
Native Lights is a weekly, half-hour radio program hosted by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo. Native Lights is a space for people in Native communities around Mni Sota Mkoce — a.k.a. Minnesota — to tell their stories about finding their gifts and sharing them with the community.
Today, Leah and Cole chat with Adrienne Zimiga-January, a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation who has been creating and performing in the Twin Cities theater community for over a decade.
This fall, she’s making her Guthrie debut on stage in “For The People.” It’s billed as a “world premiere comedy by Native voices” with a story set in the Minneapolis Native community.
In addition to her insights on the play, Adrienne talks about her passion for theater, bringing more Native stories to the stage, and making theater a place that’s welcoming for all.
Adrienne is also a member of the Guthrie Theater’s Native Advisory Council, which works to help decolonize spaces and open doors for Indigenous performers and creators. Plus, she’s the designer of “You Are On Native Land” artwork, available in the Guthrie’s Store.
“For the People” runs from Oct. 7 through Nov. 12. You can find ticket information here.
Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.
Subscribe to Native Lights wherever you get your podcasts
More from Native Lights
- Korina Barry: Leading from abundance with NDN CollectiveIn this episode we hear from Korina Barry on her work with NDN Collective and the campaign to free Leonard Peltier, in addition to reflections on her roles as mother, doula, and metal fabricator in training. A citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Korina Barry manages the organizing, policy and advocacy direct-action arm …
- Allison Herrera, Indigenous Affairs Journalist and author of Tribal Justice: The Struggle for Black Rights on Native LandIn this episode, we talk with Indigenous Affairs journalist and author Allison Herrera. Allison’s indigenous ties are from her Xolon Salinan tribal heritage. Her family’s village is in the Toro Creek area of the Central California coast. She didn’t take the traditional route into journalism with a degree. She just decided she wanted to do …
- Mattie Harper DeCarlo on Making Change in Indian Country Through PhilanthropyIn this episode, we talk with grantmaking officer and former educator and historian Mattie Harper DeCarlo, PhD. Mattie, a Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe citizen who grew up on Leech Lake Reservation, works in philanthropy at the Bush Foundation, focusing on Indigenous communities. She speaks with us about the nuance of supporting 23 Native nations …