Episodes

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...

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. Music by: Rick Mickey. Cover art by: Eli Yao ⁠@eli_yao_⁠

In our final episode of season 1, we are going to hear from two generations of Ojibwe women. Deacon Colleen Bernu (Director for Evangelical Mission and Synod Minister for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of ELCA) and also from her high school daughter, Johanna. They share with us about what living together well might look like. Specifically, they reflect on the significance of the Duluth Reparation payment, their perspective of living between worlds, and what ...

This episode 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 ho...

This is a special unabridged episode of Broken Lands for more advanced students of treaty rights and Indian Law. 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, n...

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 l...

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 ten...

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...

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. Matthew Cobb, asks Rev. 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 Rev. McWaters' enthusiasm for this decision is informed by a deep connecti...

Broken Lands is a series about reparations and honoring our treaties with Native Americans. Bringing together both settler and Indigenous voices, this series reflects on our shared history and possibilities of how we can begin to live well together here now and into the future.