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.

Debate over protecting Minnesota’s wild rice from sulfate pollution intensifies on Iron Range
State officials have proposed strict limits on sulfate pollution to protect wild rice, but the mining industry claims the cost of compliance is so high it could force mines to shut down.
Prairie Island Indian Community welcomes home ancestral remains
On Tuesday, the Prairie Island Indian Community brought home 59 ancestral remains and nearly 500 funerary items that were taken from burial mounds around southeast Minnesota.
New director of Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office takes the helm
Guadalupe Lopez, who is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, took over the office in July. The MMIR office was established in 2021 and seeks to address the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who go missing or are murdered.
‘More than a game’: Native lacrosse stages a comeback in NE Minnesota and beyond
Tribal members in Minnesota and Wisconsin are working to revive the game of Baaga’adowewin, the Ojibwe version of lacrosse that once was a vital community-building tradition around the Great Lakes — but then virtually disappeared during the boarding school era. 
Tribal nations’ flags raised in historic moment at Minnesota State Capitol
Flags of the 11 federally recognized tribes in the state were raised for the first time Friday morning at the new Tribal Flag Plaza. Some tribal leaders say the plaza will serve as a reminder that tribes have been here long before the state.
Labor Day fire destroys Leech Lake Housing Authority’s building
A fire destroyed the office building of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s housing program early Monday morning. The housing authority provides services to hundreds of tribal members.
Graham Greene, a trailblazing Indigenous actor best known for ‘Dances with Wolves’, dies at 73
Graham Greene, a trailblazing Indigenous actor whose long and successful career on the big and small screen included an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Kicking Bird in “Dances with Wolves,” has died. He was 73. Greene died Monday in Stratford, Ontario, after a long battle with an unspecified illness. 
Ojibwe jingle dress brings education, healing to the State Fair
Regalia made in remembrance of Indigenous people impacted by violence is on display in the State Fair’s Fine Arts Center. The jingle dress features names of missing and murdered relatives inside red handprints.