The Wandering Naturalist Podcast

11/29/2025

There are so many opportunities to learn about the Dakota and Ojibwe who have called the land of Minnesota home for thousands of years. From visiting museums like Hoċokata Ṫi or the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, to learning about culture through food at Owamni. We encourage you to keep learning and growing your understandings beyond Native American Heritage Month!

https://owamni.com/

Native American Life in the Suburbs

Best New Restaurant Award – 2022. Experience the true flavors of North America, featuring foods of Mni Sota Makoce, Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds. We have removed colonial ingredients such as wheat flour, cane sugar and dairy. We are proud to present a decolonized dining experience.

11/28/2025

Tawnya Stewart shared a piece of advice with Wandering Naturalist listeners - she encouraged us to do our own research about the land and the Native American history so that we can show up to conversations with a deeper understanding. One of many great resources is Understand Native Minnesota. Check out the link below for research, news, and ways to get involved.

https://www.understandnativemn.org/

Native American Life in the Suburbs

Tribes are modern, thriving governments, and Native Americans make important contributions to our state every day. But most Minnesotans have little or no in-depth understanding of the state’s tribes, their history, governments, and culture. By sharing accurate information through a dedicated campa...

11/27/2025

While this event has already passed, perhaps today is a great day for you to find your own way to express gratitute for water and share intentions for taking care of the water. And check back in next year for the fourth annual water blessing.

https://youtu.be/LKCbvixWX8k?si=LOaFT3m8NxE6H2Fk

Native American Life in the Suburbs

The water blessing at Medicine Lake was a celebration for Indigenous Peoples Day. For video licensing inquiries, contact: [email protected]

11/26/2025

Tawnya Stewart shares our nature word of the podcast "Debwewin" meaning "truth." This word comes from one of the seven Ojibwe values. Learn more about these values and how to pronounce them at the link below.

https://ojibwe.net/projects/the-gifts-of-the-seven-grandfathers/

Native American Life in the Suburbs

The Gifts of the Seven Grandfathers Origins Like all cultures that survive many centuries, there is collective knowledge about the meaning of life that is shared from one generation to the next. The Anishinaabeg have many stories

11/25/2025

"I know that sometimes we have a very busy life and world, and sometimes just stepping out into nature and just taking it all in can really recharge us." - Tawnya Stewart

11/24/2025

There are loads of amazing things happening with Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ (Bassett Creek) to ecologically restore the area. This website spells out a bit more of the cultural significance and the projects that are going on right now.

https://www.bassettcreekwmo.org/haha-wakpadan-indigenous-culture

Native American Life in the Suburbs

- Roxanne Biidabinokwe Gould, professor emeritus of Indigenous and environmental studies. Roxanne lives in Golden Valley near the Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ.

11/23/2025

Tawyna Stewart shares that she is a part of the Native Rebuilders program through the Native Governance Center. This organization's website is full of incredible resources and programs.

https://nativegov.org/

Native American Life in the Suburbs

Native Governance Center is a Native-led nonprofit working to strengthen Native nations’ sovereignty in Mni Sota Makoce, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

11/22/2025

Our last guest this month is Tawnya Stewart. Tawnya also shares her story in the Haha Wakpadan/Basset Creek Oral History project. You can catch the whole story here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shJtIlL3BeQ

Native American Life in the Suburbs

Tawnya Stewart (Anishinaabe and African American) grew up in Robbinsdale and Crystal in the 1970s. She earned an Executive MBA from the Carlson School of Man...

11/21/2025

Dr. Kasey Keeler is a part of the Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ/Bassett Creek Oral History Project, a podcast sharing Native stories and relationships with the watershed. You can hear some of the stories (including one from our last guest, Tawnya Stewart) at the link below or wherever you find podcasts.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5bNwUXzx9nffXi-Sj3AF3DCyhrb0TrT5&si=RDdmq08LmdQw9vSY

Native American Life in the Suburbs

In Mni Sóta Makoce (Minnesota), Indigenous people have lived, worked, and played near Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ (Bassett Creek) for thousands of years. Through an oral h...

11/20/2025

To understand what Native life is like now, it is helpful to understand the past of relocation. This video gives some great detailed background. In fact, while you're at it, you should check out this entire youtube playlist "Crash Course: Native American History"

https://youtu.be/OwTGMhxL22o?si=zh3Ul5fELNOeY8De

Native American Life in the Suburbs

What is life like for Natives living in cities, and how did they get there? In this episode of Crash Course Native American History, we’ll learn about the un...

11/19/2025

If this topic really fascinates you and you want to dig deeper, you can! We're including the link to Dr. Kasey Keeler's paper on the subject!

https://conservancy.umn.edu/items/fbf02a4e-b5f8-47a9-a6b2-664994a0f15c

Native American Life in the Suburbs

11/18/2025

The geographic story of Native American's is complex and nuanced - from the creation of reservations to the incentivized moves to urban areas in pursuit of jobs during the Great Depression and WWII. The story continues to unfold and Kasey Keeler share the story of Native American's in the suburbs. Check out the article below for visuals and graphs to support an understand of these changes, past and present.

https://healingmnstories.wordpress.com/2022/06/15/%C8%9Fa%C8%9Fa-wakpadan-and-the-missing-stories-of-native-americans-living-in-the-suburbs/

Native American Life in the Suburbs

I was surprised to learn that there are more Indigenous people living in suburbs in Minnesota than in urban cores. The suburbs grew in part because of white flight from the cities. Indigenous peopl…