This week on Minnesota Native News: A podcast exploring books and other K-12 teaching resources on the Native American experience, an emerging embroidery artist, and an upcoming theatre production.
CJ Younger: “Books are Good Medicine” is a podcast hosted by Twin Cities Indigenous leaders Allison Waukau and Odia Wood-Krueger. The series highlights the role books and storytelling play in K-12 education about Native American culture. Allison Waukau is Menominee and Navajo, and is the President of the American Indian Library Association. Odia Wood-Krueger is Metis, an Indigeous people whose historic lands include parts of Canada. Wood-Krueger works as a consultant for improving education for Native students.
Younger: A large part of their conversations are about the importance of critical thinking and reflection when reading books with Native representation. Here’s what Waukau said in Episode One.
Waukau: I mean, I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins when I was younger, I really did, but I didn’t take it as real, right? And I feel like when people are reading things on Natives they take everything as real, even though it’s fiction. If you’re going to read Little House on the Prairie, make sure you’re reading it with your thinking cap on, right? And especially if you’re a parent, and reading it with your children: What do you think about this picture? What do you think about this? Do you think it’s true?
Younger: The project is sponsored by the Shakopee Mdewankanton Sioux Community’s Understand Native Minnesota Project, a campaign to improve the narrative of modern Indigenous culture in Minnesota schools. For Episode Eight, Waukau and Wood-Krueger were in conversation with two Native children’s book writers.
Waukau: It makes me really happy that my son and my nieces and my hopefully future grandchildren have these books, because we certainly didn’t. And that’s why we’re doing this podcast work too. I think it’s our way to to work for the future generations, and that’s exactly what this is all about.
Younger: Find “Books are Good Medicine” on Spotify, Youtube, and Apple Podcasts.
Rock: Next up,an emerging artist shared the inspiration behind her craft with Minnesota Native News.
Younger: Loriene Pearson is a Minneapolis photographer and embroidery artist, and a member of the Winnebago tribe in Nebraska. She built a career in pow-wow photography, but the dress patterns continued to catch her artistic eye. In 2019, she picked up a needle and thread and began with what she knew: embroidering Winnebago applique dress patterns.
Pearson: I really appreciate the hard work and the beauty of these patterns and so I started redrawing them first by hand and then putting them into embroidery patterns of my own. I think it speaks to the women who before me and for many generations have done such incredible hand work with putting them with dresses together.
Younger: Pearson found a lot of guidance in the Minneapolis Native community, including from Angela Two Stars at All My Relations Art gallery.
Pearson: Doing my artwork, I was questioning: Is it Indian enough? Is it Native enough? And one of the things that Angela helped me understand—or, she posed the question to me: Are you Native? And I said yes, and she said then it’s Native enough.
Younger: Pearson has received a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and is working on a number of projects for 2025. Visit her website at lorienepearson.com.
Rock: Lastly, a local Native-run theatre company is putting on their winter production.
Younger: Minneapolis-based New Native Theater will put on “A Christmas in Ochopee,” a contemporary Native play by Miccosukee playwright Montanna Cypress. The play will feature a wide range of up-and-coming as well as seasoned Native actors. Performances will be at Red Eye Theatre in Minneapolis, Wednesdays through Sundays between November 29th and December 17th.
For Minnesota Native News, I’m CJ Younger.
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