- Boozhoo, I'm Rita Karppinen, your host for PBS North's "Native Report."

Miigwech for tuning in for the 19th season.

From the reintroduction of bison into Indigenous communities, to new legislation providing a unique opportunity, this episode of "Native Report" explores how some Minnesota Indigenous communities are building a legacy.

Plus, we see some of the nation's best stickball players gathered for a community led tournament.

All this and more on tonight's episode of "Native Report."

- [Narrator] Production for native report is made possible by grants from the Blandin Foundation.

The generous support from viewers like Jack and Sharon Kemp, and viewers like you.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) - 2023 was a big year for Minnesota, as legislation passed making recreational marijuana legal statewide.

Dispensaries can't open until the state figures out a licensing system for businesses.

However, tribal governments are sovereign entities, and don't have to wait for those licensing systems to open their doors.

White Earth Nation is one of the first to begin selling recreational cannabis.

The "Native Report" team had the chance to speak with the general manager of the dispensary to see how business is impacting the community in the first year.

(gentle guitar music) (pleasant music) - You know, this is kind of a right, if you will.

You know, it's a plant, and they've been regulating this plant so that people had a really tough time getting it.

Now they can get it anytime they want.

My name is Alexander Oxendine.

I am the general manager here at Waabigwan Mashkiki.

When we first started selling out of this dispensary, it was August first, and that was medicinal.

It was steady but slow, and it was interesting to see the people coming in, right?

So, August second comes, medicinal again, and then we had word that we're going adult use the following day.

There was a huge sense of urgency, and the ball got rolling, and so with working with us and the commission, we got everything done, and at about 10:30 on the third, we were awarded our license through the commission, and I came out here, and showed that we are open for adult use on the reservation.

And people just started flowing from that point on.

By being wholly owned by White Earth Nation, we abide by the tribal preference hiring policy.

And so, 90 plus percent of our employees are tribal members.

And so, it is really a community effort.

Now, eventually, we want to be up to 75, 100 employees.

Right now, we're probably about 27 employees.

So far, you know, anyone that comes is just amazed.

You know, it's often said that I've been waiting 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years for this.

They've been having to buy illegal weed forever.

You know, all this stuff.

And it's quite amazing.

(gavel banging) Through legislation, through lobbying, and through negotiation efforts, this was fought for, the right to be able to sell medicine.

And I think it shows that this was a huge, huge win, if you can call it a win, for the tribes of Minnesota to be able to go early.

One of the issues, and I look at it like, it's like a double-edged sword.

Only two tribes are growing now, and there's 11 tribes in the state.

We have a 29,500 square foot facility.

It can encompass full vertical integration, but with the demand of the current Minnesota market, we're looking at just growing flower, currently.

I believe the facility's been, was built as a chip factory in 2009.

Not one chip was ever made, because of some issues, and it was converted to this three years ago, and it started growing about six and a half months ago.

So this is our R&D phase, so we've had three harvests, and we have two more in the ground.

So that'll be a total of five harvests in about three months, we'll complete five harvests.

So it's still definitely fairly new.

I mean, when you start a room, it takes at least three full turns, and full harvests to kind of understand the characteristics of the room.

And that's because, you know, you could have the same builder, same building, two rooms exactly the same size, same equipment, but there's small nuances that cause different conditions, and so you have to adjust for that.

So, but we've been very successful, and I think that my growing style, with the implementation with an amazing team, just makes this building work.

We only grow our own product for two reasons.

One, that's we're in control of that, and we know what goes into it, all inputs.

Two, we are bound by our tribal regulatory commission, and it states that we have to grow all our own product.

We can't take product from others.

Now, eventually we could, if we wanted to, take product from other tribes, and when it goes legal in the state, if we wanted to, we could take from state operators, but we are the best flower in Minnesota.

You know, I was born and raised in California, and I cut my teeth out there.

And so, bringing that knowledge out to here, and growing kind of California level cannabis, if you will, we're the best in the state currently, and we're only only gonna get better, so.

At this time, a little over 2/3 is being used at the facility, and we have about 12,000 square feet that we can expand on.

You gotta be in tune with the plants, you gotta have a connection with the plants, and that kind of, that kind of connection, that kind of IP is not duplicatable without going 10, 15, 20 years of that style of growing.

So, what we wanted to do is keep it mindless, right?

