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Some personal, heavy news. Today is my last day as editor-in-chief of @highcountrynews. I'm very proud of the magazine I've been a part of since May 2014, and I'm confident it is in great shape with the current editorial crew. Some final thoughts
High Country News occupies an important place in our national journalistic landscape. It is a magazine that purports to cover the "West." For this reason, it must be handled with care, especially in how the region is defined, and by whom.
Improperly defined, "the West" can denote a cultural landscape that is exceedingly homogenous, the product of Manifest Destiny, which is a process of settler-colonialism, displacement and white supremacy that continues to this day. This is not merely "history," but ongoing.
Improperly handled, High Country News becomes an unwitting instrument of white supremacy. With the wrong lens, it will focus merely on a limited group of people and their interests, erasing many, many other people in the process.
Properly handled, High Country News becomes a magazine that pushes back on preconceived notions of a romanticized "West," and instead focuses on a complicated region, where many people (and their other-than-human neighbors) co-exist, sometimes in contest, sometimes in concert.
A magazine that claims to cover the "West" must recognize this at all times. It must put the lion's share of its resources into journalism that unpacks these relationships. To do otherwise is to erase people from the land, which is unconscionable and inexcusable.
I am confident that the current editorial team of @highcountrynews is fully dedicated to covering the Western United States as it is, not as one group of people wishes it to be. If you want this work to continue, please continue to remind the magazine of its importance.
Here's some work that I'm extremely proud of from the magazine staff and contributors. So many people make this magazine a rare, beautiful thing. These stories exemplify that work.
From @jkutzie, a story on climate injustice, https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.9/south-climate-change-extreme-heat-is-here-and-its-deadly and @Carlschirps, an analysis beyond the yeah-saying of fossil-fuel funding for land and water conservation: https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.9/north-public-lands-is-a-big-win-for-conservation-a-blow-to-climate-action
From @annavtoriasmith, a story that reframed the water conversation along the Klamath River, https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.10/tribal-affairs-how-the-yurok-tribe-is-reclaiming-the-klamath-river, and @grahambrewer, this feature; after you read it, you'll never look at Indigenous art the same way: https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.12/education-can-bacone-college-reclaim-its-roots-as-a-center-for-native-art
From @Tahtone, whose view of the world changed mine forever, and to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude, https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.4/indigenous-affairs-education-land-grab-universities and @kalengoodluck, whose eye for photography and ability to investigate systems is inspiring: https://www.hcn.org/articles/indigenous-affairs-the-erasure-of-indigenous-people-in-us-covid-19-data
From @Jessicadd29_ , who found this beautiful example of cooperation amid crisis https://www.hcn.org/articles/indigenous-affairs-communities-how-portlands-mutual-aid-supports-local-indigenous-communities and @ruxguidi, whose view of the world is somehow clear-eyed and open-hearted at the same time 16/: https://www.hcn.org/articles/letter-from-california-apocalyptic-fires-are-a-side-effect-of-modern-life
From @eileenguo and her great journalistic instincts around inequality, https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.6/covid19-they-cut-all-of-our-hours and @npbowlin, who spent many hours with these folks to understand a complex water story: https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.16/water-colorado-farmers-fight-to-save-their-water-and-their-communitys-future
From @elenasb_ , whose poet's soul graces all her journalism https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.10/communities-none-of-this-happened-the-way-you-think-it-did-cremated-remains and @eric_siegel1, who brought real beauty to this story: https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.10/south-water-killing-the-vegas-pipeline
From @vgpetersen, whose Alaska roots are keeping our coverage up there spot on, https://www.hcn.org/articles/north-oil-why-the-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-may-not-be-drilled and @jonnypeace, who is never afraid to take on too much: https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.5/infographic-the-pandemic-is-battering-oil-state-economies
From @nijhuism, a tireless guardian of HCN, https://www.hcn.org/issues/47.1/can-aldo-leopolds-land-ethic-tackle-our-toughest-problems and @betsymason, whose sense of humor remains in tact: https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.8/humor-teenage-wolves-petticoat-rulers-alaskas-permissive-hunting
From @BearGuerra, whose eye and sensibilities have reshaped the magazine https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.6/covid19-protesting-immigrant-detention-during-a-pandemic-justice and @la_archey, who is helping us visualize the West https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.9/infographic-where-people-are-migrating-in-and-out-of-the-west?utm_content=buffer3633b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
From @Leah_Sottile, whose courage is a gift, https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.6/north-extremism-the-gadsden-flag-is-a-symbol-but-whose and @tory_sarah, who never gives up until a story is perfect, https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.8/recreation-death-in-the-alpine
From @erbenson1, whose intelligence and toughness I greatly admire, https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.7/north-race-and-racism-blackbirdersweek-takes-on-systemic-racism-by-celebrating-diversity, and @PaigeBlank, whose interviewing ability is uncanny, https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.6/endangered-species-how-a-tiny-endangered-species-put-a-man-in-prison
From @Kapoor_ML, whose sense of humor allows her an unflinching view of the world, https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.5/covid19-pro-tips-on-physical-distancing-from-the-nonhuman-world and from @ethanblinck, one of the best thinkers in the West https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.8/recreation-your-stoke-wont-save-us
Huge thanks to @kateschimel, who never failed me, and @gbtking, who always inspired me, and to the rest of the staff of the magazine, who work very hard and believe in what they do. Fin.
