Native News

The Native News Project is a new initiative from MPR News.

Stay informed with the latest news about local and national Native American communities, highlighting stories and issues important to Native American communities in Minnesota and beyond.

Our coverage includes cultural events, policy updates, community stories and more to provide a platform for Native voices, perspectives and important news.

On-demand transportation service links Grand Rapids to rural and tribal communities
Minnesota's Advanced Rural Transit Innovations, or goMARTI, has expanded its free, on-demand transportation service that links Grand Rapids to rural and tribal communities along Highway 2 in northern Minnesota. 
‘Going to get tougher’: Tribes grapple with ongoing government shutdown
The United States is 20 days into the third-longest federal government shutdown in history and Indian Country is bracing for an unstable future ahead as reserve funding for many tribes could begin to dry up.
Ojibwe artist George Morrison’s family relishes his first solo exhibit at The Met
A few dozen Minnesotans traveled to New York to celebrate Ojibwe painter George Morrison, as the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled his first solo exhibition and placed the Minnesota-born artist among the giants of American modernism.
White Earth Nation expands bison herd in northwest Minnesota
The White Earth Nation Bison Program is advancing its food sovereignty goal by adding 45 new bison to its two herds near Naytahwaush and Mahnomen.
State signs cannabis agreement with third tribal nation
A Dakota nation in southeast Minnesota has become the third tribal nation in the state to sign an agreement regulating the sale of cannabis outside tribal land.  
New Dyani White Hawk show at the Walker is a 'love letter' to community
The “Dyani White Hawk: Love Language” exhibition, which is up at the Walker through Feb. 15, is a big and bright kaleidoscopic show, an expansive mid-career survey spanning 10,000 square feet of the Walker and the last 15 years of the Minnesota artist's career. 
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe sues 3M, other companies over 'forever chemicals' contamination
The lawsuit says the band's testing found "alarming" levels of PFAS in lake water, fish and deer on the Leech Lake Reservation. Tribal members depend on hunting, fishing and cultivating wild rice for food, and for cultural and religious practices.
Goldtooth is known for his comedic roles in “Reservation Dogs” and “Rutherford Falls.” In his newest role, he plays the character Hutch, a U.S. Marshal tasked with protecting his community in Fairbanks, Alaska after prisoner transport plane crash.
Grand Portage Band launches first Indigenous-led coast guard on Lake Superior
The Grand Portage Band has launched the nation’s first Indigenous-led coast guard on Lake Superior, providing critical search and rescue coverage along Minnesota’s North Shore.
Here's what young Native Americans funded with $720K from Newman's Own Foundation and Novo Nordisk
Armed with funds from Newman’s Own Foundation and Novo Nordisk, 21 Indigenous leaders crafted criteria and selected finalists as part of a $720,000 grant program. This initiative, organized by Native Americans in Philanthropy, reflects values of self-determination and intergenerational relationship-building that participants want more philanthropists to adopt.