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.
Native Lights – Robert Rice’s Gift for Gathering Community around Coffee, Frybread, and Wild Ricing
On today’s show, we talk with Robert Rice (White Earth Nation) the owner and operator of the Pow Wow Grounds coffee shop on Franklin Avenue in South Minneapolis, a hub for gathering for conversation and art, over coffee, frybread, and tacos. Robert also has decades of experience harvesting wild rice and a passion for sharing the tradition with others.
Robert shares how Pow Wow Ground’s parking lot became the staging area for AIM patrols during the uprising in response to the murder of George Floyd, protecting businesses along Franklin Ave, with more than 300 people showing up to help. As food donations poured in, the space transitioned and became a food shelf, serving the needs of residents, as nearby grocery stores shut down amid the chaos and destruction.
We appreciate Robert’s good work creating a thriving business, centered on the values of collaboration and kindness, and for all the good coffee and delicious frybread! Chi Miigwech!
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
- Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons’ Gift for Sharing Indigenous Traditions & Spiritual Guidance (Revisited)
On this week’s show, we revisit our conversation from June 2022 with Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), a spiritual advisor, storyteller, activist, wisdom keeper, and revered elder. Mary Lyons is the founder of the Minnesota Coalition on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and serves as a counselor for the women’s sobriety group, which she also co-founded, called Women of Wellbriety International. - Rick Haaland: Speaking for the Animals
Today, we’re excited to speak with Rick Haaland, an animal rescuer and advocate who is the Pets for Life community outreach manager for the Leech Lake Tribal Police. - David Wise: Growing Good Medicine
We speak with David Wise, descendant of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and founder of Native Wise, a farm which is focused on soil health, restorative farming and Indigenous agricultural practices.
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