I share this story as often as I can. I remember the eagles. I remember how close I was able to get. I sometimes wonder where they are now, where they have been and what they have seen. I especially remember the elders on that day that safely held them. You could feel and see their pride and wonder.

A few years ago, in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, not far from the Salt River Community Building, firefighters, wildlife workers and others helped band a family of bald eagles that had nested in a tree. The idea was to monitor their location with these small backpack-looking trackers. As workers fitted the eagles, a few elders from the Community stopped by and briefly held the birds during this process. I remember the smiles of the elders and the feathers and talons of the eagles. I took photos and did my best to capture the moment for O’odham Action News, both visually and with my storytelling. I later won a journalism award for my coverage.

This moment in time is one of my many cherished memories of Salt River and its beautiful community. And this is why I wanted to come back.

First, thank you, Salt River, for having me. From roughly 2016 to 2020, I was the O’odham Action News senior reporter. Today, I’m OAN’s managing editor, a role I took over in late October. I left Salt River in 2020 to gain more experience and to grow as a Native journalist. I have. From 2020 until mid-October 2024, I worked first as a national correspondent, then deputy managing editor before being promoted to managing editor for ICT, formerly Indian Country Today. It was a tremendous opportunity, loaded with great experiences, but it was missing something, through really no fault of its own. It was missing community, which is difficult with a wide national lens and more than 570 Native nations to monitor. I last felt community in Salt River, working for the tribal government and covering the people by interacting with them. So, it was perfect timing when I learned of OAN’s managing editor position opening, and it only made sense, in my mind, to express my interest. 

I’m not from Salt River, but I feel at home in Salt River. It’s great to be back and I look forward to seeing all the familiar faces and meeting all the new ones. 

My goal as managing editor of OAN is simply to continue to get better each day. I bring back new skills to share. I have a talented team here. Together, we work to bring you the news and happenings of the Community in the form of a newspaper, news website and social media. OAN’s future is bright and I’m excited to be a part of it. 

I’m from the Red Lake Nation in northern Minnesota. My family has called your traditional O’odham and Piipaash homelands home for about 10 years. 

Thank you for reading. I’ll be seeing you around. I look forward to it. Don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to chat or meet up to talk about potential coverage.

My contact info: dalton.walker@srpmic-nsn.gov, (480) 362-3281.