Native News

The Native News Project is a new initiative from MPR News.

Stay informed with the latest news about local and national Native American communities, highlighting stories and issues important to Native American communities in Minnesota and beyond.

Our coverage includes cultural events, policy updates, community stories and more to provide a platform for Native voices, perspectives and important news.

Fond du Lac Band receives funding to help restore tip of Wisconsin Point
The Fond du lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has received a $350,000 planning grant from the federal infrastructure law to help restore land on the tip of Wisconsin Point, the gateway to the Duluth-Superior harbor.
Prairie Island community trying to reclaim noose used in 1862 mass execution of Dakota men
The Prairie Island Indian Community filed a claim through its Tribal Historic Preservation Office. The claim was made through the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Art and history come together in ‘Fur Trade Nation: an Ojibwe’s Graphic History’
Artist Carl Gawboy has used his thirty years of experience teaching the history of fur trade relations on Turtle Island, also known as North America, to create hundreds of illustrations depicting stories of Ojibwe people and lifeways centered on entrepreneurship and freedom.
U’s Center of American Indian and Minority Health expands to Minneapolis campus
The University of Minnesota’s medical school hosted the grand opening of the expanded Center of American Indian and Minority Health in Minneapolis on Tuesday. The center focuses on research, education and programming to positively impact American Indian and Alaskan Native health.
Red Lake Nation goes on a sales trip to India to discuss trade, walleye and wild rice
India is now the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people. This week a representative from the Red Lake Nation will look to tap into that giant market by joining a U.S. trade mission to New Delhi.
How to tackle crime in Indian Country? Empower tribal justice, ex-Justice Department official says
Over the past 24 years, Tracy Toulou has confronted the serious public safety challenges facing Indian Country by working to expand the power of tribal justice systems. There's still much work remaining, but Attorney General Merrick Garland says the office is now an institution within the Justice Department.
Two tribal nations sue social media companies over Native youth suicides
The Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin are accusing social media companies of contributing to high rates of suicides that disproportionately affect Native American youth.