Meet our new team working to strengthen coverage of Native communities

CATHY WURZER: You probably did not know it is Indigenous Peoples' Day in the state of Minnesota. For the first time, it's being marked as a state holiday. It's a celebration of the vibrant and diverse cultures of the people native to the United States. Minnesota is on Anishinaabe and Dakota land. Today, there are 11 tribal nations in Minnesota.

Joining us right now to talk about celebrations across the state today is our new Native news team. Leah Lemm is our Native news senior editor. Melissa Olson is our Native news reporter. Leah and Melissa, welcome.

MELISSA OLSON: Hi, Cathy.

LEAH LEMM: Boozhoo aaniin, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Boozhoo, boozhoo. Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day to you both.

LEAH LEMM: Miigwech.

CATHY WURZER: Say, I'm wondering-- Leah, I'm going to begin with you. Can you introduce yourselves-- introduce yourself however you wish to our listeners.

LEAH LEMM: Great. Yep, Leah Lemm.

[SPEAKING OJIBWE]

I'm a citizen of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. And I've been working in radio since 2008. And I'm very happy to be at MPR News now. And I live in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

CATHY WURZER: Beautiful Grand Rapids. Melissa Olson, introduce yourself, please.

MELISSA OLSON: Hi, Cathy. I'm Melissa Olson, citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. I live in Minneapolis today. And I work here in St. Paul out of the MPR newsroom.

CATHY WURZER: And welcome to both of you, it's really, really exciting. Leah, I know you've got goals, because you're the senior editor. So this new Native news unit. I mean, you don't find really many other stations with a unit like this. What are you looking to do? What's the goal here?

LEAH LEMM: That's right. So we are currently in the building stage of the Native News Journalism Initiative. So we're building a foundation to Native journalism at MPR. And we want to make sure we're setting ourselves up for success. And we're talking long term success. So MPR has been around, what, 55 plus years. So we're thinking about 55 plus years into the future for Native journalism and storytelling.

And that takes community input and strong journalism side by side. So some of our early goals are to consult with tribal communities, elders, story sharers, and media experts to help strengthen Native coverage across our region. Because we're talking about all of Minnesota here. And next, of course, is to report on Native topics across all available platforms. So I love radio. That's my first love, I want to say.

But I'm really embracing web and video and social media, really trying to meet our audiences in more locations where they're listening, reading, watching, et cetera. And of course, additionally, our team has already been collaborating with the newsroom with our colleagues here at MPR News to help reduce barriers for all of news coverage of Native communities and people.

CATHY WURZER: Now this is just now the two, the two of you doing this, right? I mean, this is a newsroom wide initiative.

LEAH LEMM: That's right. So MPR News has been doing great work with telling Native stories. So there are so many memorable stories out there. But we're here to-- Melissa and I are here to help provide even more nuance and perspective as Native people, as Native journalists, to add to that coverage that is in progress.

So this initiative is now-- Native news is now strategic-- is a strategic and concerted effort. So MPR News is showing its commitment to Native voices.

CATHY WURZER: Melissa, what do you feel-- you've been around for a while. What do you feel has been missing in media across Minnesota when it comes to covering Native communities?

MELISSA OLSON: Well, first, I agree with Leah. I think many of our reporters here at MPR are doing a great job covering stories across the state. And I'm thinking not so much about missing stories as I'm thinking about relationships. I hear a lot of Native folks and non-Native folks who are at the moment working on building and rebuilding relationships. And I think it's important we cover the ways that they're doing that, the ways that state, county, tribal governments are changing and starting to build these new relationships.

Lots of interesting stories to report when it comes to land back issues over the past year, for example. I am interested in better understanding the experiences of both urban and rural Native communities when it comes to issues of public safety. I was visiting in Mille Lacs earlier this summer when they welcomed Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta to their community to talk about the Department of Justice funded programs on the reservation.

All of that programming was happening against the backdrop of an ongoing dispute between the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and Mille Lacs County over law enforcement issues on tribal lands. And then the next day after I visited with all of them in Mille Lacs, we heard from Merrick Garland. And I reported on the DOJ's findings around the discrimination that Black and Native people experience when we talk about policing and public safety in Minneapolis.

