After their fellow students expressed concerns for the lack of employment and after-school activity opportunities in Arlee, Montana, young journalists at Arlee High School embarked on a reporting journey to better understand the places and people supporting youth in their town. They honed their interview and recording skills by talking with entrepreneurs, fellow students, high school staff, and community organizers. They took reporting trips around the town and the surrounding area to the Arlee Community Center and Kampfire Steak House, which hires student employees. Along the way, they found a new business, hoping to uplift the people of Arlee, especially its youth.
Auntie’s Emporium opened in July and is a Native-owned market founded by Jamila James. James told the student reporters, “The way we strengthen a community is by working together and by lifting each other up. We need to have a space for teenagers to get job skills. That’s through working. We need to have a space that is drug and alcohol free. And we need to have a space that focuses on our community and the longevity of that.”
The students learned that Auntie’s Emporium is a restaurant informed by the seasons, but is also starting to foster a community center in the same building, hosting movie nights, native games, and building two recording studios.
At the end of the reporting week, the students dug through and edited together interview clips, recorded narration, and presented the story to Arlee High School students and staff in their school library! Check out photos of the students reporting and listen to their story below.