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/
Korina Barry: There's been five decades of organizing and advocacy around Leonard's freedom, but NDN Collective like formal campaign we really like dug in deep about three years ago, and last June, he got denied for parole again. And then when he was denied, then we knew our next pathway was executive clemency through the Biden administration.
Leah Lemm: Boozhoo, hello. Welcome to Native Lights, where indigenous voices shine. I'm your host, Leah Lemm.
Cole Premo: And I'm your other host, Cole Premo. Miigwech for joining us today. Native Lights is more than a podcast and radio show. At its core, it's a place for native folks to tell their stories each and every week, we have captivating conversations with great guests from a whole lot of different backgrounds. We're talking musicians, community leaders, healthcare advocates, doctors, language warriors, you name it. They have a wonderful mix of passions, and we talk to them about their gifts and how they share those gifts with their community. And it all centers around the big point of purpose in our lives, and I can't wait to continue amplifying Native Voices. Leah, how's it going? What's up?
Leah Lemm: Hey, things are going well over here, you know, we have our puppy Radagast. He's doing wonderful. He's like, twice the weight he was when we first got him a month and a half ago, went from 15 pounds to 30 pounds. Sure, I struggle to pick him up now, right? Again, that rascal, but he's very cute. How about you?
Cole Premo: Going well, it's going well, I don't know if I've officially announced it yet, but Maria, my wife, and I are expecting what I've told you, come on.
Leah Lemm: Wouldn't that be funny if you told me on this program? It would be great just to get the reaction. Sorry, I took that moment away from you. Keep going.
Cole Premo: What? Yeah, no, it's been, it's been great. We're due in August, early August, and so just about 20 weeks right now. So we're doing that big ultrasound deal here soon, so that's gonna be fun to see all that. So we're very excited.
Leah Lemm: Are you getting the 3D ultrasound?
Cole Premo: Actually, I'm not. I'm actually not sure. We need to call and make sure if that's the case, but it is one of the more involved, you know, ultrasounds so and the old kid has started kicking already, so it's been that's been an interesting thing to witness and to be a part of, you know, new house promotion and get on the way.
Leah Lemm: So it's been a busy couple years for you, Cole.
Cole Premo: Very thankful. It's obviously stressful, but I'm also very thankful. So ready to rock, ready to rock, but yeah, let's, let's get on to our guest today.
Leah Lemm: I'm super excited to talk to our guest today, Korina Barry. Korina is a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She's a mother. organizer, doula, novice sewer and metal fabricator in training. Gotta ask her about that. She also works at NDN Collective managing the organizing, policy and advocacy and direct action arm. Really excited to have Korina here today. Boozhoo, Korina, how are you?
Korina Barry: Hi, boozhoo.
Cole Premo: Boozhoo, Korina, could you start by introducing yourself and telling us where you're joining us from.
Korina Barry: Yeah, boozhoo. Boozhoo, Leah. My name is Korina Berry. Your East Wind Woman is my spirit name. I am Leech Lake Anishinaabe calling in from St Paul, Minnesota, where I live with my little family and work from home. I was a lifelong like Southsider Minneapolis kid and we crossed the river recently, and we're getting used to it. It's nice over here. So, but yeah, doing good. How are you in the family? I was a toddler. How does that all that? Yeah, well, honestly, we're going on our fourth week of viruses and sickness and bugs, so we're we're hanging in there. I think having a toddler, a daycare age kiddo, they're always bringing the good germs and buggies back home, and then it's just, I know, like sickness is just kind of been all around and impacting folks. So been doing our best to kind of stay healthy, keep our energy up, not feel too too wonky, kind of being in the house a lot, but seeing the sun come out and feeling some warmer weather has been really helpful, I think, in seeing the light on the other side of this probably the most sickly winter we've had. I don't know. It's just been a weird, weird winter in that way.
Cole Premo: In the intro, I was talking about how my wife, Maria and I, we are expecting our first child here in August, and my immune system is already terrible to begin with, and I can't imagine how many colds, all that stuff I'm gonna get. So if you have any advice.
Korina Barry: Yeah, totally inevitable. But congratulations also, and it's beautiful. And yep, lots of boogies and germs. And you know, it's like we always have to remind ourselves when she. have any, yeah, totally inevitable. But congratulations also, and it's beautiful. And yep, lots of boogies and germs. And you know, it's like we always have to remind ourselves when she. Like eating something weird or like touching gross stuff. You're like, you know what? She's building that immune system. It might not be building
ours, but it's building her so maybe she gets less sick. But yeah, I think just stay up on your vitamins. You know, as best you can.
