Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations

Native Lights

Leah Lemm talks to educators at SouthWest Metro Intermediate District 288 about sharing Native voices in Minnesota.

Reclaiming Native Truth: https://rnt.firstnations.org/

Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing: http://www.blackbearsandblueberries.com/

Birchbark Books: https://birchbarkbooks.com/collection…

The “Sharing Gifts Through Story: Native Lights Podcast” presentation was made possible in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and SouthWest Metro Intermediate District 288.

More from Native Lights

  • Bobbi Jo Potter: Making Space for Community
    We speak with Bobbi Jo Potter, a citizen of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. She’s deputy director of Children and Family Services in Ramsey County and is a 2026 Bush Fellow working to keep Native families connected and make child welfare more about relationships and healing.
  • Budd Parker & Tim “Pete” Fairbanks: Restoring the Legacy of White Earth’s Forgotten Veterans
    Today we’re joined by Budd Parker and Tim “Pete” Fairbanks. Budd is a Navy veteran and descendant of the White Earth Nation. He lives in Osage and was raised by grandparents who knew Civil War soldiers. He and his crew, including cousin Pete Fairbanks, dig through records. They clear forgotten cemeteries and set corrected headstones so families can hear their ancestors’ names again. Pete, an Army veteran, is also from the White Earth Nation, and he works with Budd to restore headstones and graveyards.
  • Alex Kmett: Culture as Curriculum, Language as Medium
    Today, we’re speaking with language revitalization leader and cultural educator Alex Kmett. Alex is a citizen of the Red Lake Nation and a descendant of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. He’s a 2026 Bush Fellow and a co-founder of a charter school in Red Lake Nation.
  • Ryan Dixon: Making Friends with the Dakota Language
    Today, we’re speaking with Ryan Dixon. Ryan is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe from Pine Ridge in South Dakota and has spent over two decades immersed in the Lower Sioux community in southern Minnesota. He trained under First Language Dakota speakers, and he now teaches Dakota. An educator and Indigenous language activist, he co-founded a Dakota Immersion Head Start programming and works to keep the language alive for future generations.
  • Michael Kurtz: Tales of a Wildlife Photographer
    Our guest today is a photographer who takes some stunning photos of wildlife. We’re very excited to speak with Michael Kurtz (Tasunka Opi). He’s Sicangu Lakota, enrolled in the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. He runs Lakota Photography, blending wildlife photography, tracking, and cultural education. He’s also a naturalist and has volunteered with groups like the National Park Service and Project Coyote. He has spent countless hours across the Dakotas, Minnesota, and beyond, capturing wildlife in its natural habitat. Currently, he’s supervisor of programming and interpretation with Hoċokata Ṫi Cultural Center at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community.