So, people have seen the smoke shops, or the, Las Vegas, California style cannabis shops or dispensaries that have 1,000 products.

And what it comes down to is, we don't make those products.

We don't, you know, we want to keep it very simple.

And so they, there was a test done that when they have multiple, multiple products, it's 15 to 20 minutes per transaction.

And if you just have bud, and maybe shirts, then it gets all the way down to four and three minutes per transaction.

So, we kind of wanted it to be simple.

So if we look at, if we look at White Earth Nation three to five years down the line, ideally, we would be fully vertically integrated, top to bottom with extraction, infusion, topicals, flower, concentrates, at a very high level.

Now, the the thing with me is when I get involved doing a project, I only want the best, I want the best product.

So, it's my job currently, and it has been my job to make sure we have the best flower, right?

I'm the general manager, but with a growing background, cultivation background.

So I make sure that the quality is there.

Having only three harvests so far, it's just gonna keep getting better, and better, and better.

I mean, you don't get better overnight.

And so, being this good with only three harvests, very, very promising.

And so, three to five years down the road, this logo should be synonymous with quality.

- It certainly is interesting to weigh the impacts of a Native grown and distributed substance.

Again, White Earth was one of the first two reservations to begin selling recreational marijuana in the state, and are serving as models for other reservations interested in opening a shop of their own.

For updates on what reservations are planning on establishing cannabis programs near you, make sure to follow "Native Report" on Facebook and Instagram.

(upbeat music) - My friend Virgie asked me to talk about Parkinson's disease.

I remember a neighbor of my Finnish grandparents with severe symptoms when I was very young.

His wife had to feed him, because he couldn't hold a spoon.

According to the Michael J.

Fox Foundation, six million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease affects the nervous system, and tends to get worse with time.

Symptoms start slowly, and can be a barely noticeable tremor in one hand.

Other symptoms are slowing, or stiffness with movement.

Parkinson's causes a gradual loss of the nerve cells that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in movement and coordination.

The cardinal symptoms are a resting tremor, generalized slowing of movement, and stiffness in the limbs.

Other signs can include small handwriting, decreased facial expressions, difficulty swallowing, and soft speech.

With progression of the disease, postural instability develops, resulting in a slow, shuffling gait that can result in falls.

Neurotransmitters other than dopamine may be involved, and can cause lightheadedness, constipation, dementia, and sleep disorders, muscle cramps, loss of sense of smell, depression, and sometimes difficulty with making decisions can be seen early in the disease.

Parkinson's disease happens mostly in people over age 50, but can happen earlier.

Men are at higher risk than women.

The actual cause is not known.

There are no diagnostic scans, and few blood tests are helpful, except for ruling out other diseases.

Diagnosis is based on slowness, stiffness, and resting tremor.

Living well with Parkinson's disease includes having a good medical provider, and should include a neurologist who is familiar with movement disorders.

Reducing stress, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and good sleep habits are essential.

There is currently lots of research being done to advance diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Medications include carbidopa levodopa combinations.

After years of treatment, the benefit of levodopa might lessen, or have a tendency to wax and wane.

The medication could also cause unwanted involuntary movements, and dose adjustments may be needed.

There are multiple other medications that are used if carbidopa levodopa isn't working.

There are some surgical procedures, including deep brain stimulation and MRI guided ultrasound that can also be considered.

As always, talk to your healthcare provider to help you make your best decisions, and remember to call an elder.

They've been waiting for your call.

I'm Dr. Arnie Vainio, and this is Health Matters.

(upbeat music) - Prior to European contact in the late 1800s, estimates show there were between 30 and 60 million bison roaming North America.

But by the turn of the century, there were only about 500 remaining.

The Dakota people have always shared a very special connection with their bison relatives.

In 1992, the Lakota Nation of South Dakota gifted the Prairie Island Indian Community a bull named Shooting Star.

The "Native Report" team had the chance to visit Prairie Island, and learn more about the Edwin Buck Jr. Memorial Buffalo Project.

(gentle guitar music) (no audio) - As we look at our 10,000 year relationship with our relatives, the pte oyate, the Buffalo Nation, here in Minnesota, they have taken care of us spiritually, culturally, nutritionally.

And then in 1492, we have colonizers starting to come, and establish a place here in North America where that really started to change things for both our buffalo relatives and ourselves.

