NMPBS News:
ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico PBS (NMPBS) congratulates the Indigenously Positive series production team for winning a 2025 Indigenous Media Award for Best Multimedia, for their story, “Gaza looms over election for some Native people.”
Indigenously Positive is a collaborative partnership between New Mexico in Focus, NMPBS’ weekly news and public affairs show, and nonprofit news organization New Mexico In Depth. Episodes air on In Focus and are published on both organizations’ websites.
The Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA) presented awards recognizing outstanding coverage of Indigenous communities, as part of the 2025 Indigenous Media Conference Aug. 15 at Isleta Resort and Casino in Albuquerque.
The annual Indigenous Media Awards contest recognizes excellence in reporting by Indigenous and non-Indigenous journalists from across the globe. This year, IJA received a record number of entries – 871.
Indigenous Journalism Association Awards:
Category: Best Multimedia
First Place
Bella Davis – Host / Producer, Benjamin C. Yazza – Director/producer, Joey Dunn – Camera crew, Noah Eichstaedt – Camera Crew, Jeff Proctor – Executive producer
Gaza looms over election for some Native people
New Mexico In Depth and NMPBS/New Mexico in Focus
“This is amazing, personally, this is my first IJA award,“ Benjamin C. Yazza said. “When I first met Bella and we chatted about this episode, it felt like this series would be off to a good start. But we were also both hesitant and nervous about the comments page after the fact, and even more concerning, would anyone even watch it. Over the next two weeks we had 50 thousand views and a flood of comments.”
Biographies:
Bella Davis is an Indigenous affairs reporter at New Mexico In Depth focused on issues including education and the missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives crisis. She’s also the host and producer of Indigenously Positive, a collaborative series from New Mexico In Depth and NMPBS uplifting stories of Indigenous joy and empowerment. Bella is a Yurok tribal member, born in Eureka, California and raised in central New Mexico. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of New Mexico (UNM).
Benjamin C. Yazza (Diné) is a multimedia producer at New Mexico PBS (NMPBS) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a member of the Navajo Nation and appreciates the opportunity to listen to Indigenous and Native voices in the hopes to share their thoughts and experiences across the digital media landscape. He recently produced a series in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios called Sovereign Innovations, where they discovered how Indigenous innovation and technology allows Indigenous communities to survive and thrive, now and across the centuries. The collaboration was a wide success, reaching many Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. Benjamin is currently working with Bella Davis to produce the series, Indigenously Positive, where they explore uplifting stories of Indigenous joy and empowerment.
About New Mexico PBS (NMPBS)
Celebrating over 65 years of service, NMPBS (KNME & KNMD-TV) serving New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, broadcasts and streams a wide array of nature, history, current affairs, health, performance, children’s, educational and entertainment programs. NMPBS produces NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS, COLORES! and a variety of specials. NMPBS operates 5 digital KNME broadcast channels: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, and 5.5, and streams most programs on the PBS Video App. The five KNMD Channels mirror KNME, and broadcast in ATSC 3.0, in the NEXTGEN TV format. NMPBS is co-licensed to the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Albuquerque Public Schools (APS). www.nmpbs.org