Introducing, The Two Row Times

Introducing, The Two Row Times

Hello and welcome to the Two Row Times’ special pre-launch issue! The Two Row Times is a free weekly news publication aimed at reaching the Ontario-wide Native market as well as Haudenosaunee communities in the United States. We are using this pre-launch issue to introduce our project and our team. The first full issue of the Two Row Times will launch with a print run of 20,000 copies on August 21st. 2013, and will be distributed at every reserve in Ontario and in neighbouring non-Native communities.

Our goal

In the words of its publisher and owner, Jonathan Garlow, “the goal of the Two Row Times is to provide timely and relevant news and information to Native communities as well as to serve as a bridge between all nations by promoting and demonstrating the values of the Two Row Wampum.” Our name is inspired by the Two Row Wampum, one of the first treaty agreements made between Native people and non-Native people on Turtle Island (North America). This treaty is an agreement of peace, friendship and mutual non-interference between European newcomers and the Onkwehon:we – the original people of this land. 2013 is a fortuitous year for launching our paper, since it marks the 400th year anniversary of the creation of the original Two Row agreement between the Mohawks and the Dutch.

So what’s different about this paper?

The Two Row Times is a hybrid business model of print and web-based publishing that uses social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to build our media reach. We are aiming to become a powerful, engaged, and multiplatform news production and distribution system advancing the interests of Onkwehon:we people throughout Turtle Island.

The Two Row Times is the flagship publication of Garlow Media, but it is more than just a paper – it is a way of directing readers to our online news and information site, where they can follow the latest in social media, watch our YouTube channel and listen to the audio podcasts we produce and promote, all the while connecting with our online advertisers and supporters.

The Two Row Times is a FREE publication with truthful, timely and relevant information that its readership can’t find elsewhere. Because our paper promotes an underlying message of Onkwehon:we unity and resurgence, we think that we will become an intellectual and political lodestone that will be appreciated and supported by all nations across Turtle Island.

Where you can find us:

Our business office is located at Garlow Print & Copy, 657 Mohawk Rd. Hagersville (Six Nations) ON, N0A 1H0.

The Two Row Times is present on all 133 reserves in Ontario, and in all urban Native centres in Ontario and upstate New York. Our main base of operations is centred on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory – the largest reserve in Canada with a population of over 24,000.

Our website www.tworowtimes.com fully integrates social media capacities and is updated daily with relevant news and information. You can follow us on Twitter @tworowtimes and reach us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tworowtimes. Our main office number is 519-900-5535.

We are looking for local correspondents and distributors from as many communities as possible so that we can better cover local news from their community’s unique perspective. If you’re interested in being that person for your area, please contact us via email at tworowtimes@gmail.com or call Tom at 519-900-6013.

Distribution:

10,000 copies of our pre-launch introductory publication are going to every mailbox and business in Six Nations and New Credit are being mass distributed throughout all southern Ontario nations as well as northern reserves and upstate New York Native communities and neighbouring urban centres.

Editorial Direction:

The Two Row Times takes an “everybody has a voice” philosophy. There are many important issues facing Onkwehon:we (Native) people and we will strive to offer both sides of any issue and let the reader decide.

We privilege the voice of no faction or group over the other, and we provide space for all Native opinions to thrive as long as they express themselves in a respectful (and non-libelous) fashion.

Our mandate is to be relevant to the Native community and we hope to inspire its members with good news and by highlighting local achievements and successes. But at the same time, we will not shy away from covering complicated and contentious stories of interest to our readership.

The Two Row Times will also have an extensive sports section and detailed coverage of native arts and culture. Our coverage will not just come from our staff, but from a network of contributing writers from reserves across Ontario. We will also encourage readership participation by taking advantage of the interactive opportunities of the internet.

The Two Row Times is poised to become the most influential and well read Native news publication across Ontario. With the advent of the worldwide “Idle No More” movement it has become apparent that Native issues and concerns are overflowing into the national and international global arena. This is an excellent time to launch an initiative such as ours, and we plan to take full advantage of this moment.

About our logo:

The Two Row Times logo was designed by condoled Onondaga traditional Chief Arnold Jacobs, a very successful artist, illustrator and graphic designer from Six Nations.

“I am happy to get the meaning of the Two Row to a broader audience,” says Jacobs.

He has known Andy (Garlow) for a long time. They went to the same school together at Central Tech in Toronto.

Jacobs and Jonathan also have had some creative history together.

“When I draw up something, it has to be digitized from there,” he explains. “Jonathan has done this for me for a long time and he does great work, so I was happy to do the logo when he asked.”

The Two Row Wampum image, although Haudenosaunee in origin, is also recognized as the basis of all subsequent treaties with other Onkwehon:we Nations as well.

“Jonathan told me they wanted to use the Two Row itself, and they wanted it in a circle with the three rows between, but to keep it simple,” says Jacobs who followed that request beautifully with the Two Row Times bold name and striking round Two Row Wampum image.

But he also added an element some may not recognize. Around the round Two Row medallion are 50 beads, or circles representing beads, which represent the 50 Chiefs of the Confederacy and two thin purple lines (rows) above and below the name with the Two Row also filling the “o’s” in the name.

