Sacred Water
By Diane Wilson ● 2022
The Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires, which includes the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota peoples, carry an origin story that teaches the sacred nature of water. This relationship is embedded
Rondo Avenue: The Rhythm of Life
By Dr. Margaret Ponder Lovejoy, EdD ● 2022
Rondo Avenue moved. The main artery gave life, commitment, and courage to the community. Everything on wheels—bicycles, cars, streetcars, and trucks—used Rondo Avenue. The activity was constant. The energy was
Animal Economics
By Eric Wilkinson ● 2022
How do we quantify the cost of an animal’s life under the shadow of our current economy? As the global COVID-19 pandemic dissipates, it seems clear that America’s reckoning with
Big Lake Smelt Don’t Lie
By Robert Hale ● 2022
It’s early spring on Lake Superior. The Big Lake has shed its ice, and the April sun has warmed the waters to a temp of 38F. Rainbow Smelt begin to
MAL-UNION
By Meckenna Holman ● 2022
CONTENT WARNING: Implications of domestic violence The bone had healed wrong, or so the doctor said. I’d squinted real hard at the x-ray and couldn’t see what he saw.
Interlude with Cadaver Seeking Dogs
By Isadora Gruye ● 2022
There was a villa in southern France where a billionaire went missing. He just disappeared one summer evening while out for a walk. His private jet missed him terribly. His
Caretakers
By C.M. Finch ● 2022
Charlie’s enthusiasm was infectious as he showed me around his living space. My living space now, I supposed, as room had been made for me here. The entryway was bright
Gifts of the Superior Hiking Trail – The Dragonfly
By Mikkel Beckmen ● 2022
“Flora or Fauna, we are all shapeshifters and magical re-inventors. Life is really a plural noun, a caravan of selves.” – Diane Ackerman Mid-way along my thru hike of the
School of big and small
By Didi Koka ● 2022
It has been an occasional evening routine to watch a nature program. It is a nod to the bigness of world and a balm to how little seems to get
Isaac’s Blessing Bags
By Tanaǧidaŋ To Wiŋ ● 2022
When we left our quiet townhome in Inver Grove Heights to move to our first home on the Eastside, as a mother of two young men I was extremely nervous.
Art by Demont Peekaso Pinder
Survive These Evil Fates
By Valerie Castile ● 2019
Children are a gift from God, a small, innocent replica of ourselves. Our job as parents is to love, nurture, protect, and teach, to bring forth the great qualities of
Art by Ta-coumba Aiken
William Taylor, First Fiddler of Minnesota
By John Heine ● 2019
Who led a band in the Minnesota Territory known as “the favorite of the dancing public”? A Saint Paul resident, barber, and Black man by the name of William Taylor.