Corey Medina & Brothers Play New Years Eve & Release New Music. Plus, an Extended Interview with Lisa Bellanger

Transcript

[Music: Minnesota Native News Theme]

ANCHOR Marie Rock: Welcome to Minnesota Native News. I'm Marie Rock. This week: a conversation with Corey Medina of the Bemidji band, Corey Medina and Brothers, about their upcoming New Years Eve concert. Plus, an extended interview with American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council member Lisa Bellanger.

First, let's hear from Travis Zimmerman.

Travis Zimmerman: Corey Medina, a Navajo musician from New Mexico, has quite a following in northern Minnesota and his band, Corey Medina and Brothers will be performing in Bemidji on New Year's Eve.

Corey Medina: I moved up to Bemidji going on 14 years now. Really with the only thing I had was just my songs and my music. I was really thankful that Bemidji had a really cool music scene that was very welcoming to me.

Travis Zimmerman: Medina got into playing blues and writing songs that people can relate to.

Corey Medina: The stuff we put out really actually comes from a lot of hurt and some of the best art comes from hard places, but we can create something beautiful out of it. Now I play for people - something to give them hope that we're not in this alone.

Travis Zimmerman: As a transplant to Minnesota, Medina is thankful for the Native community and their support of his career.

Corey Medina: So I've been a Minnesotan, you know, a third of my life, learning a lot from the Anishinaabe up here. I'm really thankful that the music was really community based and really Native based too. A lot of people have helped me get to where I am, not just musically, but emotionally and spiritually as well.

Travis Zimmerman: Corey Medina and Brothers has released a few albums and are working on their latest project.

Corey Medina: We're working on an album, a vinyl. We recorded six songs live. We don't really have the resources right now to go into a studio and get it all recorded. So it's like, you know what? We have a studio let's just record them live and just put them out.

Travis Zimmerman: Corey Medina and Brothers will be playing on New Year's Eve at the Loft in Bemidji.

Corey Medina: So we just figured New Year's Eve and starting off the new year, right, would just be a good way to do it.

Travis Zimmerman: For Minnesota Native News, this is Travis Zimmerman.

ANCHOR Marie Rock: Next, an extended interview with Lisa Bellanger from a previously aired segment. Producer Emma Needham has more.

Lisa Bellanger: [Introduces herself in Ojibwemowin.] Boozhoo. My Ojibwe my spirit names are—Young Lynx Woman and Sacred Gourd Woman. I am Martin Clan from my Anishinaabe family, and from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe tribal nation. I currently live in the Twin Cities, but I'm enrolled up there, and I do work all over, I guess, all over Turtle Island and now globally. I'm on the board for AIM Grand Governing Council. I'm currently chair. I'm on the board for the Wicoie Nandagikendan Language Program in South Minneapolis. And I'm on the board for the International Indian Treaty Council and the Rural Coalition.

Emma Neeham: Thank you for sharing that with us. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share a little bit about the legacy of Frank Paro, who was the co-director with you, with AIM, who recently walked on, and also to talk about your current position. Are you the first woman to hold that position?

Lisa Bellanger: Yep. I grew up in the American Indian Movement. My mom was part of the founding AIM chapters in St Paul and helped found Red Schoolhouse, and she was part of the founding conference of international Indian Treaty council. So I grew up, my house was kind of the go-to house during the Wounded Knee trials, since we were halfway between Minneapolis and the courthouse. Through those years, growing up through AIM, I can't remember exactly what year I started seeing Frank around.

And '91 I think it was, when the mascot issue kicked off with that big protest march, it actually started from my son and I from a conversation about respect and mimicking and mocking and such things. And my son was like, "How come they're doing that to us?" You know, we're watching the Braves game, the Atlanta team, and we're looking forward to the playoffs to see if the Twins are going to make it. And I went to the Frank and Dawn's wedding dinner that weekend. And pretty soon the uncles started talking about the game.

And I said, "Hey, Uncle," you know, I kind of jabbed the elbow, sitting next to Vernon. "You want to know what Jake said about that game and about them coming here? He said, 'Are you going to protest them, Mom? Are we going to go protest because they're making fun of us?'" Uncle Vernon stops eating. And his fork slipped out of his hand and dropped. And then everybody looks at Uncle Vernon. He looks at me, and he said, "You know, my girl, when our children ask us if we're going to do something like that, then we need to step up. So you start organizing that, and you count on me. I'll help you. I'll be there." So, we start organizing that protest, not even imagining how big it would be.

All of that conversation launched that whole National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media. Launched at Frank and Dawn's wedding.

Emma Needham: Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. I want you to know that I see that and I know what you guys are doing, and it's important to me.

Lisa Bellanger: Oh, thank you. We really appreciate that.

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Marie Rock: Minnesota Native News is produced by AMPERS: Diverse Radio for Minnesota's Communities. Made possibly by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.