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MPR News with Angela Davis
Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

Power Pair: Brothers Anton Treuer and David Treuer on writing and Ojibwe culture

side by side of two men
Brothers David Treuer (left) and Anton Treuer grew up together on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota and today are both nationally recognized educators and writers focused on Indigenous experiences and culture.
Courtesy photos

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Anton Treuer and David Treuer spent their childhood together on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota, in a house that had no electricity or running water.

The brothers went on to graduate from Princeton University and become writers and college professors known for exploring and reclaiming Ojibwe culture.

On Tuesday, MPR News host Angela Davis continued her Power Pair series with the Treuer brothers. They talked about their latest books and how their close relationship continues to evolve.  

Power Pairs Listen to all the conversations in our Power Pairs series 

Guests:

  • Anton Treuer is a writer and professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and the author of many published books of nonfiction, including “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask” and “The Language Warrior’s Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds.” His first novel “Where Wolves Don’t Die” is coming out in June 2024.  

  • David Treuer is the author of seven books and a professor of English at the University of Southern California. His nonfiction book, "The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee," was a 2019 finalist for both the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal. He’s received a Pushcart Prize, two Minnesota Book Awards and fellowships from The National Endowment for the Humanities, the Bush Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation.  

    two young boys in front of a brick building
    Anton Treuer, left, and brother David Treuer as children on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota.
    Courtesy Anton Treuer

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.  

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.