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 Rita Walaszek Arndt (White Earth Nation). Rita is the program and outreach manager of the Native American Initiatives department at the Minnesota Historical Society. She’s also the curator of the Our Home: Native Minnesota exhibit at the historical society.
Through her work, Rita is focused on Indigenous representation in the historical society and encourages people to think differently about the land now known as Minnesota. She tells Leah and Cole about the challenges of cataloging MHS’s Indigenous object archive, examining the history of this land beyond statehood, and how Indigenous art is inseparable from culture and Indigenous ways of living.
Chi Miigwech to Rita for sharing her story and work with us today!
–
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. Online at https://minnesotanativenews.org/
Subscribe to Native Lights wherever you get your podcasts
More from Native Lights
- Derek Nicholas: Indigenous Fare for Future Generations
Leah and Cole have a conversation with Derek Nicholas (Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe) about food sovereignty and Indigenous cooking. Derek shares his experiences as the Nutrition Program Coordinator at the Division of Indian Work in Minneapolis; his views on culturally, seasonally appropriate foods; and about the growing, multi-faceted Indigenous food community. - Heather Friedli: Revealing Nature’s Allure
Heather creates vivid landscapes inspired by her family’s Native American and Mexican heritage and her time exploring the natural world. In addition to painting, Heather is also a professional snow sculptor and recently appeared in Disney’s Best In Snow sculpting competition. - Rita Walaszek Arndt: Representation in History
Rita is focused on Indigenous representation in the historical society and encourages people to think differently about the land now known as Minnesota. - Susie Ballot and Lera Hephner’s Work to Preserve Culture Across Generations
Today Leah shares her conversations with Susie Ballot and Lera Hephner from White Earth Nation’s cohort of Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative (IPLI). As graduates of the initiative, they’ve begun projects to deepen connections between their communities and culture. - Duane Goodwin: Expressing Culture Through Sculpture
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. …
Reflecting on our Journey Through the COVID19 Pandemic