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.
On today’s show, we talk with Lance Haavisto, a direct decedent of M’Chigeeng First Nation, and the Lead Videographer/Editor for Native Report at WDSE-TV. Lance earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Production from Northern Michigan University and has started working on his Master’s in Communication from the University of Wisconsin Superior.
Lance Haavisto loves sharing stories on the PBS magazine-style series, Native Report, where he fulfills a childhood dream of working in television. As the lead videographer and editor, Lance works closely with all the members of the production team, making critical decisions about what goes on the air.
It was great to chat with a fellow media maker and inspiring to hear how Lance continually looks for new and innovative ways to present stories, especially those of our Native relatives.
Check out many thoughtful and wonderful stories shared on Native Report, now in its 17th season, here: https://wdse.org/show/native-report/
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.
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More from Native Lights
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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. - Rafael Gonzalez, aka, Tufawon: How a Minneapolis Rap Artist Learned How to Sing and Make a Difference
We are very excited to speak with Rafael Gonzalez, aka, Tufawon. He is a Mdewakanton Dakota and Boricua (Puerto Rican). He’s a rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer who calls South Minneapolis home. In addition to his music making, he’s an educator. He teaches youth music production, songwriting, and recording through his music production program “.WAVWARRIOR”. - Alexandera Houchin: Life on Two Wheels
Today, we’re very excited to Welcome Alexandera Houchin to the Native Lights podcast. Alexandera is a citizen of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe). She resides in her reservation community in northern Minnesota. She’s an ultra racer, bike packer, mountain biker, outdoor adventurer, storyteller, and writer. And she is currently working on her memoir for Penguin Random House and is the subject of a documentary. - Bradley Harrington: The United States 250th Anniversary from an Anishinaabe Perspective
On this episode Leah and Cole speak with Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe citizen Bradley Harrington who recently penned an article in the Mille Lacs Band newspaper, Ojibwe Inaajimowin, about 250 years of US occupation as the country marks the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.


Contending with the University of Minnesota’s Founding Sins