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 Christina Woods (Bois Forte Tribal Nation) who is the first Anishinaabikwe to be the Executive Director of the Duluth Art Institute. Christina is also currently performing in the play The UnPlugging presented by New Native Theatre in Minneapolis.
We caught up with Christina during a break in the rehearsal of the play, which will be performed on the site of the old Migizi building and the Gandhi Mahal restaurant, both of which were destroyed by fire and water in the uprising following the murder of George Floyd.
Christina shares her path as a teacher, media-maker, and diversity/inclusion consultant and explains how visual arts and advocacy all can work together for positive change and learning. Christina’s enthusiasm for all her cools projects is contagious. Christina was awarded an AARP 50 over 50 most influential people in MN award as a bias buster. Enjoy this fun and hilarious conversation!
More information about the Chesley Antoinette exhibition that Christina mentioned is here: https://www.duluthartinstitute.org/Steffl
Check out the play that Christina is in – The UnPlugging, by Yvette Nolan and presented by New Native Theatre at https://newnativetheatre.org/ Outdoor performances run through Sept 19th.
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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Today, we’re very excited to Welcome Alexandera Houchin to the Native Lights podcast. Alexandera is a citizen of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe). She resides in her reservation community in northern Minnesota. She’s an ultra racer, bike packer, mountain biker, outdoor adventurer, storyteller, and writer. And she is currently working on her memoir for Penguin Random House and is the subject of a documentary. - Bradley Harrington: The United States 250th Anniversary from an Anishinaabe Perspective
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Today, we’re excited to welcome Dr. Samantha Majhor to Native Lights. Samantha is a direct descendant of Fort Peck. She’s Dakota and Assiniboine and is an assistant professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. She focuses on Native American literature, particularly literature by Dakota and Ojibwe writers around the Great Lakes region.
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