MPR Archive presents a collection of varied Native topics in and around Minnesota. Stories include interviews, commentary, events, speeches, documentaries, and reports.
August 28, 1990 - MPR’s Stephen Smith profiles Kevin Locke, a Hunkpapa Sioux who is trying to preserve the language and art of Lakota music. Locke is one of few Native American musicians to make a profession of performing traditional flute music. The Lakota did not use written words, so their songs were recorded only in memory. The composition of these songs was within the domain of a relatively small group of people, known as the Elk Dreamers.
September 14, 1990 - MPR’s Chris Tetlin profiles Maude Kegg, an Ojibwa storyteller, folk artist, and cultural interpreter. Kegg shares life memories and her concerns over Ojibwa language being lost in the coming generations.
September 27, 1990 - MPR’s Bruce MacDonald reports on re-burial ceremony at Mounds Park, where Native remains are being placed as part of the Private Cemeteries Act, which recognizes that ancestral remains deserve respect.
November 30, 1990 - MPR’s Beth Friend interviews Native American poet Joy Harjo, who discusses language, the Earth, and Western reality. Segment includes Harjo reading her poetry.
December 29, 1990 - MPR’s Paula Schroeder interviews Native American activist Clyde Bellecourt, who talks about Red Road Pow Wow, spirituality, and education of younger generation.
February 8, 1991 - MPR’s Catherine Winter reports on opening of Elaine M. Stately Peacemaker Center in Minneapolis. The center is designed as a safe place for Native American and other neighborhood youth to gather. Segment includes speech by Clyde Bellecourt, a founder of center.
April 5, 1991 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger profiles The Ojibwe News, an independent newspaper serving Bemidji area. The paper focuses on tribal and reservation news, with some controversial stances. While read by many, the paper’s independence from Red Lake Reservation tribal government does not keep some from questioning paper’s objectivity as a Native press.
May 13, 1991 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe visits the newly opened Grand Casino in Mille Lacs. The casino, built on reservation land by Twin Cities investors, guarantees over 50% of profits to the Mill Lacs Band and has dramatically improved the unemployment problem in area. The reservation has plans to expand with a much larger facility.
July 3, 1991 - MPR’s Gary Eichten gets a Native American perspective of Mount Rushmore National Memorial on the 50th anniversary of stone sculpture.
August 6, 1991 - All Things Considered’s Gary Eichten interviews individual on seeking better representation of tribal governments for tribal members.