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 Tamee Livermont MPH (Oglala Lakota Nation). Tamee is on her way to becoming an MD at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Duluth and is one of three recipients of the 2022 Morris K. Udall and John S. McCain III Native American Graduate Fellowship in Tribal Policy. Before going to medical school, Tamee served as the Tribal Liaison at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board. Tamee brings her knowledge of Indigenous values and tribal policy to her work and studies. She wants to Indigenize the medical education system and defend treaty obligations while creating better healthcare systems that are centered around Indigenous values.
Chi-Miigwech to Tamee for sharing 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/
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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.


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