Melissa Olson's profile photo

Melissa Olson

Minneapolis

Reporter of Native News at MPR News (Saint Paul, MN)

MPR Native News Reporter. Writer. Mixed-heritage Anishinaabekwe. Leech Lake & New Ulm. Minneapolitan. Brooklynite. Gopher & Violet. All opinions are my own.

Featured in: Favicon mprnews.org Favicon inforum.com Favicon duluthnewstribune.com Favicon postbulletin.com Favicon newsbreak.com Favicon wctrib.com Favicon grandforksherald.com Favicon brainerddispatch.com Favicon bemidjipioneer.com Favicon mitchellrepublic.com

Articles

  • Explainer: How the U of M system endowment, mining industry benefit from seized Indigenous land

    1 week ago | mprnews.org | Melissa Olson

    This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. There’s been increased attention in recent years to the parcels of land used to create and fund the University of Minnesota. The U.S. government gave the land to the state in the mid-1800s after taking it from tribal nations through treaties often signed under the threat of violence. The United States paid just pennies an acre for the land, but over the last 175 years it has generated more than $900 million for the university’s endowment.

  • U of M faculty accuse university leadership of censoring statements on war in Gaza

    3 weeks ago | inforum.com | Melissa Olson

    MINNEAPOLIS — Faculty members at the University of Minnesota are accusing university leaders of censorship after statements in support of Palestinians were removed from the websites of six U of M departments and centers. The U of M Twin Cities chapter of the American Association of University Professors said the statements were “suddenly and forcibly removed” on Saturday night from the sites within the College of Liberal Arts.

  • 20 years later, lives affected by the school shooting in Red Lake will be memorialized

    1 month ago | mprnews.org | Melissa Olson

    Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Missy Dodds placed a sweatshirt inside a plastic bag and tied on a name tag with a piece of red yarn. Dodds stood an arm’s length from Starr Jourdain, one of her former students. Together, they labeled and bagged t-shirts and hoodies on top of a folding table just inside an entrance to Red Lake High School.

  • Tribal leaders and state lawmakers come together for Sovereignty Day at the Capitol

    1 month ago | mprnews.org | Melissa Olson

    Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Monday, dozens of tribal leaders and state lawmakers came together at the Senate Building in St. Paul to build relationships and to talk about shared priorities.

  • Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming tribal casinos in Minnesota are running illegal games

    1 month ago | mprnews.org | Melissa Olson

    A federal district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by one of Minnesota’s horse racing tracks against executives who oversee five tribal casinos in the state. Running Aces, which operates a harness track in Columbus, claimed several Minnesota tribal gaming entities were operating card games in violation of state and federal gambling laws.

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Mizzy
Mizzy @Mizzilina
5 Nov 24

‘Long overdue’: Indigenous people in Minnesota react as Biden apologizes for federal boarding school policy https://t.co/Ny5tHvZT5f

Mizzy
Mizzy @Mizzilina
14 Oct 24

Steeped in Indigenous foodways, community and corn are key ingredients for one Minneapolis chef   https://t.co/TDDYEBJJIs

Mizzy
Mizzy @Mizzilina
14 Oct 24

'Finding Manoomin: A Search for the Spirit of Wild Rice' https://t.co/ltNDW9Ju8x