North Star Journey

North Star Journey is a celebration of communities in Minnesota and the champions who are doing the work that we should be bringing a voice to. We hope to bring new understandings of our state and what brought us to today. About | Credits

MPR News also hosts North Star Journey Live, an event series discussing topics about what Minnesota’s diverse communities need to thrive. Check it out here.

This coverage is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

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September 21, 2022 12:01 PM

Recovery awareness growing in East African community as opioid crisis takes toll

Substance use disorder recovery advocates are sounding the alarm about the opioid crisis in Minnesota’s East African communities.

by Nina Moini

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September 14, 2022 10:30 AM

In Focus: How to make outdoor recreation welcoming for all

Research shows that people of color are far less likely to engage in nature-based outdoor recreation activities than their white peers. During this In Focus discussion from the Minnesota State Fair, host Twila Dang discusses the so-called nature gap and what to do about it, with outdoor equity experts Anthony Taylor and Asha Shoffner.

by Twila Dang and Kelly Gordon

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September 14, 2022 5:33 AM

Rondo’s ‘lady of line dance’ keeps community moving

For Tina Jackson, teaching soul line dancing is how she gives back to her community. Her childhood mentors helped Jackson get started as a teacher and over the years she has built a community of dancers from everywhere she goes.

by Simone Cazares

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August 3, 2022 4:23 PM

El amor en una mazorca: El ritual de los tamales convierte a los amigos en familia

Durante siglos, la comida y la alimentación han ayudado a conectar vidas y culturas. Como parte del proyecto North Star Journey, MPR News se puso en contacto con la escritora gastronómica de las Ciudades Gemelas, Mecca Bos, para que compartiera algunas historias sobre platos culturales emblemáticos y sobre cómo los rituales de elaboración y consumo de alimentos pueden unir a las personas.

by Mecca Bos

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August 3, 2022 3:56 PM

El número de agricultores latinos es pequeño, pero está creciendo

Para algunos, Minnesota es un terreno fértil para plantar sueños de agricultura a tiempo completo

by Vicki Adame

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August 1, 2022 12:32 PM

Prairie Island Indian Community nuclear concern powers net zero carbon emissions plan

Residents of the Prairie Island Indian Community have grown accustomed to living next door to a nuclear power plant. It's a constant reminder of environmental injustices endured by Native people for generations. But tribal leaders say a new plan to produce net zero carbon emissions within the next decade will help Prairie Island reclaim the narrative of its land.

by Catharine Richert

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July 29, 2022 4:00 AM

'Finndian?' 'Swanishinaabe?' Some Native people in northern Minn. reconnect with their Scandinavian roots

Thousands of Minnesotans identify as both Native American and white, including some who have recently reconnected with their Scandinavian ancestry in surprising ways.

by Dan Kraker

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July 27, 2022 4:00 AM

Once-ignored Indigenous knowledge of nature now shaping science

Traditional ecological knowledge has long been dismissed by Western culture as stories or legends, rather than real science. But there's new interest in tapping into the wisdom about plants, trees, wildlife and climate that Native American people have collected over time.

by Mathew Holding Eagle III and Kirsti Marohn

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July 26, 2022 11:30 AM

The power of Black male educators

Research has shown that having teachers and school staff of color can help students of color succeed. But nationally only seven percent of teachers are Black, and only two percent are Black men. American Public Media special correspondent Lee Hawkins talks about identity, curriculum, recruitment and more with four Black men who are educators.

by Lee Hawkins

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July 22, 2022 5:00 AM

Gary Hines and Sounds of Blackness stay on mission for more than 50 years

Sounds of Blackness is more than a band, it's a cultural institution. That, says the group's longtime director Gary Hines, was the mission given to them by a mentor at Macalester College in St. Paul, where the group was founded more than 50 years ago.

by Lee Hawkins

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