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 have a fun conversation with Amber Buckanaga (Leech Lake Band) who is an artist, fashion designer, and mother. Amber left her career in education, to follow her artistic dreams, which led to sewing, then designing fashions, and eventually the runways of NYC’s fashion week!
We hear how Amber’s passion for creating unique and colorful clothing grew into the creation of her in-demand fashion brand called the Buckanaga Social Club: an innovative artist collective producing high-quality Indigenous art, fashion, clothing, accessories, home décor, and more.
Amber shares how she balances the (sometimes conflicting) demands of family and work and family, and how her art helps her to stay grounded, enthusiastic, and clear on her priorities. Miigwech Amber Buckanaga for sharing your beautiful art and thoughtful perspectives.
Find the Buckanaga Social Club on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buckanaga_social_club/
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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band’s existing businesses. He is also an avid runner, basketball player, and Ojibwe language learner.
- Filmmaker Khayman Goodsky’s Gift for Visual Storytelling and CollaborationToday, a lively conversation with Khayman Goodsky (Bois Forte Band of Chippewa) a Duluth filmmaker. Khayman tells about how she first found her path, her love of comic books and cosplay, and how she enjoys the whole collaboration process.
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- Joe Rainey’s Gift for Pow Wow Singing and Collaborative Music MakingOn today’s show, we talk with Joe Rainey (Red Lake Nation), an Ojibwe Pow Wow singer, music archivist, and collaborative music maker. Joe grew up in south Minneapolis and now lives in Wisconsin with his wife and five children.
- Sequoia Hauck’s Gift for Decolonizing the Process of Art-MakingOn today’s show, we talk with Sequoia Hauck (they/them), a Native (Anishinaabe/Hupa) queer multidisciplinary artist based in the Twin Cities. Sequoia’s art-making includes theater, filmmaking, poetry, and performance art, with all of it centered on a decolonized creative process.
- Joseph Nayquonabe Jr.’s Gift for Strengthening Tribal Economiesband’s existing businesses. He is also an avid runner, basketball player, and Ojibwe language learner.
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