Melanie Henshaw

What I Cover
Every issue has an Indigenous affairs angle, and it’s my job to find issues negatively affecting Indigenous communities and peoples and ask the responsible agencies, entities and people tough questions about how they are falling short. I consult Indigenous community members, attorneys, tribal, state, local federal government officials, public records and scientific studies to inform my reporting.

My Background
I am an experienced Indigenous affairs journalist with a drive to provide fair and accurate coverage of Indigenous communities. I previously covered Indigenous affairs in Oregon for Portland-based newspaper Street Roots, writing about everything from celebrations of Native American cultures, to efforts by Native Americans to restore access to their tribes’ first foods, to dissecting Supreme Court cases involving Indigenous affairs issues with reverberations across Indian Country. A graduate of the University of Oregon, I’ve been passionate about covering Indigenous affairs my entire career. I am a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and I enjoy beading in my free time.

Ethics and Approach
I endeavor to hold powerful entities to account. I strive to tell stories that provide adequate context for issues that often have hundreds of years of legal and historical precedent, while respecting the unique cultures and perspectives of the wide variety of Indigenous peoples in the Northwest. It is important to me to minimize harm to any communities and people that I cover, which is especially important given the historically harmful nature of press coverage involving Indigenous and other marginalized communities.

Contact Me
You can reach me by email, text or call.

Email: melanie@investigatewest.org
Phone: 971-258-0891
Signal: 971-258-0891