Minnesota Native News

This week on Minnesota Native News, a look at how Indigenous educators are celebrating Native graduates, plus, how invasive species are impacting tribal waterways. 

This week on Minnesota Native News, the third annual Tribal Energy Evolution Summit brings over 70 Indigenous nations to St. Paul, and leaders from 11 Minnesota tribes call for unity and action following recent neighborhood violence impacting the Little Earth community.

May 5th is MMIW Awareness Day — a day to honor Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people, with events statewide. Plus, pow wow season kicks off in Spring, and pow wow planners provide guidance, especially for those new to attending these events.  

This week, how REAL ID requirements impact Indigenous people, especially Two-Spirit individuals. Also, New Native Theatre's latest play runs April 16-May 4. 

This week, Minneapolis's Native American Community Clinic (NACC) seeks artists to commission pieces for their new building. Plus, nearby, the Little Earth of United Tribes housing community will kick off May's American Indian Month with a celebration organized in part by the Minneapolis Public Schools American Indian Youth Council, Ogichida Oyate. 

This week, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could reshape child custody laws for Native American children. At the heart of the case is a challenge to the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, or MIFPA. Plus, a proposed bill in Congress is raising concerns about voting among Native communities across the country. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require all Americans to prove their citizenship in person with official documents when registering to vote .

This week on Minnesota Native News, a look at Indigenous Minnesotans continuing the sugarbush tradition in urban areas, and a conversation with Khayman Goodsky, director of the Minnesota-produced film, When Thunderbird Dances. 

This week on Minnesota Native News, we cover the recent staff terminations at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, and headlines affecting Indigenous communities in Minnesota.

This week on Minnesota Native News, we cover the 22nd Great Lakes Indigenous Farming Conference in Cohasset, Minnesota. Also, timely information about the Minnesota Department of Revenue's Child Tax Credit. Producer: Deanna StandingCloudVoicing: Emma NeedhamHost: Marie Rock 

This week on Minnesota Native News, the recent homecoming celebration for recently released AIM activist Leonard Peltier. We also cover state-wide and federal headlines affecting Indigenous nations.Scripting: Deanna StandingCloud, Reporting & Voicing: Emma Needham,Voicing & editing: Britt Aamodt, andHost: Marie Rock

This week, Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine faces delays as legal rulings hold up permits, and a local Indigenous-led coalition's push for climate justice at the state legislature. Producers: Vincent Moniz, Deanna StandingCloud

The Minnesota comedy duo Big Auntie Energy prepares a special Valentine's Day event. Plus, a new Indigenous-owned tattoo shop launches a community art and tattoo festival.Producers: Travis Zimmerman, Deanna StandingCloudEditing help from Chandra ColvinHost: Marie Rock

New mental health care treatments are now available for the Native community to help individuals heal from traumatic events impacting their lives. Plus, the Indigenous community takes action for missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives in February.

This week, former President Biden granted Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier clemency, and there's new leadership at the Native Governance Center in Minneapolis. 

Tension with Minneapolis police drove the Native community to form safety patrols. Now, with a federal investigation, the Minneapolis police department faces additional oversight. Plus, tribal – state cannabis compact negotiations are underway in Minnesota. 

This week, how an organization is advancing Indigenous cultural education across the state, plus: college application deadlines are right around the corner! Hear experiences and information from the Native American College Fair. 

This week, we revisit how the box-office hit, Star Wars: A New Hope, returns to the big screen in one of Minnesota's Indigenous languages.

This week on Minnesota Native News: AIM co-director, Lisa Bellanger, speaks about the legacy of respected AIM leader Frank Paro, who passed on earlier this month; and the Sioux Chef Sean Sherman tells MN Native News about his work after earning a Pathfinder Award this month. 

This week on Minnesota Native News, we revisit the Winter Artist Market Collaboration between the Native American Community Development Institute's All My Relations Arts Gallery and the Four Sisters Farmers Market, with details on the upcoming Niimiwin Artist Market at the Minneapolis American Indian Center.

This week on Minnesota Native News: how a new license plate helps Minnesota drivers support the families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives; Native people across Minnesota welcome the winter season through cultural and spiritual storytelling. Photo: Senator Mary Kunesh holds the MN MMIR license plate she helped design and pass legislation for—image courtesy of the MN Department of Public Safety. 

An upcoming film production in northern Minnesota plans to bring together a talented team of Indigenous storytellers, actors, and crew. Producers say the film will portray Indigenous culture, life, and romance.  Photo: From left to right, Tashia Hart, John Williams, and Elizabeth Day take a photo together with the screenplay of Native Love Jams. Courtesy of Tashia Hart 

Events are scheduled all over Minnesota in honor of Native American Heritage Month. This week, Minnesota Native News highlights three events planned during November. Photo: Grand Entry at Minnesota Pow Wow. Courtesy of Joel Glaser, AMPERS. 

Manoomin, also known as wild rice, holds immense cultural significance for Native Americans in Minnesota and the surrounding region. Chandra Colvin takes us to a festival that teaches people about the history and the different ways manoomin is harvested and prepared.

