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.
Today we chat with Corey Medina, a blues-rock artist from Shiprock, NM, and member of the Áshįįhí clan of the Diné Nation. His band, Corey Medina & Brothers, has a reputation as an on-stage powerhouse, bringing its blues-tinged rock and roll to stages across Minnesota.
Corey shares his experience moving to northern Minnesota a decade ago and talks about decolonizing his writing process during the recording of the new album Soak. He also talks us through Soak’s album art, which features an animal skull submerged in a colorful body of water.

Corey Medina & Brothers’ latest album Soak is available on Spotify and other streaming services. Find out where the band is playing at https://www.facebook.com/coreybluesfolks – Their record release show is in Bemidji at the Rail River Folk School on September 23, 2022.
Chi Miigwech to Corey for sharing his gift with us today!
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. Online at https://minnesotanativenews.org/
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