The Buffalo’s Fire. It’s easy to imagine buffalo huddled around a flowery-orange campfire having a good conversation.

This is the genesis story of Buffalo’s Fire.