Who We Are:

Publisher and owner: Jonathan Garlow

Our publisher and owner, Jonathan Garlow, is of Kanienke:haka (Mohawk) and Potawotami descent. Jonathan is married to Nahnda Garlow, an Onkwehon:we artist specializing in textile arts including traditional beading and regalia design. Jonathan and his father Andrew Garlow have run Garlow Print & Copy, a family business on the reserve since 1994. Andrew Garlow has worked in the printing business for more than 40 years. Jonathan is an alumni of Mohawk College of Applied Arts and holds a college diploma in graphic technology with over 15 years of experience in the graphics and printing field.

“To me, this is more than just another newspaper, this is a nation building exercise for all Haudenosaunee communities,” says Jonathan. “I want to see our nations unite once again like in the days of old.”

Jon is a man of many talents. He has an accomplished musical career which saw him found Tru Rez Crew, an award winning hip hop group and groundbreaking force in Native hip hop. Tru Rez Crew won the 2003 Canadian Aboriginal Awards for best Rap Album and best song single. Jon continues to play Gospel music in his community and is a producer who collaborates with many local native artists. In 2008 Jon produced Karha:kon – “In the Bush” a reality TV hunting show which aired on First Nations Cable. Among other efforts he directed and produced the feature length documentary film Day Zero, an indigenous perspective of the events surrounding the land reclaimation at Douglas Creek Estates / Kanonhstaton in Caledonia, Ontario.

Sr. Reporter – Jim Windle

Jim Windle is a veteran news and sports reporter who has been published in a number of mediums, including 8 years at the original Brant News in Brantford. He has had freelance articles published in a number of national sports publications and, more recently, served as the senior reporter and editor of Tekawennake News at Six Nations and New Credit over the past 12 years.

During his time at Six Nations, Jim has earned the respect of a broad range of Native and non-Native readers alike for his knowledgeable, insightful and fair reporting, even on delicate issues. Jim did several live CBC spots during the Caledonia crisis and is quoted in several published books and papers on the Caledonia situation, as well as on Native Rights issues in general.

He is cofounder of a grassroots non-Native citizens group known a TRUE (Two Row Understanding through Education) where he has hosted informational public meetings at Laurier University Theatre, in Brantford, with constitutional lawyers, criminal lawyers, historians, university professors, archaeologists, religious leaders and published authors to help non-Natives understand the unique relationship between the Onkwehon:we people of Turtle Island and the non-natives of Canada.

Production – David LaForce

After completing a graphics art course at Mohawk College in Brantford, David took a position with Metroland Publishing in Mississauga and worked on producing a variety of different newspapers. After 13 years with Metroland, David was hired at Ricter Web Publishing, and worked on a variety of commercial projects over the next 8 years. He and his family then moved to Cultus, ON, with David returning to the newspaper business in Tillsonburg where he worked for Sun Media. After 20 years, his department was outsourced with the production eventually going to India.

David’s most recent position has been with Tekawennake Publications on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.

“Working on a first nations publication has been very rewarding and exciting,” he says.

David’s connection to Six Nations comes through his maternal grandmother, a Mohawk of the Wolf Clan. His father is from the Mississaugas of the New Credit and his grandfather was from Wahta Mohawks. His grandfather attended residential school but his grandmother’s family would not allow her to go.

“When the Reclamation of Kanonhstaton (Douglas Creek Estates – Caledonia) began I was working in Tillsonburg,” he recalls. “Every one of the many mainstream newspapers I read at the time commented in their editorials on the situation in Caledonia. It seemed they all saw the situation the same way without asking what the native side of the story was. My hope is that, in our new publication, we will be brave enough to see both sides of a story and present the news in an educational way for all peoples.”

Web Manager – Benjamin Douglas Allan: Doolittle

First and foremost, Benjamin II is an Onkwehon:we, It impacts every aspect of his life from family to business. Secondly, Benjamin II is King of Pentortoise, wedded to Queen Consort Tammitha, father to Alucard, Aeon and Benjamin III, progeny to Doug and Tracey, brother to Aaron, Keri, Justin and Derek, uncle to Brison, Tianna, Kendra and Grace.

Lover of all things graphic and web design, photography has become his second passion, “I enjoy starting from a blank page and ending with your dream unfolded”

Starting Doolittle Productions in 2003 and Faze One Studio in 2004, Benjamin has helped build, innovate and launch many local and global brands, Garlow Media and Doolittle Productions have teamed together to bring you TwoRowTimes.com online. You can follow Benjamin on twitter @pentortoise For more information about the Kingdom of Pentortoise, visit: www.pentortoise.com

General Manager – Tom Keefer

In over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, Tom Keefer has edited and published over a dozen different publications, ranging from newspapers to magazines, academic journals to books. He was a founding editor of the journal Upping the Anti and was on its editorial team from 2006 to 2012. Tom has a Masters in Political Science from York University and is working towards his PhD in the same program – specializing in Canadian politics and Indigenous land rights. He has published numerous articles and book chapters in a variety of different academic and non-academic publications.

Since the reclamation at Kanonhstaton began in 2006, Tom has worked closely with a wide range of community members from Six Nations and local non-native residents in seeking to promote the values of the Two Row Wampum. He helped to organize the April 28th Peace and Friendship walk in Caledonia in 2012 and is a founding member of the Two Row Society, an organization of Onkwehon:we and non-Onkwehon:we people who are building a movement to uphold the principles of the Two Row Wampum upon the Haldimand Tract. You can follow Tom on Twitter @tomkeefer and visit the Two Row Society website at www.tworowsociety.com