Minnesota Native News

The US Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of ICWA or the Indian Child Welfare Act in early November. Reporter Emma Needham sheds light on this case and its implications as Indian country awaits a decision. 44 years after its enactment in 1978, oral arguments on the Indian Child Welfare Act in Brackeen V. Haaland, were heard at the US Supreme Court on November 9th, 2022. The Indian Child Wel...

A new round of free at home covid tests are available through the state of Minnesota. Governor Tim Walz and Lt Governor Peggy Flanagan say the new round of tests are available ahead of the holiday season, so Minnesotans can test ahead of gatherings and avoid spreading COVID to their loved ones.

Health officials are continuing to remind Minnesotans that the best way to protect themselves and their community against covid 19 is to get the updated booster after receiving their primary doses of the vaccine. The latest vaccine, known as the bivalent booster, is available for people 5 years of age and older. This new booster helps protect against the covid variants currently circulating, the B...

This week on Minnesota Native News, Emma Needham talks with new and returning Native Candidates from Mid Term races across the state.    In the 2020 election, native voters came out to the polls nationwide at rates never seen before. According to the Associated Press, Native voters swung the elections in both Arizona and next door in Wisconsin. Now, the 2022 Midterm elections are in just under 2 w...

This week on the Health Report, we’ll hear from Kelly Miller, the executive director of the Division of Indian work in St. Paul about they work they do as a Covid-19 Community Coordinator But first. Children ages 5 to 11 years old can now get the updated COVID-19 booster shot, known as the bi-valent vaccine, meaning that it draws immunity from the currently circulating variants in addition to the...

October 10th marked Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Minnesota and in cities and states across the United States. The day included official celebrations and community gatherings, including in Grand Rapids where a new sculpture was unveiled at River Side Park by Leech Lake Ojibwe artist Duane Goodwin.  MN Native News reporter Leah Lemm was on the scene for the celebration . A clear day welcomed the crowd...

As we enter another season of COVID 19, health care providers are bracing for another possible fall surge in COVID 19 cases. Similar to the Flu Season, COVID and its variants seem to show up each fall. IHB's Laz Carreon explains more about the similarities between the COVID and Flu vaccines.

In Minneapolis, internal medicine physician Tanya Melnik is fighting the illness with many faces: long COVID. It’s also known as post-COVID…and long haul, chronic, or post-acute COVID. The one thing about it, is that it’s hard to define. “There is really no one discrete picture that would describe what long COVID is. It looks different for each person who unfortunately ends up suffering from it. S...

President Biden stirred controversy recently when he declared “the pandemic is over” during a 60 Minutes interview. This amid the White House’s ongoing push to secure $22 billion to continue the fight against COVID-19. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an average of 481 people died of COVID every day in August.  With kids back in school and people spending more time in...

Welcome to Minnesota Native News..This Week on the Health Report. An updated COVID booster has been approved by the FDA and CDC. Reporter Cole Premo has more… The CDC and FDA has approved an updated COVID booster vaccine for people 12 years and older. The new boosters include spike proteins that more closely match the ones found in the Omicron BA 4 and BA 5 variants. The CDC says the new booster w...

This is Minnesota Native News. I’m Marie Rock. A walk to justice. The American Indian Movement is leading a group from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness for Leonard Peltier, one of the nation’s longest held political prisoners. Feven Gerezgiher reports. 1,100 miles. 11 weeks. Eight states. That’s how long advocates plan to walk in prayer for elder Leonard Peltier’s release from pr...

This is Minnesota Native News. I'm Marie Rock. This week…A new program at Saint Cloud State University aims to put more Indigenous teachers in front of Minnesota students. Emma Needham has more on two scholarship programs for Native teachers plus  a new curriculum plan to help teach Native issues to students throughout Minnesota.    Minnesota’s students are much more diverse than their teachers. A...

Another vaccine booster is likely in our future as we navigate the pandemic and live our life with COVID as a part of it. Right now, the CDC recommends everyone 5 years and older should get one booster shot and adults 50 years and older 2 boosters. Some people 12  and older who are moderately or severely immuno-compromised should also get 2 boosters.

This is Minnesota Native News. I’m Marie Rock. This week on Minnesota Native News, members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe vote on blood quantum requirements. Also, we hear from Juliet Rudie, who now heads the state’s new Office of Missing And Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Here’s reporter Cole Premo.  In a historic move, members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in July voted to remove a decades-ol...

State Representative and Leech Lake Band’s Jamie Becker Finn is expanding her community building focus as a coffee shop owner and entrepreneur. She speaks with Reporter Leah Lemm

This week on Minnesota Native News Health Report, reporter Emma Needham talks with an M.D. about recommendations for COVID vaccines for our littlest relatives, and provides additional information on vaccine availability. Vaccines against COVID were approved for children ages 6 months and older in June. However, we’re seeing significantly lower rates of vaccination in our youngest eligible age grou...

This week on the Health Report, hear why he got vaccinated. Feven Gerezgiher reports.

[Loon sounder] This is the Minnesota Native News Health Report. I’m Marie Rock. This week….we share from an earlier recording on the outlook of the COVID-19 pandemic as understood by one healthcare professional. Here’s reporter Feven Gerezgiher with that interview and the latest on COVID-19 vaccines.   [Music] STORY A U.S. health officials recently approved a new COVID-19 vaccine option for adults...

This week on the Minnesota Native News health report, public health agencies continue to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for youth. One PSA even has a popular TV icon for children receiving the vaccine. Reporter Dalton Walker explains in this week’s story. For the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines, contact your local health professional, check the state and federal health websites.

This is Minnesota Native News, I’m Marie Rock. Coming up...   A Food and Art Market in Duluth uplifts Indigenous and BIPOC entrepreneurs while providing goods to the local community.    And a new children’s book celebrating Ojibwe teachings is celebrating its debut. [[accentuate that “celebration” is used twice]]   Here’s Reporter Leah Lemm with more.   STORY #1: AICHO MARKET   Reporter: The Ameri...

The Twin Cities Pride Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend. Just a few miles away, local organizers held a different type of pride celebration. Feven Gerezgiher reports. Around two hundred people gathered on June 24th for the inaugural Two Spirit Pow Wow in South Minneapolis. This is head dancer Nina Berglund, a descendant of the Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne nations. "I hop...

The State of Minnesota is offering the Pfizer vaccine at its Mall of America community vaccination site, where appointments are now open. It plans to host more vaccination clinics across Minnesota in the upcoming weeks. Plus multidisciplinary artist Sequoia Hauck reflects on their pandemic experiences. Feven Gerezgiher reports -- This is the Minnesota Native News Health Report. I’m Marie Rock. COV...

This is the Minnesota Native News Health Report. I’m Marie Rock. Federal health officials are potentially near approving coronavirus vaccines for infants and young children. This week….learn more on what that means....and hear a reflection on how the pandemic has been for one contemporary artist.  Feven Gerezgiher reports. [Music] STORY A - Vaccines The Food and Drug Administration recently determ...

This is the Minnesota Native News Health Report. I’m Marie Rock. This week reporter Feven Gerezgiher shares how to get free at-home COVID tests mailed to your home…and she talks with an artist about growing up with a family that doesn’t believe in vaccinations. [Music] STORY A Minnesotans can now order a second round of free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests. Every home in the state is eligible for fou...

This week University of Minnesota professor Brenda Child shares more of those boarding schools' history and explains what it would take for a full reckoning with their legacy. Feven Gerezgiher reports - [LOON SOUNDER] This is Minnesota Native News. I'm Marie Rock. The U.S. Department of Interior recently released a report surveying the impact of the federal indian boarding school system over 150 y...