Cole Premo: There you go. Well noted.
Leah Lemm: Well, Korina, we usually like to ask our guests what you are concentrating on or thinking about these days.
Korina Barry: A constant for me is thinking about, like, preparedness and yeah, like, what that means for skill building and learning for like, the end of the world, or maybe what true liberation is, is kind of like my reframe of it. And so, you know, even in this, like, larger political climate, it's always an important time to, like, deepen relationships, you know, with loved ones, with trusted people. And so I think leaning into that a lot more, especially in these sort of, like, heavier, kind of challenging times, but also identifying those like opportunities where we're like, okay, we’re planning our gardens and learning from each other about like, what kind of foods we want to grow, and leaning into those caring connections and caring relationships, but also like learning like skills and things that will help sustain us.
Leah Lemm: Well, I know it's on our list of things to ask you, metal fabrication. You're a metal fabricator in training. That's what I saw in your bio, and I wrote down, what is that?
Korina Barry: It's actually been like five years in the making, but it wasn't originally the intention. So 2019 I connected with the nonprofit, We Are All Criminals, and they do a lot of work around humanizing folks who are incarcerated, over represented in carceral systems, and also creating a platform for artists who are on the inside to share their poetry, their various forms of art. And it was a project called SEEN like, for them to be like, seen, heard, you know, valued. And we were supposed to have an exhibit at the Weisman in 2020 you know, then all happens in the world. And so that got pushed off and kept getting pushed off. The premise of the project is to connect an inside artist with an outside artist or community collaborator, and I have never thought of myself as an artist, or, like, artsy creative in any way. So I remember when we first started this, you know, I'm, like, I'm a social worker, and I don't have, like, what am I going to do? But it was really beautiful, because, like, even through the delays, it just pushed me and Jeff, who is my partner, on the project, we would do, like, podcast recordings, where, like, he would call on, you know, with his, like, limited 15 minutes of prison phone calls. And we would just like, talk about topics of healing, topics of trauma. And then, like, what does that look like across Indigenous and Black communities? And like, our conversations would just like, get deeper and deeper and more vast as we got closer to, like, this exhibit coming to life. Or like, what are we going to do for our section? We talked about, I guess, like epigenetics and blood memory in our conversations. So we came up with the idea of getting a helix fabricated, like a DNA helix, and then we wanted to, like, have words engraved in it on one side that represented, like, harm, like patriarchy, you know, colonization, prisons, you know, just kind of all these different words. And then on the other side, we wrap in sweetgrass, because we also talked about, like, medicines as healing practices. And we talked about the book Braiding Sweetgrass, because that was, like, I feel like, newly popular, or becoming more popular in discussion. And so originally, we're going to hire someone to do that fabrication. And then I woke up one day and I was like, You know what? I feel like I want to learn to do that. I feel like it will help me feel a different level of connection to the project and push me to do something really uncomfortable, because I've never done any like sculpture work, or I don't paint, I don't draw, you know, and definitely have never done metal work. And so I ended up connecting with Chicago Fire Arts Center, which is located in George Floyd Square in South Minneapolis. And Heather Doyle is one of the staff and leadership folks over there, and she was amazing. And she just, like, really, helped me map out a process that was accessible, and helping me figure out how to purchase copper, and then, like, the process of cutting the copper, then the process of, like, bending it and turning it, and then ultimately welding it into that helix. And then now, fast forward the scene at Wiseman has been open. The exhibit’s been open since February, and is open until May. So, yeah, so that's why I like it, kind of like, it's like a joke, but also, like metal fabricator training, because it's like this push to it was for this project. But I also like now that that exhibit is open, I don't know that I'll make more sculptures, but I definitely have, like, curiosity of like, okay, what can I do with this? I don't know, new skill. Or, like, you know, and it's, it's, like, kind of scary and intimidating. So like, how do I keep learning and becoming more safe? And my understanding of it too.
Cole Premo: You're listening to Native Lights, where Indigenous voices shine. Native lights is produced by Minnesota native news and Ampers, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Today, we're speaking with Korina Barry. Korina is a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She works at NDN Collective managing the organizing, policy and advocacy direct action arm.
You also mentioned, you know, getting into doula work. What inspired you to do that?
