>> CATHY: A BOOK FILLED WITH STORIES ABOUT THE UPPER SIOUX COMMUNITIES IN MINNESOTA IS MAKING ITS WAY INTO CLASSROOMS ACROSS THE STATE THIS FALL.

IT'S PART OF THE "NATIVE ONE-READ PROGRAM" STARTED LAST YEAR.

THE SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY IS DONATING 20,000 COPIES OF "VOICES FROM PEJUHUTAZIZI: DAKOTA STORIES AND STORYTELLERS" TO HONOR NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH.

HERE WITH MORE ABOUT THE BOOK AND THE ONE-READ PROGRAM, CO-AUTHOR TERESA PETERSON.

SHE COLLABORATED WITH HER UNCLE ON THE COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES.

HERE TOO, REBECCA CROOKS-STRATTON, SECRETARY-TREASURER OF THE SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY.

OH, MY GOSH, IT'S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU BOTH HERE.

TERRESA, NICE WORK, BY THE WAY.

I REMEMBER AS A KID, I'M TALKING ABOUT UNIOR HIGH HERE, I DID A SCHOOL REPORT, WHEN YOU HAD TO PICK A TRIBE AND WRITE ABOUT THEM.

BUT IT WAS ALWAYS IN THE PAST TENSE.

YOU KNOW?

WHAT ABOUT THAT?

WHAT DOES THAT SAY TO YOU?

>> RIGHT.

THAT WE WERE RELEGATED TO THE PAST AND THAT WE WERE INVISIBLE AND JUST HAD A LOT OF INACCURATE STORIES.

I OFTEN, TOO, REMEMBER THAT GREAT BIG HEAVY TEXTBOOK AND THERE WOULD BE A LITTLE BOX THAT WOULD DESCRIBE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME TRIBE WAY IN THE PAST.

>> YEAH.

>> Cathy: AND, SO, THIS ACTUALLY IS KIND OF MORE LIVING HISTORY, RIGHT?

>> UM-HUM.

YEAH, THE BOOK ITSELF GOES OVER FIVE GENERATIONS AND STORIES THROUGHOUT OUR -- WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR FAMILY.

BUT IT DOES REALLY LIFT UP A LOT OF AREAS AROUND OUR VALUES, OUR TRADITIONS, CONTEMPORARY AREAS, OUR OWN HEROES, THOSE THINGS THAT YOU WOULDN'T HEAR IN CLASSROOMS.

>> Eric: 20,000 BOOKS DONATED.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THIS?

>> 20,000 COPIES.

AS PART OF THE UNDERSTAND NATIVE MINNESOTA CAMPAIGN, THIS ONE-READ IS AN INITIATIVE OF THAT CAMPAIGN.

SO REALLY WORKING TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE IN MINNESOTA'S K-12 SCHOOLS Y PROVIDING A MORE ACCURATE UP-TO-DATE PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATIVE ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

SO WHEN WE DECIDED TO DO THE ONE-READ, THIS BOOK REALLY CHECKED ALL THE BOXES, YOU KNOW.

IT HAD THE MODERN PERSPECTIVE, IT TOLD THE FAMILY STORIES, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, READABLE BY A VARIETY OF AGES AND AGE GROUPS.

SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST A WONDERFUL WAY TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE OF WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT NATIVE PEOPLE HERE IN MINNESOTA.

>> Cathy: HOW FUN WAS IT TO WORK WITH YOUR UNCLE ON THIS?

>> WELL, IF ANYBODY KNOWS BY UNCLE SUPER, WHO'S FONDLY KNOWN AS SUPER, EVERYBODY WOULD KNOW THAT HE WAS A LOT OF FUN TO WORK WITH AND, YEAH, HE CONTINUES TO BE A LOT OF FUN TO GO OUT IN COMMUNITY AND SHARE THESE STORIES.

>> Cathy: I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT A LOT OF FAMILIES DON'T WRITE THEIR STORIES DOWN, RIGHT?

YOU HEAR THEM, YOU'RE LIKE, YEAH, THAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING, THEN YOU KIND OF FORGET ABOUT IT.

I MEAN, THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO WRITE THESE DOWN.

>> YEAH, IT ACTUALLY REALLY STARTED FROM THIS LITTLE PIECE.

MY REAT GRANDPA, FRED, WROTE A LETTER TO HIS DAUGHTERS AND SAID, THIS IS WHO YOUR GRANDMOTHER, THIS IS HER STORY, THIS IS HER IFE, AND THEN HE WROTE DOWN ALL THESE STORIES HE HAD HEARD FROM ELDERS AT THE TIME.

AND MY RANDMA'S SISTER WROTE -- SELF-PUBLISHED THIS BOOK, AND MY MOM GAVE THIS TO ME WHEN I WENT OFF TO COLLEGE, AND I DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, PAY ATTENTION TO IT UNTIL YEARS LATER, AND THEN REALLY DISCOVERED, LIKE, WOW, THIS IS WHO I COME FROM, AND IT REALLY MEANT A LOT O ME.

IT MADE ME FEEL MORE CONNECTED TO ME AS A DAKOTA PERSON, AND WANTED TO LEARN MORE.

