Minnesota Native News

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. 

On today’s conversation, Dr. Charity Reynolds, Medical Director at Fond Du Lac Human Services, joins the conversation to reflect and discuss the significant changes in healthcare since the end of the federal public health emergency. Dr. Reynolds shares her insights on sustaining positive change in healthcare, addressing mental health, the importance of cultural competence and inclusivity in healthcare systems and promoting long-term community well-being.
 
 Dr. Stately would also like to remind listeners that Medicaid certifications were not required to be renewed during the pandemic; this changed with the ending of the public health emergency. Folks with Medicaid coverage are now required to be recertified within the next month. Watch your mail for a notice from your Medicaid provider or visit NACC or another community health center and talk with a patient advocate or a MNSure navigator to complete recertification to keep your coverage!
 
Community Health Conversations is made possible with the support of the Minnesota Department of Health. To find information about COVID vaccines and boosters, please visit MN.gov/COVID19.

This week on Minnesota Native News, reporter Emma Needham provides an update about ongoing work by Native organizations and activists to protect water and land throughout Minnesota.

Across Minnesota, Indigenous peoples and their allies work to uphold their traditional obligations and duties to protect the land, air, and water for the next seven generations. Mid-July was busy for many, with events in the metro and the northland.

"What's the longest you've ever gone without water? Anybody go on a fast a four-day fast? Do I hear three days anybody go on a three-day fast? Today days. Has anybody gone two days? Oh, I see Heidi over there has gone two days…. Ah, anybody else? No. Why is that? Ay, you need to have water to survive. How simple is that?" said Debra Topping, closing the Spirit of the Water Celebration with a reminder to attendees about the importance of water.

Spirit of the Water Celebration was held at Hidden Falls Regional Park in St. Paul on July 15th. The event was a gathering of Indigenous and non-indigenous relatives celebrating and giving thanks to water, and Gitchi Zibi, the Mississippi River. Tents with trivia, kids' games, and involvement for the community lined the hill-  with a free concert and meal provided for all in attendance.
 

Elder Carrie Huff Cheznik of the Oneida Nation expressed her deep concerns for the water in Minnesota amid an unprecedented drought and reported damage to underground aquifers from the construction of the Line 3/93 Pipeline in 2021. She urges people to take action.

"Because the people are the ones who can really make the changes if they want to. The people have the power to do it. They just don't remember that they do. And what I would like to say is, gather yourselves up my friends, it's time it's time to stand, it's time to speak, it's time to keep pressuring the elected officials until they do right by all of life," said Carrie. 

Supporting organizations for this event include Friends of the Mississippi River, The Leadership Center for Social Justice, RISE Coalition, and the Indigenous Environmental Network, or IEN.

On the same day, at the Rail River Folk School in Bemidji, IEN, in partnership with the Earth Law Center (ELC) hosted a 2-day work session on Inherent Relationships Jurisprudence - Inherent Relationships with Nature/Rights of Mother Earth.
 

The session focused on finding ways to exercise the legal rights of nature, including plants, water, land, and animals in Western court systems that view the natural world differently than Indigenous people.

I spoke with Micheal Lane of the Menominee Nation, an indigenous sovereignty advocate for IEN. 

Micheal quotes Dwayne “Chili” Yazzie of the Dine or Navajo Nation, and a member of the International Treaty Council Board:  "So in terms of the key, one of the key statements that came out, I was allowed to say this publicly by the person who said, Chili Yazzie…he said something that was really important. And I'll say this, as a quote, we need to be who we are. Now, it sounds very simple, of course, we need to be who we are. But that's how he's talking about collectively when we go to the court and things of that nature. Oftentimes, we count things in that non-Indigenous framework. And what he was talking about was, when we go to these places, we shouldn't have to go and justify ourselves and be hiding behind other veneers in the non-indigenous legal system. We need to be who we are, it means asserting our advocacy …from our own place of existence as Indigenous peoples of the land," said Michael. 

