Messages from the Drum

08/22/2026

Dr. Kim TallBear on Indigenous belonging: from "Who am I?" to "Who are my people?"

08/21/2026

Blake, a member of the Red Lake Nation, said the idea for a network of tribally owned EV stations came to him during a pipeline protest in North Dakota a decade ago.

Native entrepreneur Bob Blake has built 80 EV charging stations on tribal land across the Midwest and has handed over ownership of the assets to the tribal nations. Blake said he has found ways to work around the barriers that keep capital out of Indian Country.

08/21/2026

I create all kinds of art that teaches people about our relationship to the land, Marlena Myles said.

This year, she designed Minnesota Public Radio’s state fair tote bag, which features vibrant colors and pays homage to each corner of Minnesota through an Indigenous lens. The special gift is given to thousands of fairgoers in exchange for donations.

Every year Minnesota Public Radio picks a local artist to design a tote bag to be given to thousands of members at the Minnesota State Fair in exchange for donations. Dakota artist Marlena Myles designed this year's special gift, which features vibrant colors and pays homage to each corner of Minnes...

08/20/2026

Tribal broadband providers don't yet receive the same federal cost support that sustains rural phone companies and networks. It's time to start knocking at the Federal Communications Commission. We need to have access to that funding too. This is part of a quiet, national success story — a boom in Native entrepreneurship.

Madonna Peltier Yawakie saw a yawning, unmet need for Wi-Fi networks and digital connections on tribal lands and then set herself on a journey to meet it. Her success is part of a quiet national boom in Native-owned businesses.

08/13/2026

Ruling clears path for efforts to gain return of two boys who died at Carlisle boarding school.

Ruling clears path for efforts to gain return of two boys who died at Carlisle boarding school

08/13/2026

The Office of Inspector General offers three recommendations to the Executive Office for United States Attorneys to address the shortcomings that could continue to exacerbate the MMIP crisis.

Overview: A new report by the DOJ shows 10 U.S. Attorneys' Offices Districts are non-compliant with key components of Savanna's Act. A new report from the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General reveals that a fifth of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices required to implement a law aimed at impr...

08/11/2026

These Native female athletes are making history and making their mark on their respective sports, from basketball to rodeo to mixed martial arts.

08/10/2026

St. Paul’s Ain Dah Yung Center, meaning ‘our home’ in the Ojibwe language, provides support for Native youth grounded in Native traditions.

08/07/2026

How one Indigenous confederacy inspired the United State’s democracy and what America could still learn from them

08/03/2026

It's a story of hope and tribal collaboration.

For more than 100 years, salmon had been absent from the Klamath Tribes' lands — a fact that cut them off from funding sources to fix that.