By Brad Hagen I handed tobacco to Mary Beth Elhardt, a Cherokee woman who is an elder, mentor, and educator. “Thank you for letting me interview you,” I said. “Whatever I say, just make me sound cool,” Elhardt says, taking the tobacco with her left hand. “I’ll put this to good use.” We walked into the […]

By Lee Egerstrom Most Minnesota public school districts have explained to parents and students how they plan to start the new school year in September but the coronavirus pandemic has some schools going right down to the wire before making a final call. On top of this uncertainty, startup plans may prove only temporary. Under […]

By Hannah Broadbent Raven Ziegler is a young Native American women who is making a big impact in her community as an activist and young graduate. She is a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (Kul Wicasa Oyate) in South Dakota. She completed her Master of Human Rights (MHR) degree in the spring of […]

By Tom Weber/MPR News For most college students, walking across campus is an afterthought – a means to an end. That’s harder to do when the very campus you’re on is a reminder of a dark past in the nation’s history. The University of Minnesota Morris is located on land that was once an Indian […]

By John Hoffman/MSU “Green space” horticultural projects, community gardening and urban forestry programs remain very popular activities among St. Paul, MN neighborhoods and communities. Over the last several years, students, faculty and community members have traveled to the Red Lake Ojibwe Reservation to participate in a community development project that involves planting a variety of […]

By Bob Collins/MPR News Teresita Diaz, 17, a junior at Park Rapids Area High School in northern Minnesota, wants you to know she’s not disrespecting the flag when she sits down and quietly faces it while others recite the Pledge of Allegiance, perhaps without thinking about the words they’re saying. Diaz – part Puerto Rican, […]