Freedom of the press is not guaranteed for most Native American tribes. As sovereign nations, they create their own laws. In fact, only a handful of tribes have freedom of the press, one of them being the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Well, until 2018, when the Free Press Act is repealed. It turns out that while Muscogee citizens appreciate getting information about the tribal government from the local media outlets, the tribe's elected officials do not want reporting to include their embezzlement schemes or sexual harassment accusations.
"Bad Press," codirected by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker (Muscogee) and Joe Peeler is a cogent documentary that chronicles over the course of several years the efforts of the members of Mvskoke Media — journalists Angel Ellis, Jerrad Moore, and Liz Gray among them — to fight for a free press and transparency and against tyranny by getting an amendment passed to change the constitution. (Something that has never before happened.) The impact of this can change tribal history; the Muscogee would be a role model for all tribes.