Korina Barry: I think, you know, getting pregnant, becoming a mom, and like my own experience as like an Indigenous mother and kind of going through that process of pregnancy, and the very realities of like navigating, like Western medical systems and I had this whole birth plan of utilizing a birthing center, which is like more like home birth feels, you know, Like much more fluid. You bring in your medicines, any like cultural practices you want, right? And all was going well up until I was 36 weeks. And then, you know, everything changed, and then it turned into, like, a more high risk of infection, and I needed to go to the hospital navigate labor and delivery. I've had all this like hospital trauma from like, previous, you know, life experiences. And I just remember, like, the grief, the fear of flooding over me in that like moment when they're like, you have to go to the hospital now and transition from this place. And the reality is, like, that's true for so many Indigenous women, like, we have some of the worst disproportionality for maternal health for Indigenous women and Black women in the state of Minnesota. And there's been some reports that have come out in the recent years that really dig deeper into that. And for myself, I saw this opportunity. There's this full spectrum Indigenous doula training program called ZAAGI'IDIWIN and they're two trainers, Indigenous women out of Canada, across the medicine line. They were coming to Minneapolis, and so I just happened to see it. You know, on Facebook, I feel like, I love when the algorithms and social media work can throw you something cool. And I saw like, this opportunity. And of course, I'm like, Oh, I work full time, and I have all these things. How am I going to do this, like doula training? But I just, I don't know, I just leaned in and I made it work. And that was just kind of like the starting point, I think, of like, how do I take my, my lived experience navigating this, but then bring this into this context of this Indigenized birth worker curriculum? Like, it was really beautiful, like, all these, all these components around pregnancy, prenatal care, to labor and delivery, and to our teachings around how we welcome little ones into the world, and then, like, postpartum care. I also, like, had a really hard time with postpartum depression and anxiety. So I think being able to learn new teachings, new techniques, and like, learn with other Indigenous women that participated in that cohort. It gave me a lot of life, I don't know, like, I felt this energy shift in my body and my spirit, and so I was really thankful that I did it. And then it was kind of been slow, of like, taking the time, like, as mothers or sort of clients are becoming available, like, is it the right fit? Because I do work full time, I have a toddler of my own. So it's like, sometimes moms need more support, you know, more higher needs and that's amazing. But I'm like, more on the like, okay, still, like learning going into this, I want to be, like, really intentional about the reality of, like, what kind of support I can provide a mom. So I'm working with a mom now, and so it'll actually be my first, like, birth, you know, since completing the program in the last year, she's due in the next couple months, and so it's been really nice to, like, connect with community members in like, a very different way.
Leah Lemm: That's beautiful. Thank you. Can you tell me a bit about your current work at NDN Collective?
Korina Barry: Yeah. I mean, I think just like at the foundational level, we're not about reforming systems and investing in these systems and structures that oppress and harm our people and that have for hundreds of years, like we're about investing in Indigenous-led solutions and changing the conditions in which we live in and navigate and so for NDN Collective, you know, over the last five years, like we've instead of, you know, just focusing in and struggling in this fight of like, you know, South Dakota is like ground zero for like, Native students in the education system. And instead of spending all of our energy trying to reform like South Dakota education and schools, we founded and opened our own school, and the OCETI SAKOWIN COMMUNITY ACADEMY opened, gosh, maybe going on three years ago, where they're able to start from the ground of like, okay, what do we know is wrong with the existing educational system? Them in our schools, and how do we build and change the condition in which we know our you know our Native students deserve to feel, to be seen, to be heard, to have culture and language and teaching spread it out through the entirety of the curriculum, not just a language class or a cultural class like the whole school is just like embedded in that sort of pedagogy, or like that approach to education. And so that's like an example of, I think that shift, you know, I think other examples too are we have purchased land, and could community development work. And so I feel like a lot of people see land back in and recognize NDN for, like, our narrative use and our swag and kind of like promotional things around Land Back. But it's not just like this phrase. It's this meta narrative for everything like we, you know, we see everything that we're doing ties back into Land Back. So it's like that connection to our culture, our language, our food ways, you know, our grant making and investing into relatives that are doing food sovereignty work, or creating economies around, like their buffalo or their salmon or whatever it might be like. That's Land Back, you know what I mean? Or, you know, we, we purchase 60 plus acres in Rapid City to build that school long term, like there's a temporary site, but to build a school. But also, like, in addressing, like the housing crisis, building our own multi use housing units, creating space for Indigenous businesses, creating an, like, an Indian Center, like, we're fortunate to have the Minneapolis American Indian Center. So, like, that's an example there of, like, nothing like that exists. And so, like, we're going to create it. And so I think that is what's different about NDN is there's not this, like operating in scarcity, feeling tied to and restricted by like, federal or state funding and grants, because that's like hardly any of our funding. You know, our development team, our president, Nick Tilsen, they really have set this sort of standard of how they approach philanthropy and their expectations and ask from funders, and like, we're not going to accept funds or, you know, any resources that are going to restrict us in that way, like we're going to do this in the way that we know will uplift our people and, like, really lean into, like, Indigenous led, you know, like I said, solutions. How do we create something of our own, or invest in what we know that works, versus, like, exhausting ourselves, kind of doing the same thing and trying to stay within, like, the status quo?
