Jayapura, Jubi – The limited representation of Indigenous voices in media coverage of Indonesia's Indigenous Peoples Bill (RUU Masyarakat Adat) came under scrutiny during the Green Editor Forum, Reading the Indigenous Peoples Bill in Mass Media Coverage, held in Jakarta on Monday.
The forum was organised by the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (SIEJ) in collaboration with the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) and the Coalition to Safeguard the Indigenous Peoples Bill. It brought together media editors, civil society organisations, lawmakers, academics and Indigenous representatives to strengthen media perspectives on reporting the bill.
The forum encouraged journalists to reflect on how Indigenous issues are covered and highlighted the importance of treating Indigenous peoples as the primary subjects in reporting on legislation that directly affects their rights and livelihoods.
SIEJ also presented the findings of its media monitoring of coverage of the Indigenous Peoples Bill and discussed the challenges news organisations face in producing reporting that is more balanced, in-depth and grounded in human rights.
Muhammad Nasir Djamil, a member of the House of Representatives' Legislative Body (Baleg) and the working committee overseeing the bill, said deliberations on the proposed legislation were continuing while incorporating input from communities across Indonesia.
He said the working committee had already visited several regions in both western and eastern Indonesia to gather public feedback.
Nasir said he had recently visited West Kalimantan, where Indigenous communities clearly articulated why the bill was urgently needed.
"In the near future, the working committee will also visit Papua to hear directly from Indigenous communities there," Nasir said in a statement received by Jubi on Tuesday.
He said input from Indigenous peoples, academics, civil society organisations and the media would play an important role in refining the draft law.
According to Nasir, the legislation is needed to provide legal certainty for the recognition and protection of Indigenous rights, particularly as Indigenous communities continue to face land conflicts, criminalisation and increasing pressure on their customary territories from investment and development projects.
During the forum, SIEJ presented the results of its monitoring of coverage of the Indigenous Peoples Bill across six national media outlets between January and June 2026.
The research found that Indigenous peoples were still rarely positioned as the main voices in reporting on legislation that directly concerns their rights. Of 27 news articles containing 48 quoted sources, only seven quotations came from Indigenous representatives.
Members of parliament and civil society organisations were the most frequently quoted sources, with 15 citations each.
The findings suggest that the people most directly affected by the continued delay in passing the bill remain underrepresented in media coverage.
SIEJ researcher Fachri Hamzah said the findings demonstrated the need for a shift in how the media reports on Indigenous issues.
He said Indigenous peoples should be the primary voices in reporting on the bill because they are both the most affected by it and possess first-hand knowledge of the issues it seeks to address.
"The media has an important role in giving Indigenous communities a more proportionate voice so that coverage reflects not only political developments but also the realities Indigenous peoples face on the ground," Hamzah said.
The study also found that most reporting consisted of straightforward news stories, with relatively few in-depth reports. Only eight in-depth articles were published during the monitoring period, six by Mongabay and two by Kompas.
From a gender perspective, the research found that 59.3 per cent of news coverage failed to reflect gender diversity or highlight issues specifically affecting Indigenous women, including their role in protecting customary lands, culture and livelihoods.
Based on its findings, SIEJ urged media organisations to give greater prominence to Indigenous peoples, including Indigenous women, as primary sources in reporting on the bill.
The organisation also called for reporting that focuses more on the substance of the legislation, its implications for Indigenous communities, the protection of customary territories, and the resolution of land conflicts.
SIEJ further encouraged journalists to consistently monitor the legislative process, examine the reasons behind the prolonged delay in passing the bill, produce more in-depth and investigative reporting on its significance, and strengthen independent and alternative media covering Indigenous issues.
Through the Green Editor Forum, SIEJ, AMAN and the Coalition to Safeguard the Indigenous Peoples Bill said they hope collaboration between the media, Indigenous communities, civil society organisations and policymakers will help foster more inclusive, rights-based journalism.
They said more comprehensive and balanced reporting could improve public understanding of the importance of recognising and protecting Indigenous peoples while building broader support for the bill's passage.