With the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s Understand Native Minnesota campaign ending, so is this podcast. In this final episode, host Rebecca Crooks-Stratton shares highlights from the podcast series and talks about the campaign’s successes in Minnesota classrooms. She is also joined by two Native students to reflect on their education experiences and SMSC Chairman Cole Miller to discuss what’s next for the tribe. EPISODE RESOURCES Understand Native Minnesota: https://www.understandnativemn.org/ Sign up for email alerts: https://www.understandnativemn.org/get-involved/stay-updated/ A Guide to Reliable Native American-Related Teaching Resources: https://www.understandnativemn.org/publications/ Minnesota Native American Essential Understandings for Educators: https://www.understandnativemn.org/publications/ Minnesota Native News podcast: https://minnesotanativenews.org/ Learn more about Mdewakanton Dakota history and culture at the SMSC’s cultural center: https://hocokatati.org/

Rebecca sits down with author, speaker, trainer and professor Dr. Anton Treuer. Anton is a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of many books, including “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask” and “The Language Warrior’s Manifesto.” They discuss Ojibwe language revitalization efforts, writing and the exciting projects he has on the horizon, such as the release of his debut novel, “Where Wolves Don't Die.” This podcast series is a part of the SMSC’s Understand Native Minnesota campaign that concluded in January 2024. This episode was filmed before the series concluded. EPISODE RESOURCES Understand Native Minnesota: https://www.understandnativemn.org/ More about Anton Treuer: https://antontreuer.com/ Anton Treuer’s books: https://antontreuer.com/books Follow Anton on X/Twitter for Ojibwe Word of the Day videos: https://twitter.com/antontreuer Follow Anton on YouTube for Ojibwe Word of the Day videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC02Ei64PpI3ET-bMvTAr-sQ Educator Academies on February 21 and March 14: https://www.understandnativemn.org/register-for-educator-academies-on-february-21-or-march-14/

Rebecca is joined by Brenda J. Child, a University of Minnesota professor, historian and author of several award-winning books about Native American history. They cover important elements of Native history that people should know about, like Native boarding schools, and Brenda’s latest endeavor – a new Center for Indigenous Arts at the University of Minnesota. This podcast series is a part of the SMSC’s Understand Native Minnesota campaign that concluded in January 2024. This episode was filmed before the series concluded. EPISODE RESOURCES Understand Native Minnesota: https://www.understandnativemn.org/ Learn more about Brenda’s books: https://birchbarkbooks.com/collections/vendors?q=Brenda%20Child Dreaming Our Futures exhibit: https://cla.umn.edu/art/news-events/news/dreaming-our-futures-ojibwe-and-ochethi-sakowin-artists-and-knowledge-keepers Learn more about the work of Dr. Charles Eastman: https://birchbarkbooks.com/collections/vendors?q=Charles%20Eastman Read “From the Deep Woods to Civilization” Dr. Charles Eastman for free here: https://books.google.com/books/about/From_the_Deep_Woods_to_Civilization.html?id=RG0_AAAAMAAJ

In this podcast episode, Rebecca is joined by Ferin Davis Anderson, supervisor of environmental sciences at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. They talk about what caring for natural resources means, and how Ferin combines traditional Indigenous knowledge with modern science. They also discuss Ferin’s new, forthcoming book, “Wildfire” and the important role fire plays in environmental stewardship. EPISODE RESOURCES Understand Native Minnesota: https://www.understandnativemn.org/ Minnesota DNR Prairie Pod series: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/prairiepod/index.html Ferin’s book, “Wildfire: The Culture, Science, and Future of Fire”: https://lernerbooks.com/shop/show/23175 Learn more about the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s environmental stewardship: https://shakopeedakota.org/culture/our-environmental-stewardship/

In this podcast episode, Rebecca is joined by Heid E. Erdrich, a talented multi-hyphenate Native artist. They discuss her poetry, her experiences teaching creative writing and curating art exhibits, and the many Native artists she loves. Heid also gives ideas for how everyone can experience more art and embrace their creativity. EPISODE RESOURCES Heid’s website: https://heiderdrich.com/ Birchbark Books: https://birchbarkbooks.com/ Patrick DesJarlait’s website: https://www.patrickdesjarlait.com/ Carl Gawboy’s website: https://www.aicho.org/carl-gawboy-2022.html#/ Dyani White Hawk’s website: https://www.dyaniwhitehawk.com/ Jonathan Thunder’s website: https://www.jonthunder.com/ MN Museum of American art: https://mmaa.org/ Understand Native Minnesota: https://www.understandnativemn.org/