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 Binesikwe Means who is an enrolled citizen of the Oglala Lakota Tribe in Pine Ridge South Dakota, and a descendant of the White Earth Nation. Binesikwe is the lead instructor for Migizi’s First Person Productions, a youth-led social enterprise that produces videos, design work, and social media campaigns for businesses and non-profits.
We loved hearing about Binesikwe’s passion for storytelling and helping Native youth develop their talents through her work at Migizi. We were moved by hearing how the organization survived the devasting loss of its building, which caught fire and was destroyed during the uprising in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
We were inspired by Binesikwe, as she shared how the community continues to support Migizi, so it can help Native youth find their voices, develop skills, share stories, and become experienced media makers.
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
- Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons’ Gift for Sharing Indigenous Traditions & Spiritual Guidance (Revisited)
On this week’s show, we revisit our conversation from June 2022 with Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), a spiritual advisor, storyteller, activist, wisdom keeper, and revered elder. Mary Lyons is the founder of the Minnesota Coalition on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and serves as a counselor for the women’s sobriety group, which she also co-founded, called Women of Wellbriety International. - Rick Haaland: Speaking for the Animals
Today, we’re excited to speak with Rick Haaland, an animal rescuer and advocate who is the Pets for Life community outreach manager for the Leech Lake Tribal Police. - David Wise: Growing Good Medicine
We speak with David Wise, descendant of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and founder of Native Wise, a farm which is focused on soil health, restorative farming and Indigenous agricultural practices. - Wendy Roy: Beading as Healing
Today, we are excited to speak with Wendy Roy, a beader and entrepreneur from the White Earth Nation. She mentors other artists and also teaches at White Earth Tribal and Community College. - Giizh Sarah Agaton Howes: Translating Ojibwe cultural arts into contemporary Ojibwe designs
Giizh Sarah Agaton Howes, award-winning Anishinaabe creator, artist and organizer from Fond Du Lac reservation and Muscogree Creek is the CEO of Heart Berry.
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