119 episodes
Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine Minnesota Native News
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- Society & Culture
In Native Lights, people in Native communities around Mni Sota Mkoce - a.k.a. Minnesota - tell their stories about finding their gifts and sharing them with the community. These are stories of joy, strength, history, and change from Native people who are shaping the future and honoring those who came before them.
Native Lights is also a weekly, half-hour radio program hosted by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo. Native Lights is a space for people in Native communities.
Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund. Online at https://minnesotanativenews.org/
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Leah and Cole: Sharing Our Gifts and Purpose
On today’s show, we turn the microphone on each other! No guest today… instead, we ask each other some questions about our own purpose and passions, starting with music. Cole tells some stories about discovering his love for making music and the many mentors who helped him on his path. Leah shares a sweet story of her first solo singing performance in kindergarten, and how she is passing her passion along to her son.
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Christina Wood’s Gift for Busting Bias Through Art
On today’s show, we talk with Christina Woods (Bois Forte Tribal Nation) who is the first Anishinaabikwe to be the Executive Director of the Duluth Art Institute. Christina is also currently performing in the play The UnPlugging presented by New Native Theatre in Minneapolis.
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Cece Benimon’s Gift for Connecting Kids with Culture & Conservation
On today’s show, we talk with Cece Benimon (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) who is the family liaison for Anishinaabe Academy, a Minneapolis school with a Native-centered curriculum. Cece shares some of the different ways the school is revitalizing and Indigenizing curriculum. We learn how Cece’s business background helped her develop relationships with students, families, and community members; inspiring deeper connections with each other and the land too.
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Navigating the Knowns and Unknowns of Back-to-School Time
Covid19 Community Conversation is returning to the Native Lights feed for a few months. Co-Hosts Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) and Antony Stately Ph.D. (Ojibwe/Oneida) explore how Indian Country in MN is responding and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis. This will be a monthly feature on the Native Lights feed through the end of the year
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Amber Buckanaga’s Gift for Art and Fashion Design
On today’s show, we have a fun conversation with Amber Buckanaga (Leech Lake Band) who is an artist, fashion designer, and mother. Amber left her career in education, to follow her artistic dreams, which led to sewing, then designing fashions, and eventually the runways of NYC’s fashion week!
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How Visionaries Deb Foster and Mike Laverdure Create Healing Spaces
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. Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung opened in November of 2019.