Duane Goodwin: Expressing Culture Through Sculpture

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 Leah shares her conversation with artist Duane “Dewey” Goodwin (White Earth Nation). Duane is known for his sculptures, including large-scale rock sculptures that stand beside rivers and in parks across Minnesota. Duane’s latest sculpture was Oganawedan Nibi, “She is Blessing Spirits in the Water,” was unveiled on Indigenous People’s Day in Grand Rapids. Duane has been creating for more than five decades. He shares parts of his journey with Leah, including his early years, his first large scale creations, finding other mediums, and the toll of working with stone.

You can visit his sculptures along the Mississippi River in Grand Rapids, at Indian Mounds State Park, and at the University of Minnesota Morris campus. Chi Miigwech to Duane for inviting Leah to his home for the conversation! https://www.deweygoodwin.com/

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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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