Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations

Donald Eubanks’ Gift for Speaking Out for Racial and Social Justice

Native Lights

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.

Native Lights – Donald Eubanks’ Gift for Speaking Out for Racial and Social Justice

On today’s show, we speak with fellow podcaster and Mille Lacs band member Donald Eubanks who recently retired from teaching social work at Metropolitan University, where he was an associate professor.  Previously, Donald Eubanks served two terms as Commissioner of Health and Human Services for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

We enjoyed this wide-ranging thoughtful conversation with Don, who has many insights and opinions to share! We admire Don’s passion for using his voice to speak up, educate, and fight for racial and social justice – on his weekly Counter Stories podcast and now in new roles as a Cultural Consultant serving organizations striving for equity and change.

Donald Eubanks co-hosts the Counter Stories podcast: https://counterstoriespodcast.org/

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/

Subscribe to Native Lights wherever you get your podcasts



More from Native Lights

  • Leah and Cole: Sharing Our Gifts and Purpose
    On today’s show, we turn the microphone on each other! No guest today… instead, we ask each other some questions about our own purpose and passions, starting with music.
  • Christina Wood’s Gift for Busting Bias Through Art
    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.
  • Cece Benimon’s Gift for Connecting Kids with Culture & Conservation
    On today’s show, we talk with Cece Benimon (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) who is the family liaison for Anishinaabe Academy, a Minneapolis school with a Native-centered curriculum. Cece shares some of the different ways the school is revitalizing and Indigenizing curriculum.
  • Amber Buckanaga’s Gift for Art and Fashion Design
    On today’s show, we have a fun conversation with Amber Buckanaga (Leech Lake Band) who is an artist, fashion designer, and mother. Amber left her career in education, to follow her artistic dreams, which led to sewing, then designing fashions, and eventually the runways of NYC’s fashion week!
  • How Visionaries Deb Foster and Mike Laverdure Create Healing Spaces
    We meet Deb Foster (Ojibwe), the Executive Director of Ain Dah Yung, and Mike Laverdure (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota), a partner with DSGW Architects. Deb Foster and Mike Laverdure both played leading roles in the creation of Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung, a beautiful new apartment building in St. Paul, where formerly homeless Native young adults can live, reconnect to culture, and get job skills. Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung opened in November of 2019.