So all of those public safety stories, I think, are super important to track and to report on. And I also really enjoy all the arts and culture stories and all of those events that are happening around us all the time. Like on today, on Indigenous Peoples' Day.

CATHY WURZER: Say, I'm wondering about trust. Because as you know, trust can be lacking between the Native communities and reporters, white reporters. It's just very hard. Do you think it's easier because you are both Native reporters and there's this level of trust that you already have with Native elders and Native leaders?

MELISSA OLSON: I will jump in and just say I think that in some instances, it is. But that is because I have been working-- I've done some work in community radio, I've done some work in community journalism, and just had a number of relationships on the ground already. And it's really those time spent in those relationships that I think makes it easier. Now there are certain topics, I think, that we're just going to be able to enter into more comfortably when it comes to sensitive subjects.

So yeah, in some ways, it is.

CATHY WURZER: Leah, do you have anything to add to that?

LEAH LEMM: Yeah. I think trust is paramount to what we're accomplishing here. We come to MPR News with years and years of experience and a lifetime in Native communities around the state. So I do think it is, yeah, just really important for our coverage. And I look forward to building even more relationships and strengthening them as we go along.

CATHY WURZER: See, at the beginning of this conversation I mentioned today's Indigenous Peoples' Day. And Leah, how has the significance of this now state holiday changed as it's become more mainstream?

LEAH LEMM: Well, I think that's really interesting. I talked to a lot of Native people about Indigenous Peoples' Day. It comes around once a year. And I tell you, there's this sentiment of it being better than the alternative, better than the previous holiday on the same day. And of course, it's nice to have. It's a great reason to collaborate across Indigenous cultures and larger society for a holiday.

And of course, my favorite response to that question about how do you feel about Indigenous Peoples' Day is, every day is Indigenous Peoples' Day for Indigenous people. And I talk to non-Native community members, and they've said they really enjoy the opportunity to acknowledge the people and cultures whose home they inhabit.

And overall, I think just bringing in my perspective, it's a really great opportunity to look at next steps. So how can honoring Indigenous cultures be more woven into society? Having appropriate movement around treaty rights, mascots, education. There are these daily and systemic ways to honor Native people every other day of the year.

CATHY WURZER: OK, I want to ask you both about events today. Melissa, I know there are several events in the Twin Cities. What have you been following?

MELISSA OLSON: Yeah. So this is the first year Indigenous Peoples' Day is officially celebrated across Minnesota. Community in Minneapolis started off the day with a sunrise ceremony. There's a big event happening right now through mid-afternoon at Harriet Island in St. Paul. Lots going on there.

The Native American Community Development Institute is hosting a voter registration drive in Minneapolis at the American Indian OIC Dakota Institute. Also through mid-afternoon. You can go down there, get your fill of wild rice soup and register to vote. If you want to stay in the neighborhood, you can attend a blessing for the new Indian Health Board Campus right across the street at 2:00 PM.

And then there are some events going on across greater Minnesota. If you're in Mankato, author Mariah Gladstone is speaking tonight at Minnesota State University about her work. She's got a new cookbook out. There's also a big event in Red Wing this evening to unveil a new mural. A collaboration between Prairie Island, Indian community, Red Wing Arts, City of Red Wing, and Goodhue County. They will welcome the Lieutenant Governor this evening for all of those happenings.

CATHY WURZER: And Lee, I know there's a ton happening in Grand Rapids.

LEAH LEMM: Oh, yeah. Well, Grand Rapids has been celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day since 2015. It's really a leader in that respect. So I'll be heading out to our event here. There are speakers and history sessions. And there's actually a showing of the movie Thunderheart tonight, which was filmed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. And of course, musician Annie Humphrey has her album release party in the evening at the Macrostie Art Center. So I'm going to try to see if there's any room for me in there to go watch her music.

CATHY WURZER: That sounds great. You two, thank you so much for joining us. We're really excited about this.

MELISSA OLSON: You're welcome.

LEAH LEMM: Great, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Leah Lemm is MPR's Native news editor, Melissa Olson is MPR's Native news reporter.