And by the time we get to the 1900s, where we went from 60 million bison, and anywhere between 18 and 25 million Indian people in North America, through that hardship of over 300 years, we're down to 850 bison, and under a quarter of a million of our people.

So as time goes on, we start to have our relatives coming back to their homelands here in Minnesota.

As our communities started to grow, and started to have some financial success, we continued to help out other tribal communities.

One of those tribal communities was the Oglala Nation in South Dakota.

They gifted us a six-year-old bull.

Our elders kept him, brought our relative back home here to Prairie Island.

A few years later, we have purchased some cows, and it wasn't long after, our herds started to grow.

- For me, this project is like part of my heart.

It's named after my father, the Edwin Buck Jr. Buffalo Pasture.

He was a Vietnam vet who went airborne, and was disabled in the Vietnam War.

It's really important for people to understand the importance of the animal itself.

They are a relative.

We have a different view of the world than the Western society.

We see everything as our relatives.

The earth, the land, the sky, the water, the trees, the plants, all animals, all four-legged, two-leggeds, they're all our relatives.

And when you view things in that manner, you tend to treat them better than if it's just a a tree, or if it's just a buffalo.

And we respect the buffalo, and that's why I'm so thankful that Austin's involved with the project as well, because there's also that cultural side to it.

And that's an important piece that we have to remember.

- What they mean to us as Dakota people, and our relationship, that starts with our ceremony.

If you look at the sweat lodge that's out there, there's a buffalo skull there.

If you go to our Sun Dance ceremony, there's buffalo skulls.

People pierce with them.

People who go up on vision quest often bring them to their altars.

So there's a huge spiritual connection.

They look after us.

It's everything that they provide for us.

The significance of the buffalo kill ceremony comes down to honoring that relative, and making use of it as a whole.

We speak on the harvest, and how much meat that brings as far as production-wise, but the importance is trying to bring that ceremony back so that we can use that whole relative.

I feel like they give so much, it's only right that I use that term relative with them.

- So, we have several pastures, and 300 head.

As our numbers grew, and we talk about carrying capacity, herd health, all of those things that play into really continuing to take care of our relatives, we make sure that all of their mineral needs are met.

They get a full checkup to make sure they're healthy, and that all of their genetic needs are met.

Over the years, developed best practices for our, and we know there are several now in Minnesota that are bringing their relatives back home, and some already have them.

We have really been kind of that resource so other tribal environmental departments can come here, and really taking a look at what we have achieved here.

A balance of both our cultural and traditional needs that we have with our relatives, and also the animal husbandry, really the agricultural side, too.

So, we've shared many things about how passionate, and really committed that the Prairie Island Community has been to education over the years.

It really is about trying to address the absentee narrative in the school district, where our culture, our history, our language is not seen or taught.

But really to have our relatives here, we have really used that as Indian education for all.

This year, we are gonna have over 4,000 school kids, and teachers, tribal education departments, superintendents, school board members, all come out to really engage educators in sharing our knowledge of who we are, and our cultural values, so that our kids can see that in a class setting.

And the cool part of it is if all your classmates come out here, and they're a part of that, now we have built that bridge that never existed before, that they are able to share in the classroom.

A group of Indian ed students come out with a number of non-Indian teachers, and a couple of the young boys brought hand drums.

As we drove out into the pasture, the herd was on the other end of the pasture.

And as we stopped, those young boys started to sing an appropriate song.

The bison herd all looked up, and then didn't run, but kind of danced past the whole group.

And when the boys were done with the second verse, and started with that third lead, they then turn, and then danced past us again.

It really was powerful in the sense that when we talk about the difference between a Western perspective, and our Indigenous perspective, and the value that we put on our relatives, how important they are to us, I think those non-Indian teachers, when they went back to their classrooms, really, really had so much to share and engage with, to really then for who we are to be a part of that classroom.

- Prairie Island Indian Community has proved to be a strong model for other reservations, or communities hoping to reintroduce, revitalize, and educate people on their buffalo relatives.

If you'd like to learn more about the Edwin Buck Jr. Buffalo Project, or the history of the buffalo, check out their website at prairieisland.org.

Have you ever heard of baaga'adowewin?

How about stickball?

Well, for those who might not know, stickball actually originated from Native American tribes.

This past summer, the "Native Report" team and myself gathered in Fond du Lac with some of the nation's best stickball players to share their heritage with the community through the love of the game.