Leah Lemm: You're listening to Native Lights, where Indigenous voices shine. Native Lights is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Today we're speaking with Korina Barry. Korina is a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She works at NDN Collective managing the organizing, policy and advocacy direct action arm.
Cole Premo: And one of the big efforts recently was the Free Leonard Peltier effort. I saw you in that press conference, and I had to shout it out a little bit. What was it like being a part of that effort?
Korina Barry: Oh, boy. Well, I feel like I'm still processing, in many ways, like it was truly a life changing moment, a campaign effort to be a part of. There's been five decades of organizing and advocacy around Leonard's freedom, some of our team members that worked on NDN’s campaign, you know, had been doing that advocacy too, is since they were a little one, you know, or in their teenage years, you know, have been organizing around this for many years. But NDN Collective’s, like formal campaign, we really like dug in deep about three years ago, and it was like a heavy, like political advocacy campaign. It's because he's been unjustly imprisoned for 50 years, and he continues to get denied parole. And so last June, he got denied for parole again. And so that was like this, you know, this moment of like sadness, because it's what Leonard will say, and he said in that press conference too, is like, they gave him a death sentence when they denied him parole because he wouldn't be eligible for a parole hearing for another 15 years. He's 80 years old, and he has, like, very serious like, health conditions and needs that have been unmet for, you know, going on 50 years. And so he's just like, I'm not gonna live like I'm gonna die in here. And for us, it just it really made us grind harder. We're like, Okay, what? How do we pivot? You know, we pivoted from two and a half years of advocacy around getting Leonard granted parole, and then when he was denied, then we knew our next pathway was executive clemency through the Biden administration. And so then there was a lot of intentional meetings and conversations at all levels, you know, with Secretary Deb Haaland and different people of like, how do we get into Biden's ear, and how do we, you know, make ripples and keep Leonard's name in the media, in the narrative? Have to push for his freedom, and so that's what we did. You know, fast forward to, like the it was like a three month sprint. It felt like from the end of 2024 until Inauguration Day, Biden's last day in office, where we're just like pushing and pushing with tribal leaders and getting into every ear we can in the White House, while also in the background, preparing a home for Leonard, you know.
NDN purchased a home even before his parole hearing. It's like, for folks that know anything about relatives who are incarcerated and coming home, there's this process of like, re entry, right? And there's not a well supported re entry. Often there are, you know, a lot of efforts to improve that. And so for Leonard in his parole packet, like, we needed to have it be as strong as we could. And so it's like he needs a home to go to. And so, like, purchased his house in Turtle Mountain in his homelands, so that he had that safe and soft landing to return to. So like, while we're at, you know, digging deep and all this, like visible advocacy, like we're behind the scenes, like renovating a house and, you know, like getting it ready for him. And so there's just so many intricate details even up to in those final hours of Biden's administration. And time as President, we're refreshing and refreshing the White House website, as he's, like, releasing, you know, pardons and you know, like his last ditch efforts of executive orders, and it was the last order he signed and put out. So within minutes, you know, those last minutes of like him signing out and Trump signing in, and he did it, we refreshed, and we were just like, oh my god, you know, because we just like, we prayed like through this whole process, we did ceremony after ceremony, we prayed and we had hope. But, you know, after five decades of this, there's definitely that feeling of like, is this the last chance, you know, is Biden gonna do this? Like, there wasn't never 100% he's gonna do it. And so when it happened, you know, we were like, Oh, my God,
NDN, we had a team on the ground in Florida with our hopes that, you know, by some miracle, he could get released right away. But the order, you know, gave an extra 30 days. So he was released on February 18. So that shifted us to Yeah, working on all the intricate details of coordinating transportation to get him home safely, like we're deeply concerned about it safely, even still. You know, the FBI came out very publicly, up in those final moments to framing him up, you know, leaning in this narrative of him being this, like murderous, you know, malicious, like danger to the public, as this 80 year old elder who, you know, is still stands by his innocence, and so that fear of, like, what could happen to him, and then also, just like, you know, agitators, folks that were upset with the decision, so, like, we were having to, like, create security plans and get security in place, coordinating the plane that was going to bring him to North Dakota, having a medical team, having an RN and staffing that flight to make sure he was okay. Like, there was all these medical conversations too, of like, one he's gonna, like, go from whatever warm climate in Florida to it was, like, 50 below, I feel like, in North Dakota that week, and then add in his health issues, and then on the other side, like preparing for his welcoming home. And, like, I was lead on, like, the logistics for sort of the North Dakota side in that way. And it, you know, it was an adventure, because it's like, I'm not from Turtle Mountain in like, North Dakota is not my home community. So, you know, it's really pushing us to, like, dig in deep and build those relationships within tribal leadership there and community members around like, what does a welcoming for Leonard look like?
