This MPR audio collection highlights five important contemporary Native Americans voices of this region. Each has had a unique and profound impact on the land and its people.
· Winona LaDuke on the environment, politics, and health
· Jim Northrup on writing, war, and Indian rights
· Clyde Bellecourt on Indian rights, social justice, and AIM
· Louise Erdrich on bringing Native American characters to the forefront in literature
· Peggy Flanagan on social issues, poverty, and politics
Please note: Most content related to this topic that is contemporary or created after 2005 can be found on our main content pages of MPR News, YourClassical MPR, The Current, APM Reports, and Marketplace.
February 27, 1998 - MPR’s Cara Hetland reports on 25th anniversary of Wounded Knee, a 72 day stand-off between members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the tribal and federal governments. Some regard the incident at Wounded Knee in western South Dakota as the beginning of an era of increased Indian activism and by others as the end to progress on the reservation.
July 14, 2000 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Ojibwe activist and White Earth band member Winona LaDuke, who is running mate for Green Party presidential hopeful Ralph Nader. The two ran together on the Green Party ticket four years ago but weren't able to capture any electoral votes. LaDuke says this time around, she and Nader are planning a much more aggressive campaign.
August 8, 2000 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports on a unique new Minneapolis bookstore.
September 22, 2000 - MPR’s Laura McCallum interviews Winona LaDuke, vice-presential candidate for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader. LaDuke discusses the Green Party platform and local support in Minnesota.
October 18, 2000 - Clyde Bellecourt, co-founder of the American Indian Movement, discusses his views on voting in U.S. government elections.
November 10, 2000 - Some Democrats are blaming The Green Party and Ralph Nader, in part, for the closeness of the presidential election. They say Nader and his backers cost Al Gore thousands of votes in Florida and other states in Tuesday's election. Nader's running mate, Winona LaDuke, says that the criticism of Nader is misplaced.
July 9, 2001 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki presents report on attempts to save the Ojibwe language. Report includes various interviews, including Jim Northrup. At one time more than 300 American Indian languages were spoken in the U.S. But with each passing generation, many of the indigenous languages have died; others are on the verge of disappearing. With that in mind, tribes from northern Wisconsin and Minnesota are trying to keep their Ojibwe language from going silent and along the way gain new insight into how their ancestors viewed the world.
July 27, 2001 - Tom Robertson reports on the people of White Earth in northwestern Minnesota trying to bring back the lake sturgeon. The tribe is working to restore the fish and reclaim its heritage. Officials on the White Earth Indian Reservation say when the sturgeon disappeared, so did an important part of their culture.
March 8, 2005 - White Earth has become the first reservation in the country to ban the introduction or growth of genetically modified wild rice seeds. Now, some White Earth Band members want to take it one step further. They want the Legislature to ban genetically modified wild rice statewide. Wild rice experts with the University of Minnesota, however, say the tribe's worries are unwarranted. The lakes and rivers on the White Earth Indian Reservation in northwest Minnesota are an ideal habitat for wild rice, and an important cultural food to the Ojibwe people.
September 23, 2005 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews Minnesota author Louise Erdrich about her book “The Painted Drum.” The story is of a New Hampshire woman, an Ojibwe Indian and a Native American drum.