This week, a summer sports camp brings Lacrosse to life in Fond Du Lac. And Minnesota musicians win at the 2025 Native American Music Awards.
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Executive Producer: Emma Needham Script editing: Emily Krumberger Anchor: Marie Rock Producer: Xan Holston, Chaz Wagner Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood
Transcript
ANCHOR (Marie Rock): This week, a summer sports camp brings Lacrosse to life in Fond Du Lac. Reporter Xan Holston has the story.
XAN HOLSTON: Back in 2010, Bryan Bosto — better known as Bear — says he got some heat for bringing a so-called outsider sports camp to the Fond du Lac Reservation.
BRYAN "BEAR" BOSTO: Because we all seen the sport on TV played by Ivy League schools out east.
HOLSTON: Lacrosse may look like a sport for East Coast elites today — but its roots go far deeper.
BOSTO: Our own communities didn't even know that lacrosse was originally a native sport — or as it's known now, baaga'adowewin.
HOLSTON: Also called the Creator's Game, the sport was played all across Turtle Island for at least 1,000 years. Today it's making a comeback in Native communities through programs like Fond du Lac's Lacrosse-4-Life Camp.
[SFX: Players counting in Ojibwe, laughing, playing Lacrosse (Audio credit: Dan Ninham)]
Starting with just 37 boys from five nations, the camp has grown to a full, 70-spot coed camp with two grade-level sessions.
BOSTO: We've seen over 400 kids come through our camp, and there's over 30 tribal communities that are going to be a part of this camp this next week.
HOLSTON: But the camp isn't just about the sport. Alongside the modern rules, Bear and his team teach the traditional roots of baaga'adowewin — how the sport was medicine, a social gathering, warrior training, and a way to settle land-disputes.
BOSTO: We've been really focused on reclaiming our story — our history. And by doing that, the spread of baaga'adowewin in our communities has just blown up.
HOLSTON: That cultural grounding is paired with honest conversations about things like suicide prevention and healthy decision-making. And it's run by an all-Native staff — people who've lived the same realities as the kids they coach.
BOSTO: That's why we see 72 percent of kids the last four years have been returning back.
HOLSTON: Both sessions of this year's camp are full, but registration for 2026 will open early next summer. Bear says the message is simple:
BOSTO: This is really a part of our history that we forgot. And to be a part of that — to reclaim that identity and share that with our kids — that's amazing.
[SFX: Students cheering and banging Lacrosse sticks (Audio credit: Dan Ninham)]
XAN HOLSTON: For Minnesota Native News, I'm Xan Holston.
ROCK: Next, Minnesota musicians win at this year's Native American Music Awards. Reporter Chaz Wagner has more.
CHAZ WAGNER: The Native American Music Awards (often referred to as NAMA Awards) offers a platform to recognize Indigenous musical artists. Much like the Grammy Awards, they feature a diverse range of musical categories from traditional
[SFX: Hand drum music and singing (Credit: Dan Ninham)] to contemporary [SFX: contemporary Indigenous blues music.(Credit: Dan Ninham)]
WAGNER: Started in 1998 and "sponsored in part by Seneca Resorts & Casinos," the Native American Music Awards program promotes Indigenous Music across North America. According to their website, "without NAMA there would be no recognition of Native American music initiatives on a national and professional level." The 2025 Native American Music Awards announced this year's winners in mid-July, with Minnesota musicians making the list.
[Ambient Sound: Fading in: Annie Humphrey's song "The Light In My Bones"]
ANNIE HUMPHREY: My name is Annie Humphrey. I live on the Leach Lake Reservation and I'm a musician, but my life is also really, really big.
[Ambient Sound: "We are all on our way….(Song: "The Light In My Bones" by Annie Humphrey)]
WAGNER: Humphrey's album "The Light in My Bones" won a NAMA this year for Best Pop Recording, but she had this to say about her genre:
[Ambient Sound: "there's life after this…(song fades out) (Song: "The Light In My Bones" by Annie Humphrey)]
HUMPHREY: They say, what's your genre? I said, it's intelligent 'cause we gotta use our intelligence. So that's what I call it. It's intelligent music, I hope.
WAGNER: Humphrey recently completed a tour of her now award winning album with her non-profit called Fire in the Village, but says the music comes when it comes.
HUMPHREY:Oh, I actually wrote one. It starts out saying, sometimes all I wanna do is build houses, paint murals, and give tattoos, but the songs keep on coming through, so I have no choice but to raise my voice.
WAGNER: But says the music comes when it comes.
HUMPHREY:You just, you just go along with the gift, you know, you just, you just move along with it.
WAGNER: To watch this year's award video, submit nominees for next year, get a playlist, and more, visit NAMA-live-dot- com. For Minnesota Native News, I'm Chaz Wagner.
ROCK (Disclosure): Congratulations to Leah Lemm and Chaz Wagner, producers at AMPERS and NAMA Award winners. AMPERS is committed to transparency in our reporting. This award did not influence the Minnesota Native News' producer's coverage of this event.
[Outro Music]
ROCK (Funder Credit): 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.