
Allison Herrera
Allison Herrera covered Indigenous Affairs for KOSU from April 2020 to November 2023.
Herrera is a radio and print journalist who has worked for PRX's The World, Colorado Public Radio as the climate and environment editor and as a freelance reporter for High Country News’ Indigenous Affairs desk.
While at The World, she covered gender and equity for a reporting project called “Across Women’s Lives,” which focused on women’s rights around the globe. This project took her to Ukraine, where Herrera showcased the country’s global surrogacy industry, and reported on families who were desperate to escape the ongoing civil war that they moved to abandoned towns near the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site. In 2019, she received a fellowship from the International Women in Media Fund to report on the issue of reproductive rights in Argentina, a country scarred by the effects of the Dirty War and a legacy of sexual and physical abuse directed towards women.
In 2015 and 2016, Herrera co-created and produced the Localore project “Invisible Nations” with KOSU. The project included video, radio and live events centered on telling better stories about Native American life in Oklahoma. Invisible Nations received several awards from the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists.
In 2017, she and her colleague Ziva Branstetter received an Emmy Award nomination for their Reveal story “Does the Time Fit the Crime,” which centered on criminal justice in Oklahoma.
In 2019, Herrera’s story for High Country News and Center for Public Integrity titled When Disaster Strikes, Indigenous Communities Receive Unequal Disaster Aid received a Scripps Howard nomination for best environmental reporting along with the One Disaster Away series.
Herrera’s Native ties are from her Xolon Salinan tribal heritage; her family’s traditional village was in the Toro Creek area of the Central California coast.
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KOSU and StateImpact Oklahoma picked up 22 awards from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists, Professional Chapter for stories that aired in 2023.
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In spite of years of pressure from advocates, access to emergency contraceptives remains difficult for women who rely on the health care systems run by or on behalf of their tribal nations. APM Reports spent more than six months surveying tribal clinics and pharmacies around the country. Dozens refuse to provide Plan B — or impose restrictions.
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KOSU’s former Indigenous Affairs reporter Allison Herrera recently earned three national Native journalism awards from The Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA).
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A 2017 tornado damaged the theater built by Alex Tall Chief to honor the community and his two ballerina daughters. Now, in the wake of a story that aired on NPR, it's getting a new roof.
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If Lily Gladstone wins an Oscar this Sunday for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in the film Killers of the Flower Moon, she’ll be the first Native American to take home the Best Actress statue.
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A judge in Oklahoma has ordered the removal of a massive wind farm from tribal land because its owners failed to get proper permits more than a decade ago.
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The exhibit at the Oklahoma City federal courthouse tells the story of the legal drama in David Grann’s book-turned-movie epic Killers of the Flower Moon.
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A Tulsa man finds himself at the center of a fight over tribal sovereignty in Oklahoma and beyond. Justin Hooper shares how his 2018 speeding ticket is continuing to impact law across Indian Country.
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The Environmental Protection Agency is granting more than $8 million dollars to bolster Oklahoma tribal nations' recycling efforts.
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The new Killers of the Flower Moon film is sparking conversations about Oklahoma’s difficult history. But that is complicated by a state law limiting school lessons that make students feel uncomfortable about their race or sex.