This is Minnesota Native News. I’m Marie Rock. 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 was a founding member of the Counter Stories program.
The Red Lake Nation College’s $16 Million Site to Open in Downtown Minneapolis
The Red Lake Nation plans to open a new urban campus in downtown Minneapolis this Fall (*this is a correction, we previously reported that the new site had already opened). Red Lake Nation Tribal College is the first tribal college located in a major urban center and began offering classes online in 2022. The physical campus was fueled by student demand, with enrollment increasing between 25 and 45 percent over the past few years. The Twin Cities area has one of the highest urban Native populations in the US, with nearly 50,000 native people calling the area home. Roughly 18,000 Red Lake Nation citizens, nearly half of the tribal population, reside in the Twin Cities. Red Lake Nation Tribal College provides higher education from an Indigenous perspective and includes Native language and culture in its curriculum. Red Lake Nation Tribal College is an accredited public college open to applicants who meet the admissions standards.
The Minnesota Lynx Draft University of Utah’s Alissa Pili
Record-setting Utah Utes basketball forward Alissa Pili was welcomed to the Minnesota Lynx this week as their 8th overall draft pick for the WNBA. Pili is Samoan on her father’s side and Inupiat from Alaska on her mother’s side. She grew up in Alaska before receiving a scholarship from Southern California University and later transferred to Utah in 2022. She played two seasons with the University of Utah before being drafted into the Lynx.
In her pre-draft games in Arizona, Pili drew in Indigenous fans from all over because of her Indigenous and Polynesian heritages. Pili’s pick for the WNBA draft is considered a big win for Indigenous representation among Native American fans. Basketball has a strong presence in tribal communities nationwide. An amateur team in Alaska will be named Team Pili to celebrate her draft into the WBMA and hopes to encourage more students to consider sports as a pathway to college.
The State Mourns the Loss and Celebrates the Life of Donald Eubanks
Donald Eubanks was a cofounder and cohost of Counter Stories, a program that started 10 years ago, and, for the last three years, was produced by AMPERS. The radio show and podcast was created by people of color, for people of color… and everyone else. Don passed away on March 17th, the day he reached his 35th year of sobriety.
On April 13th, close to 150 friends, family, and community members gathered to celebrate Don’s life. Friend, mentor, and elder John Poupart was the first of many to speak about Don’s impact.
“Don was really an inspiration. He was humorous. He was a leader. He taught a lot of us and there are others who followed him. He always gave deep thought to what he was doing, and it showed in his work. Don was part American Indian, part African American. And he has shown me the respect and dignity that occurred in both worlds.”
Don fulfilled a lifelong dream of serving the Band as Commissioner of Health and Human Services for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians where he will be remembered for the creation of the “Circle of Health,” and the development of the Elder Assisted Living Facilities. He was proud to be a part of the Cabinet for the Mille Lacs Band when they won their 1999 Supreme Court case to retain hunting and fishing rights. Don most recently worked as an associate professor and Field Director for the Social Work program at Metro State. Don retired in 2021 and continued to participate in the Counter Stories podcast, which will forever hold his vast knowledge and insights about the community and the world. You can visit counter stories dot com for a recap episode of Don Eubanks’ Celebration of Life event.
For Minnesota Native News, I’m Emma Needham.
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Brandon Baity: Executive Director of the Indigenous Association