And so we planned it was just a community event, is what we called it, but which is what folks saw as sort of like a press conference where we had over 300 people like that room was packed at Sky Dancer Casino and Hotel in Belcourt, North Dakota, waiting for Leonard to come in that day. And there was like this really beautiful, like grand entry moment where dancers and singers, like brought him in and just like everyone just kind of goes wild, and this surreal moment of him, him walking into this space, and folks being able to see him, yeah. And then that's kind of where it turned into, like a space. Like Leonard has really been clear, like he wants to tell his own story, you know? And so we've been really intentional to not tell his story, for him to share what has already been shared and what he wants to share. So like, really leaning in on consent, respecting sort of those boundaries for him, and also trying to help coordinate those spaces, you know, those interviews, really helping vet media, because there's a lot of, like, predatory media and other people too, trying to get access to him. And so there was just a lot of intention and like that media. Strategy as well. To help create space for him, you have to share with his own voice, like, what does this mean? What does this feel like to be home and then also for him to be able to spend the time over the coming months and years, like telling more about his side of the story, which has gone unheard, you know, for the last 50 years, there's so many details that it could share that we don't have time for.
But I think a highlight, of course, is like seeing the plane land and welcoming Leonard off. But then also, like just going to his house and meal prepping some food for him, you know, cooking up some chicken and some vegetables, some healthy food. And then like having my daughter, like, you know, be able to, like, meet him, and him to be like, I'm Grandpa, you know? And just like this moment of we're all just relatives, and like, this is our elder, you know. This is this political prisoner, this key figure in our many of our communities and our history, and then to have him be home, and then, just like, spend casual time with him, and just see how funny and chill and just like, sweet he is. And then also, like, just to see him navigate this whole new world of, like, figuring out a smartphone and, like, a smart TV, you know, like these are, like these, like, all these little details that are just like a learning process for him. This is really amazing. And that's why I say, like, still processing, because there was just so many, so many different pieces a part of like that story of like him coming home.
Leah Lemm: Yeah, that's a historical moment, and I can tell that you have an energy about yourself when you're talking about this, talking about your work, what keeps you motivated to do what you do at NDN Collective?
Korina Barry: Maybe that feels like an easy answer. Of like my daughter, I feel like everything comes back to her. What are my contributions to what she will be left with? You know, whether that's clean water, healthy air, you know, all these things like we organize around our campaigns, but I think also those very real connections and relationships that we hold within our organization, they're real, they're deep. There's a lot of trust. We're not perfect, like we kind of figure it out, like we're like, this big family, and so it's kind of like doing this for each other as well, in addition to our own families, days can be long, this work can be hard, but it's working. We're seeing our people like thrive and be happy. We truly see the positive impact that we are able to have.
Leah Lemm: Korina Barry.
Cole Premo: Wow. NDN Collective. Does so many things.
Leah Lemm: Plus being a doula.
Cole Premo: And metal fabricator.
Leah Lemm: Mother, we didn't even get into sewing, so I wouldn't even know what to ask. Um, so, uh huh, sew...
Cole Premo: I see what you did there, but yeah. Miigwech to our guest, Korina Barry, a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, works at NDN Collective, managing the organizing, policy and advocacy direct action arm. I'm Cole Premo.
Leah Lemm: And I'm Leah Lemm. Miigwech for listening. You're listening to Native Lights, where Indigenous voices shine. Native Lights is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.