Minnesota Native News

Located inside the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center held its Grand Opening. Offering traditional Indigenous healing modalities and a variety hand crafted self-care products, the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center supports local native artists and aims to bring Indigenous community members together in a safe space for healing.

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Emma

This is Minnesota Native News I'm Emma Needham. This week, a new community wellness center opened in Saint Paul’s East Side, bringing Indigenous people together in a safe space. Deanna StandingCloud reports.

Deanna

It’s a crisp November day on the East Side. The sun is shimmering into beautifully designed Dakota patterns through the storefront window; inside, two Indigenous women sip herbal tea and prepare for the grand opening of the Eagle & Condor Native Wellness Center, located within the Indigenous Roots Cultural Center.

Maria 

Part of our prophecy is bringing that the eagle and condor would come back together, and we would have that flow of relationships that was no longer divided by the borders that have been set up through colonization. The eagle and condor are here, in this wellness space and that there’s good medicine happening between all the communities. 

Deanna

Maria Morin McCoy is from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and has French Canadian, Irish and German descendancy. Her spirit name means “Filling up with light Thunderbird Woman” and she is from the Bear Clan. She has been learning about energy healing since the late 1990’s and believes we have the innate superpower to heal our own bodies. 

Maria

A person has the wisdom inside of themselves to know what they need to do the healing work and I’m there to support that journey. We hold disease in our bodies and when given the opportunity, the body will begin to talk to us and let us know where the block are and how they can be released. 

Deanna 

Maria owns Making Medicine and is committed to bringing healing techniques and plant medicine to her community. Her teachings and approach fit well with the vision of the Blue Hummingbird Woman or Tanagidan To Win, with whom she shares the new space. Tara Perron is a mother, author, and artist from the Lower Sioux Dakota community. Tanagidan To Win is her given Dakota name meaning Blue Hummingbird Woman. She shares with us how her vision became reality. 

Tanagidan To Win

Blue Hummingbird Woman started off when I started writing children’s books in Dakota language & also the Ojibwe language. I worked with a Native American non-profit publisher and then it grew from there. I started writing all kinds of children’s books and we started bringing our medicines to the public. 

Deanna

The Blue Hummingbird Woman Indigenous Heart Medicine Gift Shop offers a variety of traditional healing and self-care products, including wild teas, tinctures, and salves. They also intentionally build up other independent Native artists and herbalists in the area by selling their merchandise in the store.  

Tanagidan To Win

I love bringing our Native entrepreneur gifts to the world. It is important to me that I get to uplift other artists that may have not have the space. 

Deanna 

These two Indigenous women hold their traditional healing sacred and want to share that with the world. Along with Maryanne Quiroz, co-founder of the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, they collectively saw a need for a wellness center that could connect tribal nations from all across Turtle Island back to their traditional healing medicines. Tanagidan To Win, also known as Tara Parin, is a decent of White Earth Ojibwe as well, and she says this is a place for everyone.

Ambient: Chatter (Ambient Audio 2) 

Tanagidan To Win

This is a wellness center for all of us. This is our space, so it’s open to everybody. If you need something, contact one of us. We will make it work however we can. 

Deanna

The Grand Opening of the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center brought together elders and community members to share prayer, song, nourishing food, dance, and local shopping. Indigenous art, fashion, jewelry and native made works are avail available to the community. 

For Minnesota Native News, I'm Deanna StandingCloud

Emma

You can find out more about Indigenous Roots at indigenous-roots.org and about Blue Hummingbird Woman at bluehummingbirdwoman.com. 

For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media. 

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instagram.com/mnnativenews/ 

Never miss a beat. Sign up for our email list to receive news, updates and content releases from AMPERS. ampers.org/about-ampers/staytuned/ 

This show is made possible by community support. Due to cuts in federal funding, the community radio you love is at risk. Your support is needed now more than ever. Donate now to power the community programs you love: ampers.org/fund

This is Minnesota Native News, I’m Emma Needham. Last month, the State of Minnesota made a public call for submissions for new state flag and state seal designs. Travis Zimmerman has the story.

Travis Zimmerman: The public submission period for a new state flag and seal ended on October 30th with over 2,600 designs.13 voting members of the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission have narrowed down the submissions to the top six, with input from the public, the Redesign committee will present one flag and one seal design to the state legislature. 

Dr. Kate Beane, is Dakota, and is one of the members of the new commission. She has an interesting connection to the current Minnesota flag. The image of this state seal, which is also incorporated into the state flag. That state seal is drawing, there's an image of a native person running off into the sunset. And that image was inspired by a drawing by Seth Eastman. I’m a direct descendent of Seth Eastman.

And so the image that we have on the state seal, which is incorporated into the state flag is an image that is really symbolic of manifest destiny. It’s an image of the farmer and the plow with a Native person riding off into the sunset. And so it's been an interesting process to really think about changing that.

