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.
On today’s show, we talk with Allison Waukau (Menominee/Navajo) a community builder who works in library programs, raising Native representation on the shelves and behind the scenes, making libraries more welcoming to Native community members.
Allison Waukau started as a liaison at the Hennepin County Library, where her role quickly expanded into creating a Native Employee Resource Group for library and county employees, aimed at recruiting, supporting, and retaining Native colleagues. Allison is a member-at-large with the American Indian Library Association and one of Library Journal’s 2021 Movers & Shakers.
We enjoyed talking with Allison about her many professional interests, including exploring library land acknowledgment practices, developing community-led library programs, and elevating the voices and perspectives of the Native community near and far.
Allison’s book recommendations can all be found at https://birchbarkbooks.com/
Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend by Dawn Quigley
Voices from Pejuhutazizi: Dakota Stories and Storytellers by Teresa Peterson & Walter Labatte Jr.
The Seed Keeper by Diane WilsonMoon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Allison also wants to note a new Minnesota publishing company focusing on Dakota/Lakota authors and voices, launched by Spirit Lake Dakota artist Marlena Myles: http://wiyounkihipi.com/
Hennepin County Library events page: https://hclib.bibliocommons.com/v2/events
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library: https://thefriends.org/calendar-of-events/
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.
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- Documentary Filmmaker Leya Hale’s Gift for Powerful Storytelling On today’s show, we talk with Leya Hale (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota and Diné Nations), a producer for Twin Cities PBS, who is known for her feature documentary, The People’s Protectors, a Vision Maker Media grant production, and winner of the 2019 Upper Midwest Emmy Award for Outstanding Cultural Documentary.
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- Wayne Ducheneaux’s Gift for Leadership and Native Nation RebuildingOn today’s show, we talk with Wayne L. Ducheneaux, II (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe) who is the Executive Director of the Native Governance Center, an organization dedicated to strengthening Tribal sovereignty and Indigenous leadership, through its Native Nation Rebuilders program.
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