MPR Archive presents a selection of stories tied to various the aspects, history, and battles for civil rights of individuals and groups within the State of Minnesota.
June 10, 1998 - Tribal elections were held on the White Earth Reservation yesterday, despite efforts by a group of band members to put a stop to the voting. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji.... Two days ago it looked doubtful that the scheduled election would take place on White Earth. A group of protesters took control of tribal headquarters Sunday, vowing that they would use any means necessary to stop the election. The group contends that three tribal council members have been holding office illegally since 1996. Those officials, with about 70 supporters, entered and reclaimed control of the building just before sunrise Tuesday.
June 11, 1998 - ANCHOR INTRO IN THE 1940S, 50S AND 60S THERE WAS A HUGE MIGRATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH ... AN ESCAPE FROM THE COUNTRY'S MOST VIRULANT RACISM AND A SEARCH FOR JOBS. BUT NOW .... AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE MOVING BACK TO THE SOUTH IN RECORD NUMBERS.... ACCCORDING TO A RECENT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN STUDY. MINNESOTA IS RANKED 12TH FOR THE NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICANS MOVING TO THE SOUTH. AS MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO'S MARY STUCKY REPORTS, THIS DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RACIAL TOLERANCE OF NORTHERN STATES INCLUDING MINNESOTA.
June 11, 1998 - ** note back announce ** Some doctors in the U.S. are using procedures developed to treat infertility in an unexpected way: they're helping gay male couples have children of their own. In many parts of the country, it can be difficult or impossible for gay men to adopt newborns. But with the aid of a surrogate mother and in-vitro fertilization...a baby can be genetically related to at least one of the fathers. In some cases, both men share genetic traits with the child. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephen Smith prepared this report in our continuing series, "The Fertility Race." Some of the names in this story have been changed to protect individual privacy.
June 12, 1998 - THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING A BRONZE PLAQUE HANGING IN THE STATE CAPITAL ROTUNDA MAY BE ONE STEP CLOSER TO RESOLUTION. THE PLAQUE HONORS MINNESOTANS WHO FOUGHT IN THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES.....BUT IT CONTAINS INACCURACIES AND LANGUAGE OFFENSIVE TO MINNESOTANS OF FILIPINO DESCENT.. THIS AFTERNOON A NEW EXHIBIT WILL GO UP NEXT TO THE PLAQUE -- AN EFFORT TO CORRECT THE MISTAKES....BUT AS Minnesota Public Radio's MARY STUCKY REPORTS, FOR SOME, IT STILL DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH.
August 25, 1998 - MPR’s John Rabe reports on local African American leaders from the Twin Cities talking with local black leaders in South Africa.
September 7, 1998 - MPR's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, where It's harvest time for wild rice in Minnesota, and nowhere is the season more important than on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. The reservation has more than 6,000 acres of wild rice beds within its boundaries.
September 24, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Kathryn Herzog reports on what one town is doing to address its own racism. During the Farm Crisis of the 1980's, many people moved away from rural Minnesota to find work in the city, leaving rural companies struggling with a small labor pool. As long time residents moved out, a few people of color, Hispanic and Hmong families moved in, looking for the rural lifestyle.
November 6, 1998 - Here's an American culture quiz. Everyone knows Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the national anthem. But do you know who wrote the words to 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' often called the African American national anthem? The answer is James Weldon Johnson. You get extra credit if you can name another famous work by Johnson. Time's up. The answer is the poem 'Creation.' The poem is part of a choral piece called 'God's Trombones.' The works will be performed Friday night at First Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. audio . . . (creation 1) and God stepped out on space and looked around and said I'm lonely. I'll make me a world.
November 25, 1998 - The most recent Surgeon General's report find Native Americans have the highest adult smoking rates of any ethnic or minority group in the country. The report finds tobacco use among Native Americans has soared more than 40-percent at a time when it has levelled off among other racial groups. As a result, more Native Americans are dying of respiratory cancers than ever before. Health officials are alarmed but as Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports, anti-tobacco programs take on new complexities for many Native Americans who've long viewed tobacco as a sacred gift: To get a sense of tobacco's place in indian culture one needs to look no further than a traditional pow wow. (sound of leader talking about of tobacco/creation)
November 30, 1998 - A field cloaked in rusty brown grass and scrub trees near the Minnesota River was once the scene of rifle shots, battle yells and death. Now one of the best preserved battle fields from the 1862 Dakota Conflict is being restored to better tell the events of that fateful day. The Minnesota Historical Society plans to install trails and interpretive signs explaining the many perspectives of the war. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil reports: Unless you're a real student of the events of 1862 its difficult to make much sense of what happened at the Birch Coulee battlefield just north of Morton in southwest Minnesota. A granite marker indicates two of