TZ:  Dr. Beane was invited to the Emblem Redesign Commission by Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, chair of the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board, which Dr. Beane also serves on. She talks about the idea to ask the public to submit designs for the new flag and seal. 

DKB: We made the call for the submissions, we went to the public and asked for public community members to submit designs and had a relatively short window of time for people to submit. We ended up with so many submissions….2600 designs….for the state flag. And there's about 300, something for the state seal. And I think, you know, it's been an interesting process in terms of understanding that the seal is the official sort of symbol of the government. And then the flag is the official symbol of the people of Minnesota.

TZ: Sarah Agaton Howes, an Ojibwe artist from Fond Du Lac, submitted several designs, one of which made it to the top SIX. 

Sarah Agaton Howes: Flags are really powerful and important images in general. And when you hoist the flag, that's like an act of claiming a place, right. So I think I've always thought about flags as being really important and powerful. And what's funny about the Minnesota flag is I think there's a lot of those, like, really racist things that we grow up around, that we don't even consciously realize are there. And so it makes me think of how, as Native people or all of us, really, as Minnesotans, the images that we’re inundated with and we’re not even aware of how it’s affecting how we think. 

TZ:  The state of Minnesota has discussed changing its flag as early as the 1950’s. For artist Sarah Howes, changing the flag is an important way to recognize and represent the contributions of Minnesota’s Native tribes.

SAH: That’s the part I wanted to inject, you know, our perspective and our point of view, and also knowing that that's not an opposing point of view, to the rest of Minnesota, the rest of Minnesota knows there's tribal nations here. And have you know, we all love the water, the trees, the sky here just as much as everyone else. And we were a part of Minnesota and a vital part of Minnesota.

TZ: The final recommendation for a new state flag will go to the legislature on January 1st, 2024. Dr. Beane says deciding on a new state flag is not just for members of the commission and that there’s time for members of the public to make comments or attend meetings to talk about what is important to them in a new state flag. 

DKB: You can comment on the designs….we are reading the comments and really thinking about this as being a representation of all of us.

TZ:  Minnesota residents can view the latest round of designs, make comments for the commission teams, and find out about in-person legislative meetings regarding the new flag on the Minnesota Historical Society’s website at www.mnhs.org 

For Minnesota Native News, I’m Travis Zimmerman. 

* Travis Zimmerman is employed by the Minnesota Historical Society, however, he is not associated with this project. 

Estelle Timar-Wilcox: Native and non-Native audiences have been raving about “For the People.” 

Colin Cash is a big theater fan and a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. When he saw it, he forgot he was even watching a play. He even offered to pay for people’s tickets so they could go, too.

Colin Cash: In my eyes, for me, it wasn’t just a play, it was an experience, and a look into the urban natives trying to find acceptance, community. There’s so many nuances, the writing is just brilliant and there’s layers to it. I’ve been recommending it to a lot of different people, because representation does matter.

ETW: “For the People” premiered at the Guthrie in October and ran through November 12th. The show follows April Dakota, a young Native woman with big dreams of opening a wellness center on Franklin Avenue. April means well, but she's a little misguided. Her plans for vegan regalia and new-age Indigenous yoga get some eye-rolls from her elders. She lands in a tangle of neighborhood politics and a partnership with a rich developer that goes very wrong. 

The Guthrie commissioned this show from playwrights Ty Defoe and Larissa FastHorse. FastHorse is a member of the Sicangu Lakota nation; her mom is from Minnesota, and she grew up in South Dakota. Defoe has Ojibwe and Oneida heritage, and grew up on Anishinaabe territory.

But they weren’t the only voices behind it. FastHorse said they developed the play using story circles – meetings with local Native people to see what they wanted to watch a play about. 

Larissa FastHorse: It's really about making sure that we aren't writing what we want to write, we're writing what the community wants us to write, and we're asking the community again and again, ‘hey, whoever wants to tell us what you want a play to be about — come on, let us know.’

ETW: The show mentions a lot of local landmarks and history — from the start of the American Indian Movement to Owamni.

And the biggest note they got: it has to be funny.

The result is a hilarious 90 minutes. The final battle features a yoga competition and a paintball bow-and-arrow. The comedy weaves through some really touching moments, too. 

Co-writer Ty Defoe was responsible for writing a lot of the jokes. 

Ty Defoe: That kind of comedy allows a type of a healing. When people either see themselves portrayed on stages or are a part of that process, I think there's something that allows the collective soul of Native people to come together in an urban environment that settler colonialism has so affected so that we can have a joy and a type of perseverance working together.

ETW: Lindy Sowmick is Saginaw Ojibwe. She grew up in Michigan and moved to Minnesota for college. She called “For the People” the greatest play she's ever seen. 

