The Indigenous Breastfeeding Coalition of Minnesota is a growing movement to support Indigenous people in their breastfeeding journey no matter what the prevailing trends may be in larger society. The group of educators like lactation consultants and doulas help promote the importance and normalization of milk medicine. Camila Valenzuela Panza is part of the coalition, and Shashana Skippingday and Pearl Walker-Swaney are co-leaders. Skippingday is the director of programs at the Division of Indian Work and the founder of Nitamising Gimashkikinaan, a perinatal and lactation support nonprofit. Walker-Swaney is a doula and lactation counselor for Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming in Bemidji....

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Lakota Made is an Indigenous woman-owned company celebrated for its eco-friendly, plantbased products. Owned by Megan Bull Bear, Lakota Made products help people connect with the Earth while respecting natural resources, and supporting sustainable, eco-friendly practices. “I grew up in south central South Dakota and spent a majority of my life living in the state. My parents, Charles Wayne and Marla Bull Bear, provided me with a strong foundation of Lakota teachings and traditions in my childhood. They worked hard and pursued education to support my younger brothers and me. My mother has run her own grassroots 501c3 organization for...

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PINE RIDGE/RAPID CITY - Last Monday, November 24, the South Dakota girls basketball season officially opened across the state, teams of all sizes discontinued their informal practices, their conditioning schedules and pre-season tourneys to start their formal practices as they get ready for the regular season and possible post-season run to a state championship in mid-March. During the weekend of the LNI girls volleyball tournament, coaches, AD’s and school representatives gathered at the Monument in Rapid City to seed the upcoming Lakota Nation Invitational tournament, Mahpiya Luta, the four time defending LNI champ, was named the #1 seed, last year’s...

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Driving through the Badlands, where jagged stones rise from unci maka, “Grandmother Earth,” I’m reminded what it means to see history and structure meet. I’ve taught the sociological imagination for years, but it comes into focus most sharply on the prairies and Badlands of the Pine Ridge Reservation. C. Wright Mills wrote that the sociological imagination allows us to “grasp history and biography and the relations between the two.” On the Rez, that idea is no textbook line. It’s the air people breathe, the weight they shoulder, the truth they live. I first encountered the sociological imagination in college, when...

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Baby Mariciela Amor, stillborn infant daughter was born to Annaleya Quevedo. Baby Mariciela arrived a precious angel and made her journey to the Star Nation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, NE on November 20, 2025. Mariciela Amor is survived by her mother Annaleya Janae Quevedo of Omaha, NE; grandparents Jeremy Quevedo and Jesabel Penzort of Omaha, NE; maternal grandparents, Stephanie Two Crow, Alisia Quevedo, Juan Quevedo, Jr., and Conor Paulson; maternal great grandparents, Juan Queveod, Sr. & Deanna Two Crow-Paulson; uncle Anthony Perez of Des Moines, IA; and aunts, Millianni Rose and Madali Rain Quevedo...

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JUN 19, 1967 - NOV 16, 2025 Wendelin Renee (Brown) Janis was born on June 19, 1967 in Rapid City, SD to Fred Brown, Sr. and Sarah “Sandy” Looks Twice. Wendelin made her journey to the Spirit World on November 16, 2025 at the Monument Health Hospital in Rapid City, SD. Wendelin is survived by her father, Fred T. Brown, Sr.; children, Derek Puckett, Sara Puckett, Kayla Janis, Aniah Janis, and Montrey Brown; siblings, Fred Brown, Jr., Robert Brown, Rebecca Brown, Michael Brown, Lloyd & Boyd Looks Twice, and Tammy Lunderman, Shawn Looks Twice; grandchildren, Precious Puckett, Rylan Puckett, Kaelyn...

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SEP 17, 1946 - NOV 26, 2025 Fredrick Thomas Brown, Sr. was born on Sept 17, 1946 in Wanblee, SD to Garfield Brown, Sr. and Zona Wilcox. Fred made his journey to the Spirit World on November 26, 2025 at the Oglala Sioux Lakota Nursing Home in White Clay, NE. Fred is survived by his wife, Jean (Ghost) Brown; daughter, Rebecca Brown; sons, Fred Brown, Jr, Robert Brown, Michael Brown, Boyd and Lloyd Looks Twice; siblings, Harold Brown & Sally Goings, Richard Brown, Bonnie Brown, Serena & Irving Provost, Doreen “Dee Dee” Two Bulls & Orren Provost; brother in-law, Francis...

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NOV 20, 2025-NOV 20, 2025 Rai’Emi Star Watson, infant daughter to Emily Has No Horse and Cruz Watson of Kyle, SD was born on Nov 20, 2025 and made her journey to the Spirit World on November 20, 2025 at the Monument Health Hospital in Rapid City, SD. Rai’emi is survived by her parents, Cruz Watson and Emily Has No Horse; siblings, DayaVauni, Sean, MaHeaveny, Amari & McArthur Watson; paternal grandparents, Susan (Thunder Bull) Big Crow, Phyllis Campbell, and Dorothy Thunderbull; maternal grandparents, Robert Two Crow and Sidney Has No Horse; Great grandparents, Robert Anthony & Sharon (Hendricks) Watson; and...

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Tribal leaders and education advocates said the Education Department failed to meet a statutory requirement by not consulting with tribes before announcing the transfer of dozens of Native American education programs to other federal agencies. This week, the Education Department said it would break off several of its main offices and hand over their responsibilities to agencies like the Department of Labor and the Department of the Interior. Under the plan, those two agencies will run several programs that fund and oversee the education of Native American children and college students. Tribal leaders and Native education organizations said the move...

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