Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
Special Editions | documentaries and special reports
Native Lights | stories of people within Minnesota’s Native communities
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 mental health, even while facing the challenges and uncertainty of these times.
Biidaapi: s/he comes laughing. (Ojibwemowin)
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 practices offer strength and hope.
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 adaptation and resilience.
The state of Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force is continuing its work to create recommendations for the state in its response to the MMIW crisis.
State Representative Mary Kunesh-Podein announced the May 18th end date and encourages the stories be submitted to help guide the work of the task force.
Twin cities based non-profit, Dream of Wild health, is expanding its farm operation to help meet community needs. But first… the state of Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force is continuing its work to create recommendations for the state in its response to the MMIW crisis.
State Representative Mary Kunesh-Podein announced the May 18th end date and encourages the stories be submitted to help guide the work of the task force.
Tribes across the U.S. have been expecting their share of 8-billion dollars from the federal CARES Act that was passed at the end of March to support those affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Some of those funds just started to flow to tribes the week of May 4th. Reporter Melissa Townsend talked with Minnesota’s U-S Senator Tina Smith, who sits on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
They talk about the delay in the disbursement of the $8-billion promised to tribal governments, problems in the way the money is being allocated for each tribe, new financial assistance for tribal casinos and a possible investigation into Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary Tara Sweeney over her conflict of interest in allocating federal assistance to Alaska Native Corporations that was intended for tribal governments.
This week on Minnesota Native News, it’s May, and the 51st American Indian Month has kicked off in Minnesota! But this year… things are going to be celebrated a bit differently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s reporter Cole Premo with how the month will be celebrated this year — and more.
This time during the Covid-19 pandemic is a time of illness and loss, but it’s also a time of healing – for many people and the earth – physically and spiritually. My name is Melissa Townsend and I’m a reporter and producer for Minnesota Naive News and the Native Lights podcasts. I recently spoke with Lakota elder Nancy Bordeaux about her work helping people heal through their traditional teachings, ceremonies and lifeways. Here is that conversation.
