Native Lights is a weekly, half-hour radio program hosted by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo. Native Lights is a space for people in Native communities around Mni Sota Mkoce -- a.k.a. Minnesota -- to tell their stories about finding their gifts and sharing them with the community.

On today’s show, Cole shares his conversation with Juliet Rudie (Lower Sioux Indian Community). Juliet is the Director of Minnesota’s new Office of Missing And Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR). She talks with us about how she is leading the new office, the report that guides the work she does, and how she became interested in public safety as a child. Juliet has been in public service for nearly 30 years, beginning as a patrol officer with St. Paul police in 1990.

The MMIR office is the first of its kind in the nation and was created in February 2022. The office was created based on the findings of the Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women & Relatives report to the legislature by the Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women & Relatives Task Force.

 

Find more information on the MMIR Office at: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ojp/Pages/missing-murdered-indigenous-relatives-office.aspx

And read the report that guides the office’s work at: https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2020/mandated/201198.pdf

Miigwech to Juliet Rudie for taking time to share with us today!

Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund. Online at https://minnesotanativenews.org/