Broken Lands: A Podcast About Reparations and Honoring Our Treaties Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA

We continue with the second part of our conversation with Grace Goldtooth (Executive Director of Dakota Wicohan) and Dallas Goldtooth (Actor, Writer, Comedian, Reservation Dogs). Grace shares with us how her community developed a learning space called the Cansayapi Wicoicage Oti (Lower Sioux Intergenerational Cultural Incubator), which provides free educational services for the community. They also talk with us about Dakota language preservation and revitalization efforts. We also learn about the complex and layered history of the Dakota in Minnesota as well as the challenges of living and assuming a leadership role in community.

Grace Goldtooth (Executive Director of Dakota Wicohan) and Dallas Goldtooth (Actor, Writer, Comedian, Reservation Dogs) are siblings with a deep love for one another. Although they have careers in different fields, their rootedness in their Dakota heritage, and their commitment to preserving and celebrating it, deeply informs the work they both do. Grace describes her organization, Dakota Wicohan (which roughly translates to "Dakota Way of Life") as focusing on "revitalizing and sustaining our language as living language and transmitting cultures, lifeways, and teachings on to the next generation." Dallas Gooldtooth, perhaps best known for his role of William Knifeman on Reservation Dogs, was formerly a full-time activist who moved into the space of storytelling recently. He shares his thoughts on his indebtedness to his sister, family, and culture. Music by: Rick Mickey. Cover art by: Eli Yao, Instagram: ⁠@eli_yao_⁠

This episode's guest has a long, storied family history tied to the Osage Reservation which led to her playing an on-screen role in the new film Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese. As a descendant of family members murdered in this region, it was a logical step for her to be part of the screen depiction of these events. She shares about the filmmaking process and the care that the writer of the book as well as the film production team took to tell this story with respect and accuracy. Margo also shares with us her own history of working in criminal investigation and as an entrepreneur. Music by: Rick Mickey. Cover art by: Eli Yao @eli_yao_

This episode's guest, Holly Bird, has worked tirelessly throughout her career in a long list of advocacy roles. She is co-executive director of Title Track, an organization that focuses on youth empowerment, water protection, and racial justice. Holly also currently holds the position of Equal Justice Crime Advocate Fellow for Michigan Indian Legal Services, working closely with victims of crimes in Indian Country. She also has served both as a Tribal Judge and Tribal Supreme Court Justice since 2008. In this episode, she shares about her work on the frontline, including the time she spent at Standing Rock, and also discusses the importance of learning to take care of herself amid this strenuous, sometimes dangerous, work she does. Music by: Rick Mickey. Cover art by: Eli Yao ⁠@eli_yao_⁠

In this introductory episode for season 2, we introduce a new co-host to our show. Leora brings to the table a long history of working in the field of intergenerational healing. She tells us about her work, and she and co-host Matthew Cobb begin discussions on how they are going to create a space for authentic conversation for this season of Native American guests spanning several vocational fields. Music by: Rick Mickey. Cover art by: Eli Yao ⁠@eli_yao_⁠

In our final episode of season 1, we are going to hear from two generations of Ojibwe women. Deacon Colleen Bernu (Director for Evangelical Mission and Synod Minister for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of ELCA) and also from her high school daughter, Johanna. They share with us about what living together well might look like. Specifically, they reflect on the significance of the Duluth Reparation payment, their perspective of living between worlds, and what it's like to build community from this place. They also provide some additional context to the importance of bridge building, noting that in addition to mending the cultural divide between Indigenous people and settlers on these lands, we have another gap to cross–the divide of being both spiritual and human at the same time. We also look to the future from a young person's perspective: how Johanna views her place between her ancestors and the generations to come.