North Star Journey

North Star Journey is a celebration of communities in Minnesota and the champions who are doing the work that we should be bringing a voice to. We hope to bring new understandings of our state and what brought us to today. About | Credits

MPR News also hosts North Star Journey Live, an event series discussing topics about what Minnesota’s diverse communities need to thrive. Check it out here.

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Program helps educators accurately teach Native American content in classrooms
Most Minnesota K-12 educators say they lack access to resources they need to accurately teach lessons which include Native American content. But one teacher training program is trying to change that.
Dreamland: Then and now
Anthony Brutus Cassius broke ground in Minneapolis in the 1940s as a labor organizer and then as the first Black man to get a liquor license in the city. His aim was to create safe social spaces for Black people. Eighty years later, Mecca Bos explores his legacy.
The 'People's Station' KMOJ pushes forward
Like the Civil Rights Movement that inspired the push for Black representation in media, radio station KMOJ’s 46-year history is sprawling, joyous, messy and under-appreciated. But mostly it’s against the odds.
Troubling stories surface as U probes its history with Native people
A University of Minnesota panel is broadly reviewing the institution’s treatment of Native people since its 1851 founding. While a report is expected later this summer, researchers and journalists have already uncovered some hard facts.
Foraged plants form a connection to the earth
Over the past few weeks as part of the North Star Journey project, chef and writer Mecca Bos has cooked culturally important dishes of Minnesota prepared by other local chefs. Her latest was a journey to learn about a much older and local approach to food. 
New map highlights home deeds with racist language in Ramsey County
A group working to identify and nullify racist language in Twin Cities property records is out with new data on Ramsey County. Researchers with the Mapping Prejudice project combed through reams of documents and found more than 2,000 homes that were off limits to people of color until the mid-20th century.
To tackle maternal health disparities, one MN insurer looks to doula care
Minnesota is among a handful of states that cover doula care for people on Medicaid. Though researchers say doula services could help shrink health inequities for pregnant women of color and their babies, few women use the benefit. Standing in their way is a tangle of challenges.
Sacred in the city: Indigenous site in St. Paul prepared to welcome, educate public
This month, the Lower Phalen Creek Project will begin construction on a 9,000 square foot interpretive center near the entrance of Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary to welcome people back to Wakan Tipi and educate the public.