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Broken Lands is a podcast series bringing together the voices of Native Americans and settlers to reflect on the effects of treaty violation, the meaning of reparations, and the possibility of a future in which we live well together. Broken Lands was inspired by the Duluth Reparations offered by the Northeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in the amount of $185400 + $100 + $1100. This gift was made in an effort to begin repairing the relationships that have been damaged and trust that has been breached. The amount of the gift was chosen to acknowledge the treaties of 1854, 1855, and 1866; treaties that outline rights, responsibilities and obligations for all of us who live together here in Northeastern Minnesota on these broken lands.
Season 2
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Grace Goldtooth (Executive Director of Dakota Wicohan) and Dallas Goldtooth (Actor, Writer, Comedian, Reservation Dogs) are siblings with a deep love for one another. Although they have careers in different fields, their rootedness in their Dakota heritage, and their commitment to preserving and celebrating it, deeply informs the work they both do. Grace describes her organization, Dakota Wicohan (which roughly translates to "Dakota Way of Life") as focusing on "revitalizing and sustaining our language as living language and transmitting cultures, lifeways, and teachings on to the next generation." Dallas Gooldtooth, perhaps best known for his role of William Knifeman on Reservation Dogs, was formerly a full-time activist who moved into the space of storytelling recently. He shares his thoughts on his indebtedness to his sister, family, and culture.
This episode's guest has a long, storied family history tied to the Osage Reservation which led to her playing an on-screen role in the new film Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese. As a descendant of family members murdered in this region, it was a logical step for her to be part of the screen depiction of these events. She shares about the filmmaking process and the care that the writer of the book as well as the film production team took to tell this story with respect and accuracy. Margo also shares with us her own history of working in criminal investigation and as an entrepreneur.
This episode's guest, Holly Bird, has worked tirelessly throughout her career in a long list of advocacy roles. She is co-executive director of Title Track, an organization that focuses on youth empowerment, water protection, and racial justice. Holly also currently holds the position of Equal Justice Crime Advocate Fellow for Michigan Indian Legal Services, working closely with victims of crimes in Indian Country. She also has served both as a Tribal Judge and Tribal Supreme Court Justice since 2008. In this episode, she shares about her work on the frontline, including the time she spent at Standing Rock, and also discusses the importance of learning to take care of herself amid this strenuous, sometimes dangerous, work she does.
In this introductory episode for season 2, we introduce a new co-host to our show. Leora brings to the table a long history of working in the field of intergenerational healing. She tells us about her work, and she and co-host Matthew Cobb begin discussions on how they are going to create a space for authentic conversation for this season of Native American guests spanning several vocational fields.
Listen here.
Season 1
The Rev. Matt McWaters is chairperson of the finance committee that recommended to the Northeastern Minnesota Synod Council of the ELCA to offer reparations to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Our host, Dr. Rev'd Matthew Cobb, asks Pastor McWaters about the motivating factors behind that decision and what it felt like in the room when that decision was made. They also delve into the theological basis behind offering reparations, and how Pastor McWaters' enthusiasm for this decision is informed by a deep connection to both land and scripture that he has experienced throughout his life.
If we are looking at repairing our relationships, what do we do with Thanksgiving? How does the holiday's popular mythology obscure the realities of our history, and how do these misleading myths get in the way of connecting with one another and our Creator? Host Matt Cobb gets into this subject with Kevin Kot, Ojibwe elder and member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Kevin is also the American Indian Education Coordinator for the Carlton School District in Minnesota. Kevin shares some of the harmful aspects of the Thanksgiving Myth, which he shares with his students and how he directs them to start thinking about American history in more accurate ways. Matt and Kevin also talk about how different interpretations of the Christian faith can both negatively or positively impact how settlers and Native Americans can live together.
In the wake of our last episode, Thanksgiving: An Autopsy, we’ve observed an uptick in the number of heated conversations within some of our ELCA congregations. Specifically, we’ve encountered a lot of questions and debates around politics and how we reckon with our role as members of a nation-state while also being members of the Body of Christ. Conversations surrounding how these two identities inform one another and can be difficult and emotionally charged. They touch on some of the most tender areas in our souls related to how we think about ourselves, our family histories, and our relationships with our neighbors. When proceeding on this sacred ground, we want to walk gently and with caution so that we can relate to one another in a healing way rather than in a way that does further damage.
In this episode, three treaty experts–Dr. Joseph Bauerkemper, Samir Grover, and Professor Tadd Johnson–talk to us about the foundational issue of treaties. At the center of these treaties is the basic human relationship between the Native Americans and European settlers. The principle and foundation of these treaties are that they recognize that rights were granted to settlers by the Tribal Nations, not the other way around. When we talk about treaty violations, we also need to also talk about larger historical forces like the doctrine of discovery, manifest destiny, white supremacy, and progress. We will examine how these dogmas of Western Civilization help us understand how and why settler narratives often lack attention to the relationships spelled out by our treaties.
This episode of Broken Lands features a dialogue between two women residing in the Northeastern Minnesota region: Colleen Bernu, an Ojibwe woman, and Randi Alreck, a woman of Norwegian descent. They share about their respective cultural backgrounds, and how they have learned to live well together by standing on the common ground that they share. By common ground, we mean both the literal ground of Northeastern Minnesota and the narrative ground of their common faith tradition of Christianity. They talk about how their relationship to the land and to their faith has helped them to learn to coexist within the diversity of their experience. We believe this can serve as a case study in how settlers and Native Americans can start to live together. Listen now or read transcript here.
This episode of Broken Lands features a dialogue between two women residing in the Northeastern Minnesota region: Colleen Bernu, an Ojibwe woman, and Randi Alreck, a woman of Norwegian descent. They share about their respective cultural backgrounds, and how they have learned to live well together by standing on the common ground that they share. By common ground, we mean both the literal ground of Northeastern Minnesota and the narrative ground of their common faith tradition of Christianity. They talk about how their relationship to the land and to their faith has helped them to learn to coexist within the diversity of their experience. We believe this can serve as a case study in how settlers and Native Americans can start to live together. Listen now or read transcript here.