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 – Honoring the Life and Legacy AIM Co-Founder Clyde Bellecourt (1938-2022) – Part 2
This is the second part of our special edition show, honoring the life and legacy of NeeGawNwayWeeDun, The Thunder Before the Storm, who was known by his colonial name Clyde Bellecourt. Clyde Bellecourt was a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and was a long-time civil rights advocate and co-founded the American Indian Movement in 1968. Bellecourt passed away in Minneapolis on January 11th, 2022. He was 85.
On today’s show, we learn more about Clyde’s time in prison as a young man, and how it strongly impacted him uncovered his purpose. During that time of incarceration, Clyde Bellecourt met key people who helped him connect to Native traditions and spirituality, and together with whom he would co-found AIM. This time of growth and healing informed every aspect of NeeGawNwayWeeDun’s advocacy work, which he carried throughout his life.
Chi miigwech to the folks who have shared their stories in these shows: Dr. Kate Beane Ph.D. (Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muskogee Creek), Dr. Brenda J. Child Ph.D. (Red Lake Nation), Dr. Antony Stately Ph.D. (Ojibwe and Oneida), Robert Pilot (Ho-Chunk Nation), Bob Rice (White Earth Nation), Steve Premo (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), and Bob Blake (Red Lake Nation).
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.
Subscribe to Native Lights wherever you get your podcasts
More from Native Lights
- 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. - Kent Estey: The Art of Survival
On this episode, we speak with contemporary artist and White Earth Nation citizen Kent Estey. Kent paints at his home studio in Naytahwaush, in the heart of the White Earth Reservation. He’s known for really bold abstract landscapes, acrylic, oil, ink, and metal. He’s also an author. In 2025, he released the children’s book Picking Sweetgrass. His latest exhibit, “Mino-Bimaadiziwin: The Good Life” runs through Labor Day weekend in Detroit Lakes.
An Update on Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Task Force Initiative