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’re speaking with entrepreneur Rob Pero (Bad River Tribe), CEO and creative director of the Indigenous-led marketing firm Perodigm. He’s also the voice behind Minnesota’s statewide “Your Call MN” campaign raising awareness about sex trafficking.Rob explains the many turns his career path took: first engineering school, the Navy, working in sales, and then back to school again to study design. Now Rob leads his own media company in Wisconsin, which specializes in design, marketing, and media production, working with clients across the country.
Rob shares how his grandmother instilled his Indigenous identity, and how as an adult, he prioritized learning about his tribe. It’s terrific to hear Rob’s enthusiasm for so many projects, including a documentary film called “Bad Indian,” about the life of his father who died when Rob was just a baby.
Rob’s passion for amplifying Indigenous voices and supporting Native economic development organizations is woven into all his entrepreneurial pursuits.
Check out Rob Pero’s media company here: https://www.perodigm.com/
Learn more about raising awareness about sex trafficking and the “Your Call MN” campaign here: https://yourcallmn.org/resources/#toolkit
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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Her passion for reclaiming Native food sovereignty leads her work and is driven by a care for community health and undoing the effects of historical trauma and colonization. - Corey Medina: Connecting With Community Through Music
Today we chat with Corey Medina, a blues-rock artist from Shiprock, NM, and member of the Áshįįhí clan of the Diné Nation. His band, Corey Medina & Brothers, has a reputation as an on-stage powerhouse, bringing its blues-tinged rock and roll to stages across Minnesota. - Native Representation at the Great Minnesota Get-Together
In this week’s show Leah and Cole are live from the Minnesota State Fair with two great guests. We discuss Native representation at the fair and beyond. Our first guest today is Andy Vig! Andy is an enrolled member of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, who is the director of SMSC’s community center, called Hoċokata Ti, which opened in 2019. We also catch up with Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Band of Ojibwe), who appeared on our first State Fair show back in 2019. - Jamie Becker-Finn’s Path to Bringing Community Together
Today we’ll chat with State Representative and Entrepreneur Jamie Becker-Finn (Leech Lake). Recently she celebrated the opening of her coffee shop – Makwa Coffee. We talk with Jamie about the first few weeks of Makwa Coffee, how she got the idea amidst the pandemic and how the community has supported Makwa so far. - Marisa Miakonda Cummings’ Gift for Leadership and Empowering Native Women
On today’s show, Leah and Cole chat with Marisa Miakonda Cummings (Umonhon). She’s the President/CEO of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center. The MIWRC empowers Native women and families to exercise their cultural values and integrity, and to achieve sustainable lifeways, while advocating for justice and equity.
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