December 20, 2016 - MPR News with Tom Weber presents a program on The Dakota Access oil pipeline, which winds hundreds of miles from the oil fields of North Dakota to a pipeline hub in southern Illinois. In 2016, it was almost entirely built — except for a section under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir just south of Bismarck, N.D. Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a coalition of other groups camped out near the site of the river crossing in an effort to stop pipeline construction.
September 21, 2017 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews April McCormick, a member of the Grand Portage Band, who worked closely with the Nature Conservancy on bringing Susie Island back under the band’s control.
October 14, 2019 - Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan issued a proclamation declaring it Indigenous Peoples' Day in Minnesota. Several cities, including St. Paul and Minneapolis, celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day. Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Nation and the first Indigenous statewide elected official, spoke to people celebrating at Indian Mounds Park.
May 11, 2022 - MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reports on the tradition of spearing or netting fish on Minnesota lakes. Tribal members say the annual ritual of gathering fish through spearing or netting provides a vital food source for the community and preserves a cultural tradition. The spring harvest is an exercise of tribal treaty rights, and the result of a long-fought legal battle.
July 27, 2023 - MPR’s Mathew Holding Eagle III reports that Beltrami County Historical Society is pushing to return sacred Indigenous artifacts to communities. A court granted the Beltrami Historical Society’s museum permission to break up arguably its most important collection, The John Morrison collection. This will allow culturally sensitive artifacts to be repatriated to the Indigenous communities where they originated.
September 7, 2023 - MPR’s Melissa Olson reports on Lower Sioux Community exploring reconciliation through an 'honor tax.' The Mni Sota Makoce Honor Tax was created as another way Minnesotans and Dakota people could build relationships.
August 22, 2024 - MPR’s Melissa Olson reports on the restoration of 18 acres on the south side of Mille Lacs Lake. The action means an end to decades of uncertainty for one family.