AND, SO, THAT WAS THE I AM IMPETUS FOR THE BOOK.

>> ric: WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK ARE YOU GETTING FROM TEACHERS AND PARENTS?

>> YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN MET WITH JUST A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM AROUND THE CAMPAIGN AS A WHOLE, BUT ESPECIALLY THE ONE-READ PROJECT.

WHEN WE RELEASED THE REQUEST FORM OR ONE-READ, WE GAVE AWAY 10,000 COPIES IN LESS THAN SIX HOURS.

SO WE'VE GOT 20,000 COPIES OF THIS BOOK IN OVER 800 SCHOOLS ACROSS THE STATE AND, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO THE BOOK, WE'VE GOT THIS WONDERFUL TEACHER'S GUIDE THAT REALLY MAKES IT EASY FOR TEACHERS TO ALIGN THIS BOOK WITH STANDARDS IN THE CLASSROOM AND WE KIND OF DID ALL THE WORK FOR THEM.

SO THIS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE.

>> Cathy: HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO THE -- I WAS TRYING TO REMEMBER, I THINK IT WAS LAST YEAR, THERE WAS TALK ABOUT IMPROVING STATEWIDE URRICULA FOR NATIVE STUDIES.

HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO THAT?

>> I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE COMPONENTS.

LIKE PROVIDING RESOURCES THAT TEACHERS CAN USE IN THE CLASSROOM.

YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY SAID, WE NEED RESOURCES THAT ARE VETTED, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALIGN WITH THE STANDARDS AND ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE NEW STANDARDS THAT ARE OUT, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE CRITICAL COMPONENTS FOR TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO USE IN THEIR CLASSROOM.

>> Eric: LOOKING AT THE BOOK, I WAS INTRIGUED BY THE PUSH TO HAVE INDIAN NAMES CHANGED TO WHAT, I GUESS, ANGLO NAMES?

>> YEAH, THERE WAS I -- AN ERA WHERE THAT HAPPENED, SO SOME OF THAT HISTORY IS SHARED THERE.

OF COURSE, YOU SAW THROUGHOUT THE BOOK, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL NAMES THAT ARE SHARED THROUGHOUT, THE DAKOTA NAMES, YEAH.

>> Eric: YOU TALK ABOUT A SENSE OF BELONGING.

>> HUM.

>> Eric: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT?

>> WELL, WHEN WE ONLY HEAR ONE VERSION OF HISTORY, SOMETIMES WE HAVE A HARD TIME CONNECTING TO THAT.

AND WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO KNOW OR BE ABLE TO SHARE IS THAT WE ALL HAVE A PERSPECTIVE, WE ALL HAVE A STORY AND OUR STORY MATTERS.

SO THAT, I THINK, IS, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE PEACE AROUND THIS THAT'S SO HELPFUL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, THEY CAN MAKE A CONNECTION TO THIS.

I MEAN, JUST THINK OF THE TIMES WHEN YOU'VE LISTENED TO A STORY, YOU'RE LIKE, OH, I HAVE SOMETHING REALLY SIMILAR, AND, SO, YOU HAVE A CONNECTION, YOU START BUILDING AN UNDERSTANDING, AND THEN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR STORY DOES MATTER AND YOU HAVE A SENSE OF BELONGING.

>> Cathy: THESE ARE DAKOTA STORIES.

I'M WONDERING ABOUT OTHER NATIVE COMMUNITIES IN MINNESOTA, OJIBWE COMMUNITIES, HAVE YOU HEARD FEEDBACK, MAYBE, FROM THEM THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR AT ALL?

>> YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING, I ASSUME THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE.

BUT IN THIS TEACHER'S GUIDE, THERE ARE A LOT OF SIDE BAR RESOURCES AND WE DID POINT TO SOME OJIBWE STORIES AND BOOKS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO HE ONE TERRESA AND SUPER WROTE.

>> Eric: HOW DO FOLKS GET AHOLD OF THE MATERIAL?

>> UNDERSTAND NATIVE MINNESOTA WEBSITE, IT'S UNDERSTANDNATIVEMN.ORG.

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE TEACHER'S GUIDE THERE.

IT'S GOT ALL KINDS OF GREAT LINKS.

THE BOOKS WE'VE GIVEN AWAY.

SO I'D SAY THEY JUST GOT TO PURCHASE THE BOOKS IF THEY WANT.

>> Cathy: THERE'S GOT TO BE ANOTHER ELECTION NEXT YEAR, RIGHT?

>> WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLANS RIGHT NOW.

>> Cathy: OH, OKAY.

BECAUSE YOU'RE ON A ROLL HERE.

YEAH, GO AHEAD.

>> I WAS JUST GOING TO SHARE, PEOPLE STILL CAN REACH OUT TO THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESS.

IN ACT, SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS, THERE IS A DISCOUNT IF THEY REACH OUT TO THEM.

>> Cathy: I CAN HEAR THIS ALSO IN AUDIO FORM OR VIDEO FORM.

YOU KNOW, THIS COULD BE KIND OF INTERESTING IN TERMS OF MAYBE SOME OTHER CONTENT.

I BET YOUR UNCLE WOULD LOVE THAT.

>> I'M SURE HE WOULD.