Native News Online was founded in 2011 by current publisher and editor Levi Rickert, a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, who has covered multiple stories in Indian country as a journalist over many years.
[4][5] The Democracy Fund has described Rickert as "push[ing] ahead to fill his Native News Online website with fresh content seven days a week.
[7] Native News Online has been used as an expert source on subjects relevant to the Indigenous people of North America including inter-tribal concerns.
[1] Senior editor, Elyse Wild won the 2024 Excellence in Recovery Journalism Award for her coverage of Indigenous health equity issues including harm reduction and recovery.
[13] Native News Online was recognized by the Oklahoma Media Center for their work reporting on the largest Supreme Court ruling regarding tribal sovereignty.