MPR Archive presents a collection of varied Native topics in and around Minnesota. Stories include interviews, commentary, events, speeches, documentaries, and reports.
May 16, 2013 - During a pledge drive, MPR News Presents broadcasts two American RadioWorks documentaries, “Song Catcher: Frances Densmore of Red Wing” and “Artist Charles Biederman.”
November 20, 2013 - In this episode of Appetites, MPR’s Tom Crann talks with Minnesota poet and writer Heid Erdrich about the local food movement. Though seen as a relatively recent phenomenon, Erdrich argues in a book that the local food movement goes back to the indigenous populations of our region.
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.
January 30, 2015 - Anton Treuer grew up on the Leech Lake reservation with a deep interest in history and language. He writes in the introduction to one of his books on Native history: "The borderland I grew up in was more than an awkward physical nexus of races and communities." Today-a conversation about how that "nexus" still influences his work and writing.
March 18, 2015 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson & John Enger reports on the survivors of the 2005 mass shooting at Red Lake High School in northern Minnesota. The tragedy changed everyone involved. Survivors and others in community discuss how they now cope.
March 18, 2015 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson & John Enger reports on the survivors of the 2005 mass shooting at Red Lake High School in northern Minnesota. The tragedy changed everyone involved. A survivor, investigator, and community leader discuss how they cope and look for ways to prevent future shootings.
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 23, 2015 - MPR’s Doualy Xaykaothao has a conversation with two Native-American artists, playwright Rhiana Yazzie and writer R. Vincent Moniz Jr.
February 4, 2016 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews the creators of new play “George Bonga: Black Voyageur.” The History Theater pulls together a dream team of playwright Carlyle Brown, director Marion McClinton, and actor James A. Williams to tell the story of African American voyageur George Bonga.