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.
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She talks about how culture leads the work she does and how Native teachings help empower, educate, and mentor Native families, children, and childcare providers. Barb has led numerous projects that aim to improve childcare systems throughout Indian country. - Barb Fabre’s Gift for Empowering Native Families and Children
She talks about how culture leads the work she does and how Native teachings help empower, educate, and mentor Native families, children, and childcare providers. Barb has led numerous projects that aim to improve childcare systems throughout Indian country. - Emma Needham’s Gift For Uplifting Indigenous Perspectives
We talk with Emma about the impacts of environmental issues locally and nationally, and how caring about those issues led her on her journey of storytelling. Emma co-hosts and reports on Indigenous issues as a part of Native Roots Radio’s daily radio show “I’m Awake” and for us at Minnesota Native News. - Darek DeLille’s Gift for Building Up Community & Audio Arts
On today’s show, we talk with Darek Delille (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa/Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), Artistic Producer at New Native Theatre, community organizer, musician and audio artist. Darek now lives in Southeast Minneapolis after living on Fond du Lac for many years. - Filmmaker Khayman Goodsky’s Gift for Visual Storytelling and Collaboration
Today, 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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