A Right to Media? Lorie M. Graham - Columbia Law School

506 COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW [41:429
advocate for social or economic change, they may not be able to
significantly combat racial stereotypes promulgated by public or
private entities or fight against discrimination, and they may not be
able to respond to erroneous misinformation about who they are and
what they value. These are only a few of the troubling implications of
the lack of freedom of expression and right to information.
Unfortunately, as discussed above, such are the obstacles
faced by many indigenous peoples precisely because they have been
denied a right to media. Media, as the most ubiquitous means of
mass communication, is the conduit through which all peoples
exercise the right to freedom of expression and right to information.
Yet for decades, radio, television, print media, music and all of the
many other forms of media have been dominated by non-indigenous
voices to the exclusion of indigenous voices. Furthermore, media has
been utilized by both state and private actors to promote assimilation
of indigenous peoples with the resulting marginalization of
indigenous communities. This historical legacy has resulted in
structural and cultural barriers to media, which has in turn
undermined other basic rights to education, culture, language, selfrepresentation,
and non-discrimination.
Thus the idea of media and rights extends well beyond the
mere ability to view indigenous programming or to listen to
indigenous news. The very linguistic and cultural distinctions which
make up an indigenous people are threatened by the denial of their
rights to expression and information, which in turn impacts their
ability to transmit culture, participate in decision-making processes,
and realize meaningful rights of self-governance. Moreover,
discrimination against indigenous peoples in the media not only
transmits erroneous information, but it circumscribes the public
conversation regarding issues of importance to indigenous peoples
and shapes the outcomes of very real life and death struggles for
cultural and economic survival.
From a larger societal standpoint, the recognition of a right
to media under international law is a critical first step in the process
of improving relations between indigenous peoples and other
segments of society. By appropriately reflecting the diversity of
indigenous cultures in the media, we can begin to reverse centuries
of misinformation, discrimination, and marginalization. It is a
means by which to give voice to indigenous communities and promote
new voices in the process of public deliberation. Building on the
words of Chief Justice Yazzie of the Navajo Supreme Court, this
expanded discourse will in turn help us to better understand each