Check this out.

(gentle guitar music) (drums booming) (people whooping) (people shouting) - My name is Naawakwe, I come from the Eagle Clan.

I was born and raised here, right here in the land of the Bald Head Island, which is the Cloquet District of the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation.

I'm one of many people who support this thing that we call baaga'adowewin, and it's part of our way of life.

And our goal is to make it a part of our community, make it be something that people know they can go to, something they can enjoy.

They can enjoy watching it, or they can enjoy playing it.

But we do it for the community, and we do it for all of our elders, and the people who kept this game alive.

(people shouting) (lively music) - [Player] Pass, pass, pass, pass!

- [Player] Fire!

(people shouting) - I've been playing the stick game for about two years, I think?

I would say the hardest thing about the game is probably learning all the basics.

The blue pole, and the white pole, they're on different sides, and it's east and west.

You're the team that's on the east is trying to go to the west, and the team that's on the west is trying to go to the east to score.

The way you score is by throwing the ball, hitting the pole, or by using your stick, and touching the ball with it when it's in your stick, on the pole.

After we score, we get a gift, and we go give it to somebody.

My favorite thing is probably just going out there and playing, and just giving it your all.

It's a really fun game, and it's a way to make a connection to your culture.

(people shouting) (lively music) - The last year, it's became much more front and center for us.

I have to thank Wazhashk, you know, Tom Howes.

He's a master stick maker, and has put so many sticks and things out into the community.

Done so many other workshops.

We began to develop curriculum, or vocabulary for the words for the game, and the items that we play and everything.

We do it so that people come out, and enjoy themselves.

And we just started to say, you know, let's do this thing called Gigibaaga'adowewin.

It means to carry the game with you, both within you, in your mind and your heart, and also carry along the items that we utilize to play.

(people shouting) (gentle guitar music) - [Spectator] Scuffling for it on the ground.

(lively music) (people cheering) - I've been playing traditional for, I think around seven years, and then shortly after that, I started playing modern.

The modern version of lacrosse, it's basically using wooden sticks, but it's a whole different meaning.

It's not always about the win, or there's barely any score points, but rather, it's just all about healing.

So basically, it's all about community.

Anytime we play this game, this game is believed to be gifted to us by the Creator, and that's almost shared in any tribe who plays lacrosse, and because of that, we always play for others around us, whether they're just watching, or they're not even with us at that space.

It's all about bringing in the community together, and everyone being mindful, and having fun, and happy energy around, too.

And gifting can also share a thanks to whatever role you're doing, whether that's playing, or just watching.

(dramatic music) Playing this sport, I was fearful, because I've always been discriminated against, like my teammates and even my coaches for playing volleyball or basketball.

So, being able to learn the game lacrosse, especially the traditional game, it really changed my mindset.

And I don't know where I would be at without this game.

If you wanna learn more about the traditional game of lacrosse, ask anyone in the areas that's had that experience to play, or even the land, read about it.

It's not ever shared, or broadcasted in any other big screens, or even pro lacrosse, barely.

So, just ask around, and be mindful about the Creator's game.

(people shouting) - What a great way to build community, and have all of our values, and everything included in, in this thing that we call baaga'adowewin.

And so, we do it for the betterment of the community.

And so we do that so that hopefully the people who come and play, young children, all the way up to elders, carry those things within us, all throughout our life.

Not just while we play, but also throughout our life.

We might call it a game, but it's really our way of life.

And that's why we use our tobacco when we start.

That's why we sing, and we dance, and we do all of these things.

We tell the legend of where it comes from, so that we understand the great gift we were given.

And then we go out, and show our love and respect for it.

This is baaga'adowewin, and it's ours, and we can play it the way we were given to play it, and enjoy it, and just love it like that.

(lively music) (people cheering) - The day was jam packed with fun, food, and friends.

It was so amazing to see the different age ranges all playing together, and learning from one another.

There are a lot of opportunities to participate in stickball games.

If you're interested in learning what kind of opportunities are near you, reach out to your local tribe, and get involved.

If you missed a show, or wanna catch up online, find us at nativereport.org, and don't forget to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for behind the scene updates.

Drop a comment on social media if you enjoyed the show.

Thanks for spending time with your friends and neighbors from across Indian Country.

I'm Rita Karppinen.

We'll see you next time on "Native Report."

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (soothing music)