Minnesota Native News

Lives are changing drastically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are out of work, more and more people are holding work meetings virtually, and everyone is making major adjustments. Students are also home from school. Which means families are trying to find ways to keep the learning going. And for Native students, there are online resources that provide culturally focused learning through...

This week on Minnesota Native News - tribes make decisions about how to handle the Covid-19 virus outbreak and a reminder that humor helps heal. Here’s Reporter Melissa Townsend with those stories and more. STORY #1 - COVID-19 RESPONSES [Governor Walz] In his press conference on March 13th, Governor Tim Walz said that the state is working with tribal governments to handle the Covid-19 outbreak. WA...

The Red Lake Nation has 12-hundred new citizens! The tribal council voted to approve their enrollment at their February 11th meeting. This is the first wave of new enrollees after a resolution passed last year changed the blood quantum rules for tribal citizenship. Reporter Melissa Townsend tells us more.  [meeting sound]  In the Facebook Live video of the February 11th meeting, there is an overfl...

MARIE: This is Minnesota Native News. I’m Marie Rock. This week on Minnesota Native News… The Minnesota Attorney General sides with tribal leaders in affirming that the Mille Lacs Band Indian Reservation still exists and has not been diminished… And… We get an update on a major renovation… now approved for the American Indian Magnet School in St. Paul. First up… Minnesota’s attorney general has re...

Laurie Stern reports on three events that highlight indigenous people's relationship with water.

Every week in the summer groups of people gather at the Native American Medicine Garden the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. They come to talk about indigenous knowledge of plants and the ecosystem here. Reporter Melissa Townsend recently got her own lesson from the garden’s caretaker, Francis Bettelyoun.

This week on Minnesota Native News we get a round up of tribal election news, we hear about the latest Nibi walk along the Wisconsin River and learn about the Native artists receiving statewide honors.

Treaty Rights, Climate Justice, and Decolonization were discussed in packed house in Duluth… and Franklin Avenue bustled with energy for Open Streets Minneapolis.

This week on Minnesota Native News, hard work is underway to address the housing crisis – and the wild rice harvest begins.

Concerned community members come together to show support to those battling addiction in Mille Lacs, and jazz guitarist Briand Morrison talks about his and his father’s art.

This week reporter Melissa Townsend has the latest on a homeless tent camp in Minneapolis. There are roughly 300 people - mostly Native - in the camp. Some are calling it “The Wall of Forgotten Natives”

This week on Minnesota Native News, we get an update on the Minneapolis homeless encampment, also known as “the wall of forgotten natives.” We also hear about a new police agreement between the Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe and the county sheriff’s office that ends a two-year impasse.

A tent encampment of homeless folks continues to grow in Minneapolis. There are about 300 people there, many of whom are Native. The camp shines a light on the crisis caused by the shortage of affordable housing, shelter beds, and culturally sensitive social and addictions services. Tribal and urban leaders are making plans to provide more sturdy shelter over the coming months. But what else is ne...

Six hundred people gathered at Mystic Lake Conference Center in Prior Lake for the Third Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition. Tribal leaders, nutrition practitioners, researchers, students, and many more gathered to learn, share, and visit with one another.

This week on Minnesota Native News, we hear from the Prairie Island Indian Community, which has joined other Minnesota Dakota tribes in a lawsuit against the opioid industry. It’s a historic fight that extends far beyond Minnesota

An organization based in Minneapolis is raising breast cancer awareness with “Indigenous Pink Day” … And, comedian Rob Fairbanks talks about the power of humor.

his week on Minnesota Native News, the latest on the tent camp in Minneapolis, an all-out effort to recruit more Native foster homes, and getting out the vote in Indian Country.

4 people have now died at the homeless encampment in Minneapolis. The site - also called the Wall of Forgotten Natives for the many Native residents there — was established by individuals and families without shelter. But it’s become the central focus of many urban Native agencies in the Twin Cities. On October 29th those agencies gathered the community together to talk about how to move forward....

We’ll hear from Minnesotans and their reactions to Lieutenant Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan’s historic election… And, a new play by a Navajo playwright makes its world premiere in the Twin Cities.

This week on Minnesota Native News: We hear about the Minnesota Historical Society’s decision to keep a historic native burial site in northern Minnesota closed to the general public, and how tribes are working together to protect the site. Here’s reporter Cole Premo.

Youth display their photography at the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center in Duluth, And a language teacher finds his own way to reach language learners.

For nearly 10 months a tent city has been growing along a 6 lane stretch of road on the south side of Minneapolis. The encampment of homeless people has been dubbed the Wall of Forgotten Natives for the many Native people staying there. This week a new shelter is opening on a plot of land in Minneapolis owned by the Red Lake Nation. Reporter Melissa Townsend tells us what's next for the residents...

An engaging conversation featuring prominent Native artists… inspires audience members to reflect on their own artistry.

This week on Minnesota Native news we hear about an exhibit that tells the story of how AIM grew out of Stillwater prison, and a cross-cultural group of neighbors talk about the Dakota history of Lake Hiawatha in Minneapolis

This week on Minnesota Native News, tribes across the state work together to present a clear path forward to protect wild rice and AICHO in Duluth hosts a pop up event focused on nibi or water.