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 Jewell Arcoren (Sisseton Wahpeton Nation). Jewell is a community activist and the Executive Director for Wicoie Nandagikendan, an Ojibwe and Dakota language immersion preschool in Minneapolis. There, she pursues her commitments to early childhood education, language revitalization and addressing intergenerational historical trauma. Jewell talks about how cultural integration is a key to healing and moving forward, including language revitalization and traditional foods. She shares her journey with Wicoie Nandagikendan, the school’s hope to expand and how culture can put people onto a path of healing.
Wicoie Nandagikendan is a language immersion preschool that teaches through Ojibwe and Dakota languages. They are located along Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis within the American Indian corridor. Since 2006, they’ve been a national leader in language immersion. https://www.facebook.com/WicoieNandagikendan/
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More from Native Lights
- Janis A. Fairbanks: Lessons Learned and Memories of Her Ojibwe Grandma
Today, we are excited to welcome Janis A. Fairbanks to Native Lights. Janis is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. She recently released a book called Sugar Bush Babies: Stories of My Ojibwe Grandmother, a memoir in lessons learned from her grandmother during the era of Indian Relocation. - Wookiye Win: Digging for Artistic Inspiration (And Watercolor Pigments) in Nature
Today, we’re thrilled to speak with Wookiye Win. Wookiye Win, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, is an artist and educator. She teaches the Dakota language for the Dakota Language Nest Preschool program at the Institute of Child Development on the University of Minnesota campus. She’s also the illustrator of Dakota language children’s books. - Penny Kagigebi: Reclaiming Two Spirit Culture Through Art
On this episode of Native Lights, Leah speaks with Penny Kagigebi. Penny is a direct descendant of the White Earth Nation. She is a Two Spirit queer community collaborator, artist, curator and teacher. She focuses on birch bark basketry and quill boxes and recently curated Queering Indigeneity for the Minnesota Museum of American Art, on exhibit from September 18, 2025 to August 16, 2026.
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