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 and Cole chat with Elaine Fleming. She teaches and preserves Leech Lake Ojibwe culture, history, and language. Elaine proudly lives in Cass Lake, where she has been an instructor at Leech Lake Tribal College for 29 years. Elaine has immense gratitude and care for Leech Lake’s natural gifts. At the tribal college, she has taught through hands-on experiences rooted in Leech Lake history and tradition, including manoomin harvesting, historical theatre, and knowledge bowl. She teaches several subjects including Leech Lake history, Anishinaabe studies and Indigenous American Women. Elaine shares her journey to working at the tribal college, her experiences teaching the next generation, and how through teaching she is still learning.
Elaine is also an Army veteran; was the mayor of Cass Lake from 2003 to 2006; and is the host of the History of Leech Lake Show on KOJB Radio. Chi miigwech to Elaine for sharing with us!
Find the Leech Lake Tribal College online at: https://www.lltc.edu/
Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine. Native Lights is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.
Subscribe to Native Lights wherever you get your podcasts
More from Native Lights
- Brandon Baity: Executive Director of the Indigenous AssociationBrandon Baity is Anishinaabe and a descendant of the White Earth Nation. He grew up in Brooklyn Park, MN and currently lives in Moorhead, MN with his 3 children, partner, and mother-in-law. He graduated with a degree in social work from the College of Saint Scholastica in 2013. After graduation he worked as a youth …
- Bryce Premo: Exploring Social Work FrontiersBryce Premo is a Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe citizen and brother of Native Lights hosts Leah Lemm and Cole Premo. Bryce on the cusp of an exciting transition in his career. With a bachelor’s degree in social work almost under his belt and poised to pursue a master’s degree in the same field, Bryce …
- Ruth Buffalo: Empowering Indigenous Communities as the new CEO of MIWRCRuth Buffalo is a citizen of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation and a descendant of the Chiricahua Apache. She has served on advisory councils focused on women’s health, women’s leadership development and local food systems. She is board President for the National Native Boarding School Healing Coalition. She is also the former board president of …