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.
November 15, 2012 - Minnesota author Louise Erdrich won a big literary prize last night. She was given the National Book Award for fiction for her newest novel, "Roundhouse." In an interview excerpt, Erdrich talks about the need for solitude as she develops her characters. Segment also includes hosts discussing listener email and feedback about various news items.
March 8, 2013 - On this MPR News Presents program, Minnesota author Louise Erdrich speaks at Concordia University in St. Paul about her National Book Award-winning book, "The Round House," and her love of writing. Erdrich also reads from the book.
January 6, 2014 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on wild rice, the iconic grain that grows across much of the northern half of the state, being at the center of a contentious debate over mining and the environment. Kraker conducts interviews with individuals from both sides of the debate.
August 19, 2014 - With the announcement of author Louise Erdrich winning National Book Award for book “The Round House,” The Daily Circuit presents a rebroadcast of a 2012 interview with Erdrich about her book. The novel tells the story of a crime on a North Dakota reservation in 1988.
September 18, 2014 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Peggy Flanagan, executive director of Children's Defense Fund Minnesota, about recent U.S. census numbers that stated 14 percent of the state's children are living in poverty. Flanagan discusses the definition of poverty, the racial disparity in the numbers between groups, and potential solutions to child poverty.
April 17, 2015 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on Internationally acclaimed author Louise Erdrich’s first-ever show of visual art, titled "Asynchronous Reading." Combs interviews Erdrich about items in the exhibit.
May 19, 2015 - On this episode of Minnesota Sounds and Voices, MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Native American activist and White Earth band member Clyde Bellecourt.
October 27, 2015 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on the disparity of people of color in state legislature. When Peggy Flanagan, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota wins election to the Minnesota House, she'll join an exclusive club. A member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan will become one of only a handful of legislators of color at the Capitol.
April 21, 2016 - MPR’s Tom Weber talks with Minority Leader in the House Representative Erin Murphy, a representative of St. Paul; and Peggy Flanagan, representative of St. Louis Park. The two legislators discuss how members of the DFL party are critiquing how well candidates of color have, or haven't, found success in gaining their party's endorsement at local conventions.
April 26, 2016 - MPR’s Tom Weber highlights state legislators paying tribute to Prince after his death on April 21st, 2016. Segment includes audio of state representatives Peggy Flanagan and Mike Freiberg performing “Purple Rain” on the floor of the Minnesota House.