Instagram story viewer> @hedgpethd> Tagged

Dana Hedgpeth

@hedgpethd

732

followers

446

following

Reporter @washingtonpost

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

I was honored to be featured in a Washington Post article alongside Dr. Amy Yam, Medical Director at Falls Church Animal Hospital, sharing Rory’s journey with severe anxiety during thunderstorms and fireworks.

Ten years ago, Rory changed my life.
Many people know me as a dog trainer, but few realize that Rory is the reason I became one. She is incredibly smart, eager to learn, and one of the most fun dogs I’ve ever trained. She has taught me more than I could have imagined.
But Rory also suffers from severe anxiety during thunderstorms and fireworks. After all these years, it still breaks my heart to watch her panic. I do everything I can to help her making sure she’s mentally and physically fulfilled before storms or planned fireworks, creating a safe environment, and supporting her through each event. Unfortunately, storms and unexpected fireworks don’t always give us the warning we’d like.
Rory has reminded me that training isn’t about creating a “perfect” dog. It’s about understanding the dog in front of you, meeting them where they are, and helping them navigate a world that sometimes feels overwhelming.
She made me a better trainer, a more patient person, and an even stronger advocate for dogs who struggle with fear and anxiety.
Thank you to Washington Post reporter Dana Hedgpeth for calling attention to this issue that affects so many dog families.
#Dogtrainer #mixedbreed #doganxiety

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/06/27/america-250-fireworks-show-has-dog-owners-scrambling-anxiety-meds/

6

0

Some good news for the hardworking folks who manage the overlooked Mt. Zion and Female Union Band Society Cemeteries, two of the District's overlooked remaining historic Black burial grounds in eastern #Georgetown. The One Minute Desk has visited this before. It's a haunting place and a compelling story.
Also, our @washingtonpost piece about it published this weekend. Very likely my last formal byline as a Post reporter, but I originally pitched this story and a double byline with the mighty Dana Hedgpeth is a great way to finish. Here's a gift link to the story.
https://wapo.st/4tgTer5

63

2

Photos from last month’s sold out screening of NUISANCE BEAR at DCEFF. Another extremely memorable night of film and conversation.

“Gabby and I had a terrific time screening NUISANCE BEAR at DCEFF. The audience was so engaged and moderator Dana Hedgpeth really elevated the conversation. It was truly one of the best screenings we’ve had and receiving the William W. Warner Voice of Nature Award was the cherry on top. Thank you to DCEFF and the Warner Family for such a memorable experience.” - Jack Weisman

📸 by @ayshasphoto

129

2

From last week’s story with the @washingtonpost

“…shopkeepers at the mall where customers from across the region come to buy clothing, teas, housewares and cosmetics said they have noticed sales are slower amid concerns about inflation in the United States, the war in Iran, instability in other countries and fears of the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement effort. Some customers simply have less to spend because they have been laid off or had cutback to their ours are their jobs, the shopkeepers say…”

This was a full circle moment for me…The Somali Fashion Center was a class assignment during my first year as a grad student. I kept coming back to the fashion center because I knew it was more than just a place where people bought and sold goods, but it has been home for so many that felt home was once elsewhere. Many of the shop-owners are from East Africa–predominantly Somalian, Kenyan, Ethiopian and Eritrean. They’ve been able to establish roots in the United States and rebuild…their establishments have become both commerce and community.

link in bio for more

Thank you @hedgpethd & @kaitlyndolanphoto

3

3

PART 1: The Potomac River is facing what could be one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history.

An estimated 240–300 million gallons of untreated wastewater entered the river after a 54-mile sewer line collapsed on January 19.

Christo Doyle sits down with Washington Post reporter Dana Hedgpeth for a breakdown of the current situation.

Link in our story/bio. #noosphere #news #reel #potomacriver #washingtondc

6

0

My camera roll tells the story of 2025.

Change. Growth. Learning.

People I adore. Places across the country that are home. Spaghetti and Diet Coke. A lot of love and laughter.

Like any year, there were some really good moments and some genuinely hard ones.

