Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine

Fern Renville is a storyteller, artist, playwright, and enrolled citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. Fern lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she is currently investigating the role of nettle fiber in Dakota material culture as a Native Artist in Residence at the Minnesota Historical Society.
 
In this episode, Fern talks about weaving a stronger connection to this homeland not only through nettle fiber but through stories, knowledge, and the sharing of history. Fern expresses her passion for tapping into the deep layers of joy and love experienced by her ancestors on this land for centuries that were only recently covered by a layer of trauma. Fern believes this deeper exploration of her ancestral truth beyond colonization is not only powerful for her own journey but will help to intentionally bring restoration. 

What is Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine?

In Native Lights, people in Native communities around Mni Sota Mkoce - a.k.a. Minnesota - tell their stories about finding their gifts and sharing them with the community. These are stories of joy, strength, history, and change from Native people who are shaping the future and honoring those who came before them.

Native Lights is also 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.

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/