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.

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.
Dedicating his career to Native education and bringing Indigenous games into physical education, Dan Ninham is being recognized for his contributions to the game of lacrosse in Minnesota. 
Shakopee’s new venue name announced, Mystic Lake Amphitheater to open next summer
Live Nation announced the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has purchased the naming rights to its new outdoor music venue south of the Twin Cities. Mystic Lake Amphitheater is expected to open in 2026.
A photo of her grandmother in moccasins sparked Cindy Godin Hamilton’s artistic awakening
Cindy Godin Hamilton’s artistic and cultural awakening came in her adult years. Now her solo exhibit at the Warroad RiverPlace Gallery includes hand-stitched mittens, mukluks and gauntlets featuring intricately beaded animals and flowers, as well as oil and pastel paintings of Native faces garbed in traditional regalia.
Ceremonial walk along the Rum River serves as ‘a prayer’ for the water
This year’s Indigenous-led water walk followed the Rum River from Mille Lacs Lake in Vineland to Peninsula Point Park in Anoka, where the river converges with the Mississippi River.