MPR Archive presents a collection of varied Native topics in and around Minnesota. Stories include interviews, commentary, events, speeches, documentaries, and reports.
October 1, 1987 - MPR’s John Biewen produced the very first report of Mainstreet Radio. Biewen visits the southern Minnesota town of Good Thunder, where artist Ta-coumba Aiken was commissioned to create a massive mural along the grain elevator in town. The hope is it will help in keeping Good Thunder on the map.
October 28, 1987 - Mainstreet Radio-Brainerd’s Rachel Reabe profiles Four Winds Lodge Treatment Center, a culturally based Native American chemical dependency treat program. Reabe highlights the annual sobriety powwow through various sounds and interviews.
July 28, 1988 - On the 20th anniversary of American Indian Movement (AIM), MPR’s Tom Meersman looks at the history, actions, and controversies of organization.
August 20, 1988 - MPR’s Mark Heistad interviews author Thomas Vennum about his book, Wild Rice and the Ojibway People. Vennum discusses the experience of harvesting wild rice and its importance to the Ojibwe People.
September 19, 1988 - MPR’s Jim Bickal presents an interview with novelists and partners Louise Erdrich and Michael Dorris. The two writers comment on their writing process, novels, and nonfiction.
February 1, 1989 - MPR’s Chris Tetlin reports on a proposal to start an Indian public school district in the Twin Cities. There is debate on if it would offer a better education opportunity and experience for Native students or simply a form of segregation.
March 17, 1989 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe paid a visit to the Four Winds chemical dependency treatment center in Brainerd. Four Winds is a program run entirely by Indians which emphasizes Native spirituality. Report contains various interviews of patients and members of center.
September 8, 1989 - Mainstreet Radio’s John Biewen presents the documentary “Dancing on Beat: Portrait of a Reservation Family,” which follows the daily life of an Ojibwe family on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.
September 8, 1989 - MPR’s Leif Enger interviews students about their experiences at the Leech Lake's Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School. Segment also includes commentary from educators on the need for the school.
September 8, 1989 - Mainstreet Radio’s John Biewen presents the documentary “Dancing on Beat: Portrait of a Reservation Family,” which follows the daily life of an Ojibwe family on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. Following documentary, Midday’s Bob Potter interviews Mike Bongo, director of American Indian OIC in Minneapolis, about his thoughts about documentary.