In the summer of 2009, Rhia Almeida stood about 4 feet tall. On her tiptoes, she reached her mom’s chest, and when she leaned in for hugs her chocolate brown hair danced over her shoulders. Rhia loved playing outside and was especially fond of the old tire swing hanging from a tree outside her family’s […]
Search results
Posted inEquity
Data that drives change: MMIWG2T Reporter’s Notebook
Yá’át’ééh. It’s been almost six months since we announced the project. With the new year, what better time to update everyone about what I’ve been working on since then. In case you missed it, I was hired at Arizona Luminaria in August to lead an accountability journalism project about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, […]
Posted inCommunity
Tohono O’odham community organizer could be Pima County’s first Indigenous supervisor
A Tohono O’odham woman at the forefront of justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Arizona has thrown her hat in the ring for a recently vacated seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. If selected, April Ignacio would be the first Indigenous person to ever serve on the board and […]
Posted inCommunity
Too long without answers: Shining a light on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People
Yá’át’ééh! Shí éí Chelsea Curtis yinishyé. Tódích’íí’nii nishłį, Bilagáana bashishchiin, Ta’neeszahnii dashicheii, Bilagáana dashinalí. My name is Chelsea and I’m a Diné journalist with more than five years of experience covering an array of local news topics in Arizona, and a particular interest in Indigenous communities and criminal justice issues. For a long time, I […]
Posted inEquity
Arizona Daily Sun on Chelsea Curtis’ database for missing and murdered Indigenous people
Having been impeded and obstructed for dozens of years due to several reasons, consistent data collection on the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People has been inadequate by any measure. With years of experience reporting on a variety of topics across Arizona, journalist Chelsea Curtis hopes to take a […]
Posted inCommunity
Announcing our Indigenous-led project with IWMF and Diné journalist Chelsea Curtis
We hear you when you say you want more news stories that break down increasingly complex issues in our communities. So Arizona Luminaria is thrilled to announce that Diné journalist Chelsea Curtis is joining our nonprofit news team to launch an Indigenous-led investigative and explanatory reporting project. These news stories and database are supported by […]
Our team
Irene McKisson Principal Executive, Co-founder Irene McKisson spent 18 years in local news at the Arizona Daily Star where she started as a sports designer and copy editor and became the General Manager of Niche Audience Development, co-founding and editing #ThisIsTucson. She is a past ONA speaker and member of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator cohort; a […]
Posted inCommunity
KJZZ reporter covering a pro-Palestinian protest among group arrested by Pima County Sheriff’s deputies
Alisa Reznick, a news reporter with KJZZ, was arrested Thursday morning by Pima County Sheriff’s Department deputies as she was covering a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Arizona Tech Park in Tucson. More than two dozen protesters also were arrested. Reznick is a senior field correspondent covering southern Arizona for KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk and […]
Posted inVoting
Tucson awaiting AG opinion on Prop 413 recount before asking court to weigh in
Tucson has not filed a petition in court requesting a decision on whether Proposition 413 – a city council pay raise measure – is subject to a recount under new state election laws that narrowed the margin for repeating vote tabulations. That’s despite the slim 289-vote margin showing the measure is passing in recount territory […]
Posted inCommunity
Tucson court order evicts Ocotillo apartment residents as those remaining swelter without power
The Ocotillo Apartments and Hotel began to swelter as the Tucson heat crept into the building after residents say building managers cut the power while they were still living there. It was barely noon and the temperature outside was already 95 degrees. “Now it’s just extremely hot. It’s extremely hot,” Denise said, dressed in a […]
