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.

Today we have the pleasure of talking with Jonathan Thunder (Red Lake Nation) a multi-disciplinary artist whose artistry is recognizable with its vivid yet dreamy images in large-scale murals, animated films, and installations. 

 

Jonathan Thunder shares how he got his start (his first paying gig was a large mural at a school) some of the other artists he admires (Ice Cube for his fearless honesty) and how he constantly challenges himself to draw on Indigenous history and Ojibwe perspectives to express social, emotional, and political truths through vivid and surreal imagery, the evoke everything from grief and pain to humor and hope. 

 

We ask Jonathan Thunder about the meaning and motivations behind his recent paintings: “Quarantine at Grandma’s House” and “On the Grave of the Giant.” Miigwech Jonathan for sharing your artistry and enthusiasm for honest expression!

 

You can check out Jonathan Thunder’s surreal imagery here: http://thunderfineart.com/

 

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/