Indian boarding schools left a devastating impact that is still felt today. We are just starting to get a true sense of just how damaging they were. Deanna StandingCloud shows us what some in Minnesota are doing to remember and reconcile that incredibly tragic part of our state's history.Photo credit: Minnesota Historical Society

This week, we'll learn about a podcast exploring books and other K-12 teaching resources on the Native American experience, an emerging embroidery artist, and an upcoming theatre production. Image: "Butterfly Girl.” Embroidery piece by artist Loriene Pearson. 

 A national nature refuge in Minnesota celebrates the opening of a new amphitheater that honors the site's Indigenous history 

Native food trucks are becoming more popular to start family-owned and operated businesses.  Image: Anne O'Keefe and Frankie Jackson's Food Truck “Wanna Wotapi.” Courtesy of Travis Zimmerman 

This week, we hear about how the box-office hit, Star Wars: A New Hope returns to the big screen in one of Minnesota's Indigenous languages. 

This week on Minnesota Native News, the celebration of life and remembrance of those lost in the Sandy Lake Tragedy that took place in Northern Minnesota in the 1800s. And, a look at why Native Cannabis dispensaries have been operating while the rest are still waiting to open. Chandra Colvin has more. 

 This week, two examples in Minnesota that support the larger “Land Back” movement across Indian Country, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's new Chief Executive, urban Native-led organizations celebrate during a collaborative open house, and a new tribally operated recreational marijuana dispensary now open in Minnesota.  

A newly appointed Dakota-led design team restoring Owámniyomni, also known as St. Anthony Falls has plans to transform the Minneapolis site into a space that centers the land and its Indigenous history.Photo: A design sketch of Owámniyomni envisioning the land after its restoration by a Dakota-led design team. Courtesy of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi.

This week, we discuss Two-Spirit Identity within Native Communities and the upcoming Two-Spirit Powwow in Minneapolis.  The Third Annual Two Spirit Pow Wow will be at South High School in Minneapolis on July 13th, 2024. 

This week, we'll hear from the organizers of an Indigenous Writers Series in Duluth. The American Indian Housing Community Housing Organization, or AICHO, recently hosted State Poet Laureate Gwen Westerman and the award-winning author Linda LeGarde Grover. Image: Moderator Jill Doerfler, Ph.D., Linda LeGarde Grover, and Gwen Westerman during the Q&A portion of the Indigenous Writers Series event on May 18, 2024. Photo Credit: Ivy Vainio

This week, the newly established state Office of American Indian Health gets to work, a new database of Indian boarding schools helps Indigenous people trace their ancestry, and a Dallas Mavericks player honors his Standing Rock Sioux heritage on the court.

This week, the Hinckley-Finlayson School District Board officials voted unanimously to disallow a Native American student drum group to perform at their high school graduation ceremony on May 24th. The ruling garnered statewide attention. Image: Hinckley Finlayson Schools Native American Student Association Drum Group practices on the big drum. Credit: HFS NASA Advisors 

The Minneapolis American Indian Center recently re-opened after a 32.5 million dollar renovation project. IMAGE: Mary LaGarde (left) cuts a portion of the ribbon for the new Minneapolis American Indian Center while Dawn Paro (Center) and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan look on. 

This week, a group of organizations expressed support for tribal land transfer bills at the state legislature, a heroic Indigenous Girl Scout won a prestigious award for her lifesaving efforts, information about tribal elections season, and a reminder about upcoming Native recognition during May.  

This week, Minnesota Lynx draft part Samoan, part Alaska Native Alissa Pili, the Red Lake Nation College opens its new urban site in Minneapolis; and a celebration of Donald Eubanks' life – an Indigenous-Black community member who, during his life, worked for the State, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians Tribe, Metro State University, among others, and was a founding member of the Counter Stories program. 

This week, the University of Minnesota is considering a new policy for how it conducts research with indigenous communities, the Minnesota Indian Area Agency on Aging plans to establish a new service, the building of an outdoor smudging space at Shakopee High School, and Bemidji State University establishes an online book club for indigenous high school students.

A new bill proposes to transfer state lands encompassing Upper Red Lake in northern Minnesota to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. Although this proposal at the legislature is recent, the idea of tribal jurisdiction over the Upper area of Red Lake is a long-standing affair. 

"Misi-zaaga'iganiing" Shoe Design by Adrienne Benjamin of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Courtesy of Adrienne Benjamin 

This week, the Minnesota Indian Women's Resources Center (MIWRC) welcomed Ruth Anna Buffalo, the organization's new CEO. (Image: Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center Logo, Credit: MIWRC) 

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community's $5 million dollar campaign to indigenize K12 curriculum has ended with some major accomplishments. Three Native educators explain their contributions. 

This week's headlines include The Return of the Cloquet Forestry Center Lands, a newly available Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relative's license plate, and the showing of Bear Grease, an Indigenous spin on the classic musical, Grease. 

For nearly a decade, the Minneapolis Native community has gathered in the East Phillips neighborhood to keep the missing or murdered Indigenous relatives in the collective consciousness. All too often, Native people are simply not given the same attention as their white counterparts. This Day of Action is a wake-up call to for the public to learn how drastic of an issue this is for the Native community. The demonstration gathers powerful speakers, community healing practices, and offers community-based information that may provide resources to families who have experienced the loss of a cherished loved one. 

This week's Minnesota Native News Headlines include an update from Camp Nenookasi and the transfer of the Upper Sioux Agency Park, and updates in tribal leadership across the state. 

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, was recently amended, and the new rules became effective this year. Photo: NAGPRA Logo