Eagle Feather News editor, publisher moving on after 24 years

After 24 years at the helm, John Lagimodiere is stepping away from his role as the editor and publisher of Eagle Feather News, the Saskatchewan-based Indigenous newspaper.

According to the newspaper's webpage, it is the most widely circulated Indigenous newspaper in the province, at about 120,000 copies per year.

Lagimodiere said that when he was handed the reins, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He had never intended to be an editor or publisher of a newspaper.

Since then, the paper has aimed to focus on untold stories that bring light to community beyond the surface.

"The trauma and tragedy and the harder stories, the mainstream media covers that all the time.… and that was a skewed perspective of the community," he told Heather Morrison on CBC's Saskatoon Morning.

How it started

Lagimodiere said he was originally hired to help sell ads for the newspaper, which was in a transition.

The team "flukily" came up with the name Eagle Feather News because one person had the feather embroidered on their jacket, he said.

The business met some turbulent times and at the end of it, Lagimodiere said he was running the paper and the six staff that were employed.

That was several decades ago.

"Honestly, I'm out of ideas. I've lost the energy and part of making it work is that passion and fire and commitment and I don't think I'm doing it a good service that way," he said.

"Personally and professionally it's time to put that aside and let someone else lift it up and focus on my other things while still making sure that whatever we did can continue for the next [generation]."

LISTEN | John Lagimodiere spoke with Heather Morrison on Saskatoon Morning

He said he's going to turn his attention to another project — teaching Indigenous awareness seminars — and also support community from a different angle.

Lagimodiere plans to leave his role at the end of December.

"The news never stops, it never stops. So, I never had that opportunity to just stop. In 2022, we're going to stop."