Political Matters – April 2019
By Mordecai Specktor Ethnocide in the Amazon rain forest We tend to think that Trump is our misfortune, a corrupt and incompetent leader for the United States. However, the National Nincompoop represents a rising tide of authoritarian, right-wing leaders around the globe. Trump obviously admires these authoritarians – Russia’s Vladimir Putin; the North Korean dictator […]
Calendar of Events – April 2019
Thru April 30 MN Zoo Farm Babies Cuteness abounds with baby chicks, piglets, lambs, calves, goat kids, and bunnies. Check out the special “egg” treats for the animals. This fun form of enrichment will include colored Jell-O eggs, piñatas, and hard-boiled eggs. Minnesota Zoo, 13000 Zoo Blvd, Apple Valley. For info, see: http://mnzoo.org or call […]
Bluedog’s new album reflects the lives and times of Native Americans
By Lee Egerstrom The title of the forthcoming Bluedog band album shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone living in Indian Country. The title and message is a simple directive. Take a Stand. “There is something happening every week, every hour in Indian Country,” said cofounder Eric Buffalohead. That title is political, added cofounder Joni […]
Denomie exhibit: when reality and imagination combine
By Deborah Locke When you think of American Indian art, what comes to mind? Feathers, buffaloes, eagles, red and green peppers, a powwow dancer, a cradle board baby, a woman in a shawl with a shy smile? They are nice perhaps, but do they make you think? Jim Denomie, an Ojibwe enrolled at the Lac […]
Community Calendar – March 2019
Thru April 6 Jim Denomie: Standing Rock Paintings Bockley Gallery’s exhibition of Jim Denomie: Standing Rock Paintings, comprises of three large-scale, oil on canvas paintings and a series of smaller, but related, portraits. Denomie has cast his discriminating eye onto real- world events, specifically the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) controversy and protest that erupted in […]
Mni Ki Wakan Water Is Sacred
By Wakinyan Skye LaPointe, Lemoine LaPointe, Thorne LaPointe, Laura Sioux Roberts The growing global water crisis is prompting many world leaders and organizations to respond through a myriad of top-down approaches. Consequently, Indigenous Peoples are often left out of leading global forums and dialogues on water—yet they are often the first to be negatively impacted […]
MN Elects First Native Lt. Governor
By Camille Erickson On Nov. 6, 2018, Minnesotans elected Peggy Flanagan to be the state’s first American Indian lieutenant governor, and the first American Indian ever elected to statewide executive office in U.S. history. How she got there: On an overcast Saturday in October 2017, then-gubernatorial candidate Tim Walz (DFL-Mankato) and his running mate Peggy […]
Native Food Perspectives: A different kind of ‘soul food’
By Lee Egerstrom Back a few years, when Christina Valtierra was cooking meals at the Little Earth neighborhood in Minneapolis, some residents would see her in the kitchen and go, “Oh, no. Healthy food again.” As time went on these same reluctant consumers would see her, break into a smile, and comment on how glad […]
Wall of Forgotten Natives to move indoors?
By Lee Egerstrom Officials from Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Red Lake Nation and other planners have set Dec. 8 as the date for the homeless encampment near Hiawatha and Franklin Avenues to relocate indoors at a “navigation center” to help the homeless brave the cold and seek other housing. Whether that can be achieved by the […]
What’s New In The Community – December 2018
StrongHearts Native Helpline Announces Move to the TC The StrongHearts Native Helpline, a partnered project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, is moving from Austin, Texas, to its permanent home in Eagan, Minnesota, where its national headquarters will be based. The move will take place in the winter […]
Political Matters – December 2018
By Mordecai Specktor Native women in the House The 2018 midterm elections served to pump the brakes on America’s slide toward fascism under the Trump administration. Most notably, the U.S. House of Representatives will shift to Democratic control, as the Dems gained 39 seats, far more than the 23 seats they needed to take over. […]
Community Calendar – November 2018
Thru Nov. 9 Ties and Tethers Exhibit Artist Lori Biwer-Stewart is a self-taught printmaker who finds inspiration in the natural world around her, as well as from her own dreams and beliefs. She enjoys incorporating symbolic images such as birds, keys, and doors to encourage thought and provoke the viewer’s own interpretation. For added texture […]