Master Jingle Dress Maker Adrienne Benjamin’s Gift for Guiding Reconciliation

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 Adrienne Benjamin (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) who is a community activist and multi-faceted artist, including being a master jingle dress maker.

Most recently, Adrienne Benjamin has been in the news for her equity work with a Minnesota company that just publicly apologized for profiting off Native-inspired designs for decades. Adrienne tells us how she came to be involved with the owners of Minnetonka Moccasins, who were seeking ways to acknowledge and make amends for their company’s long-time appropriations; and how she is helping them on a path toward reconciliation.

We were delighted to hear the story of how Adrienne found her path to becoming a master jingle dress maker, with the persistent encouragement and humor of one visionary elder, who inspired us all over the years. Chi Miigwech, Adrienne for your wonderful art and your ability to have difficult conversations with a smile!

Watch the video about the Mille Lacs Band’s Jingle Dress origin story here:

Read Adrienne Benjamin’s “Repairing Relations” blog post here:

https://www.minnetonkamoccasin.com/blog/adrienne-benjamin-repairing-relations/

Visit Adrienne Benjamin’s website here: https://www.yoadrienneb.net/

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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