Minnesota Native News: Community Health Conversations

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is back exploring how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   On today’s show, Leah meets two dynamic education innovators who are helping bolster math skills for students, by drawing on Indigenous language and history, and creating fun and engaging digital games.   Leah talks with CEO Maria Burns Ortiz and...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is back exploring how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. On today’s show, Leah reflects on the many choices people are making to help keep each other safe.  Leah enjoys a lively and fun conversation with college student Skylar Kuczaboski (Leech Lake) who is a senior at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire,...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is back exploring how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   On today’s show, Leah reflects on conversations about cultural medicines and viewing the pandemic and vaccinations through a lens of history and experience.    We hear from Megan Schnitker (Lakota) who works with plant medicines. Megan learned ab...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is back exploring how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   On today’s show, we hear how two visionaries are looking forward to life after the pandemic, in their respective fields.  Rhiana Yazzie (Navajo) is a theatre artist, filmmaker, playwright, and she founded New Native Theatre twelve years ago. Mari...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is back exploring how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   On today’s show, we hear how language education is thriving through the pandemic, as students, teachers, and schools all rise to meet many challenges over the past year. We talk with Barry Hand (Lakota) a Dakotiyapi Culture and History teacher at...

On today’s show, we hear from two Indian Education staff who are passionate about serving students in the ISD318 school district located in Itasca County, in the heart of Ojibwe country. Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is exploring how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. We hear from Jessica Bobrowski (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is back exploring how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. On today’s show, we celebrate successful vaccine rollouts in Indian Country!  And we hear from two dedicated health care professionals about their experiences providing good medicine to community members throughout the pandemic.    Dr. Angela Erdri...

Today we talk with Melissa Walls, Ph. D. (Bois Forte and Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe) a social scientist and the Director of the Great Lakes Hub for the Center for American Indian Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.   Melissa Walls discusses how tribal communities provide much knowledge and perspectives, aimed at keeping our communities healthy and safe, even du...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   In today’s conversation, Host Leah Lemm and Reporter Melissa Townsend reflect on how we’re helping one another get through the pandemic. Throughout the 22 weeks of this program, we have been moved and inspired by so many sharing their stories; people have...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   Winter is coming! So, on today’s show Host Leah Lemm looks at how to stay physically and mentally active while continuing to keep our communities safe.    Leah shares a fun conversation with Bill Premo (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) a retired elder who is al...

How Leech Lake Schools Support Students Through Pandemic’s Constant Change    Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   Today on the show, Host Leah Lemm looks at how schools are supporting their students under seemingly constantly changing conditions, especially given how internet access has bee...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   Today on the show, Host Leah Lemm hears what’s on the minds of Native youth in Minnesota. Leah chats with Caley Coyne (Athabaskan and Yup’ik) a 10th grader from Saint Paul.  Caley shares her reflections on distance learning, missing powwows, racial justic...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. Today on the show, Host Leah Lemm explores the question: what have we learned? As we cross the six-month milestone of this pandemic. We hear from two Minnesota Leaders about some of the topics the pandemic has brought to the surface, including health inequi...

Harvest Time: Connecting to Health Through What the Earth Provides   Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   On this show, Host Leah Lemm celebrates what the earth provides in the way of food and medicines grown and harvested throughout the year, and how this connects to our health and well-bei...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. On this show, Host Leah Lemm reflects on the moments of beauty during challenging times. Leah is joined by reporter Melissa Townsend and together they review and reflect on some of their inspiring conversations with community members.  Minnesota Native News...

Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.    On today’s show, how two different musicians find creative ways to make and share their music, even as the pandemic continues.     Leah visits with Annie Humphrey, an Anishinaabekwe mother, grandmother, and an award-winning musician who’s been a presence...

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. On today’s show, Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) looks at how parents and families are grappling with the challenge of heading back-to-school as the pandemic continues. Reporter Melissa Townsend spoke with three different parents about how they are gearing up for the school...

Rising to the Challenge of Keeping Tribal Communities Safe and Informed    Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   On today’s show, Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) looks at how tribal leaders and health care providers are ensuring tribal community members are getting the care and information they need.   Joinin...

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.   On this show, Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) continues her look at how parents of very young children and specifically how new moms are facing the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic     Leah’s guest today is Shashana Craft (White Earth Nation) who works for H...

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. On this show, Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) looks at how parents and teachers are facing the challenges and opportunities of getting back to school, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The state is providing data-driven guidance, which allows local school districts t...

Minnesota Native News launched several programs in response to the pandemic in addition to this one, including Biidaapi Podcast hosted by Leah Lemm and her brother Cole Premo. Through dozens of interviews with folks in Indian Country in Minnesota, we stayed connected and learned a lot over the last four months.   Some of the voices highlighted in this show include Vanessa Goodthunder (Lower Sioux...

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. On this show, we hear some nuts and bolts about COVID testing in Indian Country and current challenges our relatives face in getting treatment. And Leah looks at ways we embrace a healthy lifestyle while keeping an eye on our communities. Leah catches up with Dani Pieratos (Bois Forte...

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. In this show, Leah welcomes Lyz Jaakola, an Anishinaabe mother, teacher, and musician living on her home Rez, Fond du Lac in Cloquet, MN. They reflect on the relationship between the federal government and tribes –and how it affects the health and economic well-being of tribal communi...

  Leah and Isabella have a lively discussion about how we use art to adapt to crisis, what it takes to be inspired, and to rise to the occasion, and for each of us, making art helps heal and protect our communities.     We also get a reminder from the playwright, poet, and author Marcie Rendon (White Earth Nation) about taking time to experience joy no matter what.  And we get perspective from Chi...

And this week, our guest shares how to live life even more fully after facing the illness, and we begin a continued conversation about health and artistry. Robert DesJarlait is a Red Lake citizen, a celebrated artist, and a cancer survivor. Leah is joined by MN Native News reporter Melissa Townsend, who spoke to Robert DesJarlait. Robert is also a Tiwahe Foundation grant recipient who is making ar...