Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the COVID-19 health crisis. Today’s in-depth conversation looks at how Tribal leaders are deciding when and how to re-open businesses and assessing how to keep employees, patrons, and community members safe. Leah talks with Casino employee RJ Dahl. And MN Native News reporter Melissa Townsend talks with Joe Nayquonabe,...

On this show, we find out how Native health care providers are expressing their values through their work during the Covid-19 pandemic Samantha Nelson, a Health Unit Coordinator in Monticello who is working on a team conducting COVID-19 testing, joins Leah for the conversation. MN Native News reporter Melissa Townsend goes in-depth with Dr. Mary Owen about her work with underrepresented medical st...

Leah talks with Sharyl Whitehawk, who is Lac Courte de Oreilles Ojibwe, and an addiction counselor at the American Indian Family Center in Saint Paul. Sharyl shares how she keeps herself balanced and healthy, so she can be of service to others. MN Native News reporter Melissa Townsend talks with Dennis Jones, a retired professor from the Department of Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota,...

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. Lung disease, cancer, and now complications due to COVID19 are a few of the many dangers that smoking cigarettes or using commercial tobacco causes. Today’s show looks at how Indian Country is helping our communities reduce commercial tobacco use. Leah talks with Mille Lacs Band membe...

Hello! Today we talk with 13-year-old Xander Ripley-Jaakoa, an Anishinaabe youth from Cloquet, MN. Xander chats with us about how his school year ended up (and the joys and perils of distance learning), how he stays connected with friends (Discord app), and the very cool and hilarious music videos he and family have been making with their Isolation Band, including their song: Couch Potato!

Boozhoo!  We catch up with our friend Mike Laverdure (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota), a partner with DSGW Architects. Mike offers his perspective on how the pandemic will change building codes and designs long into the future.  And when Mike shares a story about his 3-year-old twin daughters, we laugh about the joys and woes of working from home, especially with children...

  Greetings! Today we talk with Louise Matson (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) the Executive Director of the Division of Indian Work and founding board member of Bdote Learning Center. Louise shares how she and her staff are working hard to support community members, by making remote connections and distributing pre-packed food supplies, even as they long for and miss the in-person gatherings.    

Boozhoo! We’re happy to connect with our friend Briand Morrison (Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), the renowned jazz guitar player (you can hear him and his music on Native Lights podcast S1 Ep2, check it out!). Briand has no public gigs right now, due to the pandemic, but he’s still making plenty of music and enjoying life with family at home

Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin) Hello! Today we talk with Jenn Hall (Leech Lake), who is a brand-new Minneapolis firefighter!  Jenn gives us a glimpse into how she safely does her job, answers calls, responds to emergencies, and faces danger, even with the pandemic going on.  Jenn also shares how she stays grounded through quiet time, rest, watching Netflix, and talking on the phone w...

Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin) Greetings! On this day we check in with registered dietician Stacy Hammer (Bdewakantunwan Dakota).  Stacy is the Director of Community Health at the Lower Sioux Health Care Center.  When the pandemic hit, Stacy and her team swung into action to figure out how to provide health care and support, even as everything was shutting down.  

Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin) Hello Relatives!  Today we talk with Shelbie Shelder (Little River Band of Ottawa Indians), a 4th year medical student at the University of Minnesota. Shelbie talks about how the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted her rigorous academic load but also re-invigorated her desire to be a physician. Shelby is also focused on Native youth mental health during t...

Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin) Boozhoo! Today we catch up with Marie Rock (White Earth) who is the Program Manager at KOJB-FM “The Eagle” Radio which broadcasts to the Leech Lake Reservation, where she hosts the morning show.  Marie is also the host of MN Native News, so her voice is familiar throughout the state.  Enjoy our fun and lively chat with Marie who shares how she copes and...

  Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin) Hello! Connecting with friends and family during this pandemic is incredibly important.  So today, we are catching up with our brother Bryce Premo (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe). Bryce works in mental health advocacy and suicide prevention, and he manages a Sober House. Bryce tells us some of the ways he and the residents help each other maintain good me...

