Native kids tackle media

Learning to tell stories

Native teens gain media experience in after-school programMaybe you've seen them out there with note pads, microphones and cameras, talking to officials, to everyday people, to those who live on the streets. They're kids, and they're asking lots of questions. They want to know why things are the way they are, what needs to change and what it all means.

They're members of MEDIAK, an after-school media program for Native teens, and they're taking on tough topics--depression, suicide, rape, abuse. Why, they want to know, do Native American teens drop out of school at twice the national average? What is life like when you're pregnant and alone? How does being in a drunken-driving accident that kills a friend alter a person's life?