Lindy Sowmick: There's that feeling, deep in your heart, or in your stomach, when you're like, this is healing for my community. That's what art is meant to do, art's meant to tell a story. And you know, Indigenous folks have been storytellers for our entire generations. I think that this is just such a beautiful result of generations of us being storytellers.

ETW: The Guthrie advertised the show as the first Native-written play on its main stages. FastHorse said she’s glad it reached a wide audience. 

LF: That's the beauty of theater. It's a live experience where you go with people that are having completely different experiences, and then you get to talk about it. It makes you have to interrogate things in a different way, which we really love. We're very aware that we're writing for a predominantly white institution, with a dominantly white subscriber base, but there was so much work being put into making sure we had a broader audience coming to this. And we made sure that this play was for the people, right? 

There were a lot of things that didn’t read to the white people, and we were like, that’s okay. That part’s not for you, and that’s fine. (Laughter). 

TD: For! The! People!

Today, we're joined by Sasheen Goslin who turned her passion for her community into a career of keeping people safe. During the pandemic, Sasheen changed the tone in Duluth around COVID-19. When people didn’t believe in the virus, others were dying – mostly the underserved and those without access to healthcare. The American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO), where she led the initiative, took a different approach. They integrated their traditions and belief systems, how they show love, into the public health model and changed the conversation, making a huge difference in the community at large. Now, she continues her community health journey with her enrollment into the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Masters of Tribal Administration and Governance program. 

Resources:
Get your free at-home COVID-19 tests monthly: https://sayyescovidhometest.org/

Test to Treat Program: 1-844-609-2415

This week in Minnesota Native News, the Leech Lake Reservation held a survey for the unhoused to gain a perspective on homelessness, its causes, and possible solutions. 

This week, a new report identifies systemic issues in investigating Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous people’s cases, an Ojibwe Language revival game hits store shelves in the Twin Cities, and a new survey at Leech Lake Nation hopes to identify solutions for homeless tribal members. 

This week, Emma Needham shares about upcoming events and an annual survey for native people across the US. 

MARIE: I’m Marie Rock and this is Minnesota Native News. This week, Emma Needham shares about upcoming events and an annual survey for native people across the US. 

Indian Country’s largest survey is back for its third year. The Indigenous Futures Survey or IFS, is a multi-year Native-led research project. Its goal is to shed light on the authentic experiences, systemic challenges, and priority issues of Native peoples today. 

According to the organization Illuminative, the IFS 3.0 data will be shared with Tribes, organizers, and communities throughout Indian Country. The survey results will help leaders and allies better understand Native priorities ahead of the upcoming 2024 presidential election, be used for future policy creation, and more.

Self-identifying indigenous people ages 18 and older can take the survey at indigenousfutures.org . This year’s Indigenous Futures survey is co-led by the Illuminative and Native Organizers Alliance and available on their websites. 

Marie: One priority for native people in Minnesota is wild rice. 

Many organizations, environmental advocates, students, and community members will gather near Duluth, MN, for a special symposium to discuss Wild rice in Minnesota The event will include a tour and ceremonies for wild rice. Attendees will receive education and how to foster relationships around good stewardship of wild rice. Registration is free to Indigenous and Tribal attendees, with reduced student fees. There is also a lodging scholarship available for those in need. There is also a call for potters and artists at this event. The Manoomin-Psin Symposium runs from November 13-November 15th at Black Bear Resort and Casino. 

Marie: Also coming up in November is NativeRise 2023 

Tickets are now on sale for NATIVERISE 2023. NativeRISE brings together more than 250 community and business leaders, supporters and elected officials to celebrate American Indian OIC’s impact in the community. The event will begin with a social hour, followed by a welcome, prayer, honor song and dinner. The program will highlight several soaring “eagles” in attendance, including: 

Cara Jade Myers of the Wichita Tribe, an actress currently appearing in Killers of the Flower Moon, a new film directed by Martin Scorsese; Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor and a member of the White Earth Nation; Eddie Chuculate, a member of the Cherokee and Muscogee Nations, and author of This Indian Kid and Cheyenne Madonna, in addition to being a Star Tribune copy editor; and Trish Cook of the  Red Lake Nation, a local comedian and the evening’s emcee. 

NativeRise takes place on Friday, November 17th, at the Windows on Minnesota venue on the 50th floor of the IDS Building in downtown Minneapolis. For more information, go to www.aioic.org. 

Lastly, in education news, educators across Minnesota can meet the new Indigenous Education for All legislation with access to free classroom books that from the Mdewakaton Sioux Tribe. The Understand Native Minnesota campaign is giving away 20,000 free copies of the book Voices From Pehutuzizi, Dakota Stories and Storytellers for its One Read program. The book tells the story of the Upper Sioux community in present tense and provides support for educators to teach about Minnesota Native Tribes as current events. Once teachers request their books, there will be more ways to get involved and learn about Dakota and other indigenous tribes in Minnesota. A teacher's guide and webinar will be available later this month to share ideas on how the book can be used in classroom settings. Educators can request their free copies of Voices From Pehutuzizi and find support for teaching Native Studies at understandnativemn.org. 