Micheal says the Bemijdji event was the second of 4 events planned with various tribes across Turtle Island.  A summary of the Inherent Rights Working Group events will be available on IEN's website (a similar summary from 2017 is available now).

Emma Needham reporting for MN Native News

This week Lieutenant Commander John Naegeli, a Pharmacist at the Cass Lake Indian Health Services discusses the Walking Shield program. The program brings army doctors, dentists, and other soldiers to offer medical, psychological, and dental services to the Cass Lake community.

The Walking Shield mission began in Cass Lake on July 18 and goes to July 26, with appointments available on weekends as well. They set up a large tent on the grounds of the Cass Lake Middle School and High School for medical services.

The program addresses the demand for healthcare services, especially due to the impact of COVID-19. It offers mental health counseling, general and sports physicals, and dental treatments like cleanings, fillings, and extractions—all at no cost to the Cass Lake community.

This year, they introduced an online access spot for appointment requests through their Facebook page or email address ([email protected]).

This week we take a visit to the Four Sisters Farmers Market in Minneapolis for a taste of community well-being that happens each Thursday during the Summer. Native Lights host and MN Native News reporter Cole Premo has the story.

This week on Minnesota Native News, we preview a new documentary. DeCoded is about Native veterans from Minnesota who used tribal languages to help win World War Two.

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

instagram.com/ampersradio/

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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

The government that tried to destroy Indigenous culture used it as a weapon on the battlefield. Listen to Decoded: Untold stories of Native Veterans in Minnesota whose tribal languages helped win World War Two. Special thanks: Gary Robinson at Tribal Eye Productions, Travis Zimmerman, Freedom Porter, Darlene St. Clair, Moira Villiard, Laurie Stern, and Allison Waukau

DeCoded is produced by Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.

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

American Indian Month in Minnesota continues this May. And, this weekend’s a busy one.

The Minneapolis American Indian Center is hosting their free Open House and Family Fun Night - May 19th.

A carnival with free entry, free food, and free prizes found among their games and attractions. 

The MAIC Facebook page shows while its Franklin Avenue building renovation continues on, the Minneapolis event’s at Cedar Field Park -  the evening of Friday the 19th.

And there are other open houses throughout the weekend.

The Native American Community Clinic is opening its doors for lung cancer screenings and a community lunch Friday, in celebration of serving the community for the last 20 years.

About 4 blocks away, the Indian Health Board is also serving lunch at their open house.

It’s also Art-A-Whirl weekend in Nordeast Minneapolis. The Minnesota Indigenous Business Alliance and Mnisota Native Artists Alliance are hosting a Native arts market, showcasing several artists’ work from around the region. With a hoop dancing performance Saturday the 20th. That’s on the third floor of the Northrup King Building.

In upcoming events, you can find traditional and contemporary pow wows, workshops and the 2023 Tribal Energy Equity Summit. Native American tribal leaders and federal officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will be meeting in Saint Paul. May 22nd through the 24th. The summit is not open to the public, but you can find registration information at the Minnesota Native News dot Org website.

White Earth Mental Health is also observing May - Mental Health Month, hosting the 2023 American Indian Mental Health Conference. This year’s theme is BIZINDAADIWAG - Post-COVID-19: Rebuilding Connections and Holistically Addressing Mental Health. That will be at Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen May 24th and 25th.

If you want more details on any of these or other events, you can find info at the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors, or MUID, website or the May issue of The Circle. We’ll have a link to both of their calendars at Minnesota Native News dot Org [MinnesotaNativeNews.Org]

Tribes and Native American organizations around Minnesota, including in the cities, are hosting open houses, pow wows, and other events throughout the month.

The TRUTH Report details findings from the university’s own records. And, that as a land-grant institution, the U of M has systematically profited from exploiting and harming Indigenous people.

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is taking a stand as water protectors in northeast Minnesota. The Band’s Department of Natural Resources launched its Water Over Nickel initiative just last month. Its goal? To protect cultural resources, sacred medicines and its people in Aitkin County. Which could be hurt by proposed nickel mining.