Greetings!  Today we catch up with Deb Foster (St. Croix Ojibwe), Executive Director of the Ain Dah Yung Center which provides a healing place of safety and support for Native youth.  We first met Deb Foster in our Native Lights Podcast (S2 EP4) when we talked about how Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung came to life. Now Deb shares how the youth and staff are faring during the pandemic, and how traditional p...

  Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin) Boozhoo!  Today we meet Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) the owner/designer/artist at Makwa Studio, a small knitwear business. When the pandemic hit, she answered the call and fired up her sewing machine. Maggie and her team crank out cotton masks to donate to healthcare workers, alongside creating and selling special ribbon masks celebrating adap...

  Greetings!  Today we’re happy to speak with Vanessa Goodthunder (Lower Sioux) who is the Director of Cansayapi Wakanyeza Owayawa Oti (Early Head Start and Preschool). Vanessa shares how she and her fellow teachers are staying connected to their students, from a distance.  And, we laugh about all the TV binging we’re doing in these times. Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin)  

We round out Season 2 of our Native Lights podcast by exploring the cultural influences that have shaped the work of two celebrated and accomplished Native artists. Chaz Wagner (Bois Forte Ojibwe) is a musician, singer, traditional drummer, and co-leader of the Native American rock band, War Bonnet, which was nominated for two 2019 Native Grammy Awards. Dyani White Hawk Polk (Sičangu Lakota), is a...

In this episode, two stories highlight significant work to build supportive environments for Native people to heal and thrive. Kwe Pack is a spectacular group of Native women supporting each other to run long-distance trail races. Kwe Pack has been featured on Good Morning America, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Oprah Winfrey’s World Vision Tour.  This group encourages each other to draw on their i...

The program explores the unstoppable power when two visionaries come together to bring a special project to life. We meet Deb Foster (Ojibwe), the Executive Director of Ain Dah Yung and Mike Laverdure (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota), a partner with DSGW Architects.  Deb Foster and Mike Laverdure both played leading roles in the creation of Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung, a beaut...

  This episode explores work being done towards authentically and accurately representing Native people, communities, and our stories. Rebecca Crooks-Stratton (Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community) is the Secretary/Treasurer of her tribe, and now she leads "Understand Native Minnesota," an ambitious campaign to support Native American narrative change in Minnesota’s K-12 education system, as a way...

  Respected Anishinaabe elder and well-known physician, Dr. Arne Vainio (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) tells the story of how he became one of only 3,400 Native physicians in the United States. He is currently a family physician at the Fond du Lac tribal clinic. His story is about class divisions, lateral violence, and the unwavering generosity of people in his Native community. Hosts: Leah Lemm (Mil...

We kick off our new season with a story from Mnicoujou [mini-co-jew] Lakota doula, Takayla Lightfield. She stands side-by-side with Native women supporting the birth of the next generation. Takayla Lightfield (Mnicoujou Lakota, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota), is a self-employed doula who also works at the Division of Indian Work and is a breastfeeding consultant in the Twin Cities, Mi...

Greetings! Today we check in with Antony Stately, Ph. D. (Ojibwe/Oneida), CEO of Native American Community Clinic (NACC). NACC is located in the Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis and provides health, dental, and counseling services to community members. Antony speaks about the challenges of managing a health care clinic during the pandemic, transitioning to telehealth, and we compare notes on t...

Boozhoo! Join us for a fun conversation with Chef Benjamin Shendo (Cochiti and Jemez Pueblo), the Café Manager of Gatherings Café, at the American Indian Center in south Minneapolis. When the pandemic hit, Benjamin and his team moved quickly to deliver daily meals to Native elders sheltering at home. Gatherings Café serves fresh, locally grown foods that are Indigenous and prepared in healthy ways...

Greetings!  We are excited to catch up with renowned author, playwright and poet, Marcie Rendon (White Earth Nation) and we hear how she is using her time cooped up at home.  Spoiler alert: she’s been writing funny stories and planning her garden!  Enjoy this conversation with the insightful and creative Marcie Rendon.