Meet Mathew Holding Eagle III

Mathew Holding Eagle III is a reporter on the regional news team for northwest Minnesota, based in Bemidji.  

Before reporting for MPR News, Mathew was a blue-collar worker doing construction for many years. After graduating from college, he worked as a producer on “Black​ Gold Boom,” a documentary about the oil boom in Western North Dakota. Mathew then worked as reporter and assistant editor for five years at the Fergus Falls Daily Journal —​ a small community newspaper in Fergus Falls. 

Mathew has won several awards and accolades, including two third-place Indigenous​ Media Awards (formerly Native American Journalist Association Media Awards) from the Indigenous​ Journalists Association, third place at the Minnesota Newspaper Association Awards for his photography, and first place at the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists Page One Awards   

Mathew is a citizen of the MHA​ (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara) Nation —​ federally recognized as the Three Affiliated Tribes​ —​ in Western North Dakota. His great-great-grandmother Scattered Corn was the first female Corn Priest of the Mandan. She was married to Holds The Eagle.   

Mathew has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Minnesota State University Moorhead with an emphasis on multimedia and documentary journalism. In his free time, Mathew enjoys discovering new disc golf courses throughout Minnesota. So far, his favorite one is located in Red​ Wing.   

You can find Mathew Holding Eagle III on Facebook​ and LinkedIn.