But I'm closing the year feeling lucky, grounded, and so thankful for the people who’ve been part of it.

Happy new year. As always (and in the words of my dear friend Amy D), the best is yet to come. 😘🥳🥰

54

4

Bags of arts & crafts kits, bracelet-making kits, books, clothes, boots & jackets going to a few families with kids who will be in the CICU over the holidays…Thank you to everyone who donated to show them love and care 💖

And thank you to the wonderful CICU social worker, Sara, for her collaboration and all the work she does each day 💖

#elianaslight @childrensnational #socialworker #childrenwithmedicalcomplexities #childrenwithcomplexmedicalconditions #pediatriccicu

17

1

Albuquerque >>>> Santa Fe , Ndn Market

Got to see so many of my favorites.. and some new favorites.

Thanking the creator extra for making me Native we really are the best 🙏🏽

40

9

@washingtonpost reporters Dana Hedgpeth, Sari Horwitz, and The Post staff have won the 2025 Dori J. Maynard Justice Award for their “Indian Boarding Schools” series — a powerful 18‑month investigation into the widespread sexual, physical abuse and tragic deaths of Native American children in Catholic‑run, federally supported boarding schools.

This is the second straight year The Washington Post has earned this prestigious award.

This fall, Hedgpeth and Horwitz will present their powerful findings at Marquette’s Burleigh Media Ethics Lecture.

Learn more at the O’Brien Fellowship’s website: marquette.edu/obrien-fellowship

#IndianBoardingSchools #BurleighLecture #PublicServiceJournalism #OBrienFellowship #IndigenousJustice #Marquette #MarquetteUniversity

3

1

Dana Hedgpeth, the @washingtonpost reporter who worked on a searing year-long investigative series on the Catholic boarding schools the U.S. government created to eradicate Indian culture, came to speak at @northwesternu at a @medillschool / @onebooknu event this week. What a talk that was—Dana walked us through the series, THEY TOOK THE CHILDREN, which uncovered the sexual and physical abuse that resulted in at least 3,100 children’s deaths between 1819 and 1969 and there was so much sorrow and anger in the room. Thank you for visiting us to share your stories, @hedgpethd — and for visiting my feature writing graduate students. We were all so inspired. https://dailynorthwestern.com/2025/05/07/campus/no-school-should-have-a-cemetery-native-american-journalist-talks-investigating-deaths-of-indigenous-children-at-boarding-schools/ Everyone, if you haven’t read the series by Dana & the Washington Post team, you must. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2024/american-indian-boarding-schools-history-legacy/ #danahedgpeth #indianboardingschools #investigativejournalism #journalism #medill #washpost

41

0

Evanston / Chicago / @medillschool / @northwesternu friends! If you are around on May 6, please join us at 6 p.m. at the MFC Forum for a One Book One Northwestern & Medill event featuring Dana Hedgpeth, the star Washington Post journalist who, together with the investigative team, did a terrific series that was a deep dive into the atrocities at the government-created boarding schools for Native American children. 6 p.m. at MFC on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University — details and an RSVP link are below. Come! @hedgpethd — we’re all looking forward to welcoming you to campus!

Dana Hedgpeth, a Native American journalist and a 25-year veteran reporter of The Washington Post, details how she along with an investigative team unveiled the largely forgotten and long ignored abuse and deaths of Native American children who were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to U.S. government-run boarding schools. The purpose? To eradicate their culture and languages and assimilate them into White society. More than 3,000 children died and another 1,000 were sexually abused at these institutions which operated for a 150-year period, starting in the late 1800s. Hedgpeth is an enrolled member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe of N.C., and has written dozens of stories detailing the truths of Native Americans and their history. #journalism #onebook #onebookonenorthwestern

https://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/628840

38

1

“This film, when I first watched it, brought me to tears and it made me so inspired to continue my work.” - @quannah.rose

This was a special one! Thank you to everyone who packed Burke Theatre (despite the broken AC) for our preview screening of Ben Masters’ new film THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST. We can’t wait to see the Final Cut some day soon.

📸 by @asicophoto

193

5