Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine

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 mixed media visual artist. Dyani has earned many grants, fellowships, and awards, including “Artists of the Year” from the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper. The honor was shared with five of her peers for their work curating the ground-breaking “Hearts of Our People” touring exhibition, launched in June of 2019 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. [Read Transcript...]

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 inner strength; to heal and flourish in all areas of their lives.

We also talk with hosts Leah and Cole’s brother Bryce Premo (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) about how facing his own struggles with depression and anxiety brought him tools that he now shares with others in his work in mental health advocacy and suicide prevention. As a youth leader at the Division of Indian Work, a Safe Talk presenter, and Sober House manager, Bryce explains how helping create supportive environments for others is the best medicine for himself. [Read Transcript...]

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 beautiful new apartment building in St. Paul, where formerly homeless Native young adults can live, reconnect to culture, and get job skills. [Read Transcript...]

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 to raise awareness and constructively overcome misunderstandings and misperceptions.

Chad Germann (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) is the Founder and CEO of Red Circle, one of the nation’s top Native-owned advertising agencies. Chad Germann is a rising success in the Twin Cities ad agency world, specializing in marketing and advertising for Casinos, and is known for his notable ads bringing awareness to the #NotYourMascot movement. [Read Transcript...]