For Minnesota Native News, this is Emma Needham.  

Welcome back to Community Health Conversations, a special program from Minnesota Native News! Hosts Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) and Dr. Antony Stately Ph.D. (Ojibwe/Oneida) lead insightful discussions about the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare in Indian Country. They discuss the valuable lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore how Native communities are responding and adapting beyond COVID-19.

Running is healing, according to our guest Angie DeLille, who has participated in 21 marathons. During the pandemic, Angie found herself coordinating the Tribal COVID response, but always found time to run and do marathons, even if that meant virtually. We talk with her about how she stayed healthy and safe (especially during the pandemic) and how running kept her body and mind healthy.

Resources:
Get your free at-home COVID-19 tests monthly through Say Yes! COVID Test 

Find the FDA COVID-19 Test Expiration table on their website.  

Test to Treat Program: 1-844-609-2415

Free drive-thru testing at a Walgreens near you. 

Sherburne County partnered with St. Cloud State University to offer a chance for Indigenous students to connect with both the land and their heritage. Reporter Chandra Colvin has the story. 

This is Minnesota Native News. I’m Marie Rock. This week, Sherburne County partnered with St. Cloud State University to offer a chance for Indigenous students to connect with both the land and their heritage. Reporter Chandra Colvin has the story. 

In late September, indigenous students had the chance to connect to mother earth by planting sweetgrass at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. These students are a part of a new program through the St. Cloud State University American Indian Center. This program is known as the Indigenous Learning Community or the ILC. Coordinator Bearpaw Shields, who is both Dakota and Nakota, explains:

BEARPAW SHIELDS: The Indigenous Learning Community was created - this unique program that is grant funded. And it was designed to help, recruit, retain, and graduate our indigenous students. And so part of my role, as well, is to help mentor the students, and to help them succeed through the college role here at St. Cloud State University. 

Because a lot of times we get first time students, and it's really scary. They don't know a lot about college life. And I want to really help them stay on track, because it's so easy to fall into the wrong crowd. And then, they don't end up graduating. So I'm serving here as a mentor, and as a guide, basically a guide, if you want to put it that way.

The ILC provides experiences to indigenous students both inside and outside of the classroom. Students can take culturally relevant classes as a cohort and spend time together in the American Indian Center on campus studying. Bearpaw Shields coordinated the sweet grass planting with Sherburne County’s Park Director.  

GINA HUGO: I'm Gina Hugo. I'm the parks director for Sherburne County. And we're here at the Big Elk Lake Parkland, where we have been working with several Minnesota tribal communities on a cultural landscape co management vision for a sacred landscape that's in county stewardship right now. And today, we're out with some amazing St. Cloud State students to expand a sweet grass meadow on the landscape. 

Bearpaw Shields explains how this partnership came to be. 

BEARPAW SHIELDS: I first met her probably about a few years ago. I was introduced to her because she was working on this property that we planted the sweet grass on. And she wasn't educated on American Indians. And so I took her underneath my wing, and educated her. And so she you know, talking to her about how there's not a lot of places for our people to whether it's harvest sweet grass, or sage or chokecherries or elderberries, things that are people traditionally used as medicines and for ceremonies. And so she then decided, you know what, I think this would be a great idea for this when they're going to do the park to have the sweet grass. So then our generations can come and harvest sweet grass, and so we can continue to use the medicines that our people have done for many years.

Aria, a part of the Red Lake Tribe is a second-year medical laboratory science student. They share their experience on this opportunity: 

ARIA: I decided to come here to kind of connect closer with my culture. I think that being able to plant sweet grass in itself is an amazing experience. And I feel like a lot of Native Americans should be able to have that experience to connect closer with their culture and be able to grow closer as a community in general.

This is the first of several activities that the Indigenous Learning Community students at St. Cloud State University will experience this year. Planned activities include traditional crafts, such as ribbon skirt and shirt making, as well as visits from an Ojibwe elder. For Minnesota Native News, this is Chandra Colvin 

This week, Migizi Communications celebrated the grand opening of its new building.  Minnesota Native News had the opportunity to visit the new location. Deanna Standing Cloud has the story of what goes on there and what it took to get Migizi back on Lake Street.

For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media. 

instagram.com/ampersradio/

instagram.com/mnnativenews/ 

Never miss a beat. Sign up for our email list to receive news, updates and content releases from AMPERS. ampers.org/about-ampers/staytuned/ 

This show is made possible by community support. Due to cuts in federal funding, the community radio you love is at risk. Your support is needed now more than ever. Donate now to power the community programs you love: ampers.org/fund