Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine

As a Bemidji resident for over 6 years and a Beltrami County resident for over 30 years, Daniel Jourdain shares how he did not originally plan to go into politics. But when a seat on the council opened up, many friends and mentors urged him to throw his hat into the ring. Daniel tells us what it was like learning to run a campaign (door-knocking in sub-zero temperatures), raising funds, and introducing himself by sharing his voice and speaking from the heart. Now as an elected official, Daniel Jourdain seeks to serve constituents by building positive partnerships among diverse communities and creating policies that serve the public’s interest. [Read Transcript...]

Today on the show we meet Jessica Engelking, a descendent of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, who is a researcher with the Great Plains Action Society, and the author of a new book geared toward younger readers, called "Peggy Flanagan: Ogimaa Kwe, Lieutenant Governor." The book is part of the Minnesota Native American Lives series, a partnership between the Minnesota Humanities Center and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. [Read Transcript...]

Today we have the pleasure of talking with Jonathan Thunder (Red Lake Nation) a multi-disciplinary artist whose artistry is recognizable with its vivid yet dreamy images in large-scale murals, animated films, and installations. [Read Transcript...]

Today we talk with Kade Ferris (Metis Nation citizen of the Manitoba Metis Federation) who is an author, Indigenous historian, and researcher. Kade is from the Turtle Mountain community in North Dakota, and he currently lives and works for the Red Lake Nation as an archeologist. Kade Ferris is the author of six books on the history and culture of the Ojibwe, Cree, and Metis people and has reached the Amazon top-100 list several times. [Read Transcript...]