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.
Leah and Cole are joined by the multi-talented Rhiana Yazzie (Diné Nation), a remarkable theatre artist, filmmaker, playwright, and the visionary force behind New Native Theatre. Rhiana shares the latest developments at New Native Theatre, delves into her award-winning feature film “”A Winter Love,” and shares about her lifelong passion for storytelling that has shaped her journey from childhood to becoming a leading voice in Indigenous creativity.
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
- 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.
NATIFS’ New Market