• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Minnesota Native News

Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations

Header Left

  • Programs
    • MN Native News
    • Native Lights
      • Biidaapi
    • Community Health Conversations
      • COVID-19
      • Helpful Links about COVID19 in Minnesota
    • DeCoded: Native Veterans Who Helped Win World War II
    • A Mile in My Moccasins
  • About Us

Header Right

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Header Left

  • Programs
    • MN Native News
    • Native Lights
      • Biidaapi
    • Community Health Conversations
      • COVID-19
      • Helpful Links about COVID19 in Minnesota
    • DeCoded: Native Veterans Who Helped Win World War II
    • A Mile in My Moccasins
  • About Us

Header Right

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Programs
    • MN Native News
    • Native Lights
      • Biidaapi
    • Community Health Conversations
      • COVID-19
      • Helpful Links about COVID19 in Minnesota
    • DeCoded: Native Veterans Who Helped Win World War II
    • A Mile in My Moccasins
  • About Us
  • Programs
    • MN Native News
    • Native Lights
      • Biidaapi
    • Community Health Conversations
      • COVID-19
      • Helpful Links about COVID19 in Minnesota
    • DeCoded: Native Veterans Who Helped Win World War II
    • A Mile in My Moccasins
  • About Us

Creating Representation: Nicholas DeShaw’s Path in Fiction and Storytelling

Native Lights October 17, 2024

Nicholas DeShaw

In this episode, we sit down with Nicholas Bimibatoo Mishtadim DeShaw, an Ojibwe author, father, and educator. Nicholas masterfully blends his Indigenous heritage with imaginative fiction across a wide range of genres, from sci-fi and horror to children’s picture books. He shares his journey as a writer, discussing his latest projects, including a new graphic novel and his first children’s book, Loaf the Cat Goes to the Powwow.

We explore Nicholas’s creative process, how he balances writing and reading, and the cultural layers that inspire his storytelling. From the early stages of his journey as a writer to getting his work published, he reflects on the peaks and valleys along the way. Nicholas also offers invaluable advice for aspiring writers and creatives looking to pursue their own dreams.

Tune in for engaging conversation with one of today’s most vibrant, Indigenous voices in literature!

Subscribe to Native Lights wherever you get your podcasts

Apple PodcastsSpotifyRadio PublicRSS


More from Native Lights

  • Alex Kmett: Culture as Curriculum, Language as Medium
    Today, we’re speaking with language revitalization leader and cultural educator Alex Kmett. Alex is a citizen of the Red Lake Nation and a descendant of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. He’s a 2026 Bush Fellow and a co-founder of a charter school in Red Lake Nation.
  • Ryan Dixon: Making Friends with the Dakota Language
    Today, we’re speaking with Ryan Dixon. Ryan is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe from Pine Ridge in South Dakota and has spent over two decades immersed in the Lower Sioux community in southern Minnesota. He trained under First Language Dakota speakers, and he now teaches Dakota. An educator and Indigenous language activist, he co-founded a Dakota Immersion Head Start programming and works to keep the language alive for future generations.
  • Michael Kurtz: Tales of a Wildlife Photographer
    Our guest today is a photographer who takes some stunning photos of wildlife. We’re very excited to speak with Michael Kurtz (Tasunka Opi). He’s Sicangu Lakota, enrolled in the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. He runs Lakota Photography, blending wildlife photography, tracking, and cultural education. He’s also a naturalist and has volunteered with groups like the National Park Service and Project Coyote. He has spent countless hours across the Dakotas, Minnesota, and beyond, capturing wildlife in its natural habitat. Currently, he’s supervisor of programming and interpretation with Hoċokata Ṫi Cultural Center at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community.
Previous Post: « Tradition and Taste: Teaching Minnesotans the Importance of Wild Rice
Next Post: From Lattes to Legacy: The Grand Opening of MiigWitches Brew »

Site Footer

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsRadio Public

Copyright © 2026 Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations. All rights reserved. | Site Design by Flying Orange.
Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage FundFunding for Minnesota Native News and Native Lights is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.