Talking Sexual Health
08/11/20 • 4 min
Marie: This is Minnesota Native News, I’m Marie Rock.
Last month, the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis had a virtual watch party on social media, bringing together viewers to see what community members are saying about sexual health and and related topics, including why it’s difficult to talk about sex.
We’ll hear more about how the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis works with the community to talk about sexual health.
But first... the US Census is well on its way, collecting information from citizens across the country... And, there’s still time to fill out the Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau has extended the 2020 census deadline to September 30th due to the pandemic.
Here’s reporter Leah Lemm with these stories.
STORY #1: CENSUS REMINDER WITH IHS DANIEL FRYE
REPORTER: The Indian Health Service is a critical program.... Of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services... providing healthcare to American Indian/Alaskan Natives nationwide.
The Indian Health Service or I-H-S uses Census data to plan its programs... and to determine funding formulas and more.
But, when it comes to Native representation in the US, the trend has always been under-representation, which has negatively affected many areas including: Native visibility, political clout, reservation economic development.... and Federal funding allocation.
Daniel Frye is the Bemidji Area Director of the Indian Health Service:
Dennis Frye: As a Native American, I want to see us properly represented, that's a fact. So, you know, I was happy to fill out my census. And you know, there is urgency because there's always been either under-representation Racial misclassification in Indian country.
And all those things are tied to when Congress is looking at how we're going to appropriate dollars.
REPORTER: You can still respond to the census by phone, by mail, or online. More information can be found at 20-20 CENSUS DOT GOV.
Reporter: Next up... the challenge of reaching people with sexual health education.
STORY #2: INDIAN HEALTH BOARD OF MINNEAPOLIS SEXUAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Delilah Robb: (00:16) my name is Delilah Robb. I'm a community health educator at the Indian health board of Minneapolis and the Indian health board is a clinic that's located in the Phillips neighborhood. It's been there for almost 50 years.
Reporter: Delilah Robb is Turtle Mountain and her works revolve around educating all age groups about sexual health.
Delilah says that many parents and grandparents never received sexual health education.
Delilah Robb: (02:23) there's a long history of reproductive abuse against American Indian women. And that really is rooted from like forced sterilization. Um, so I really try to be mindful about like, let's just educate so our community can make their own informed decision.
(15:03) I’m American Indian myself, um, and growing up, I feel like I didn't have all the answers that I wanted, um, and I needed. Um, and I didn't even realize that I needed that information until I was in my twenties
REPORTER: The sexual health program is funded by the Minnesota Department of Health and strives to reduce STDs and unplanned pregnancies... and so much more.... Delilah talks about sexuality beyond those immediate issues, as well.
Delilah Robb: (04:57) when I try to describe what sexuality, um, is, is to people, I like people to think about a pie and we all have these different pieces of the pie and our sexuality is made up a lot of different things.
It's not just the physical aspect of ourselves. It's our, um, reproductive health, it's our body image. It is our sexual orientation. It's our gender identity. It's how we express love and affection. So I always try to like, get people to think about, um, sexuality in a more holistic way.
REPORTER: And through these aspects that are a part sexual health education, Delilah relates to culture and values....
Delilah: (07:52) our stories have, um, lots of are a story can have a lot of different types of lesson in it, lessons in it where it may not specifically be about sexual health, but there may be a lesson in there about treating each other with respect.
So those are the types of things that I, I would like to incorporate into the education that I do.
REPORTER: Delilah is open to answering questions. She can be reached by email at [email protected]. That’s DELILAH DOT ROBB @ indian health board DOT com.
For MN Native News, I’m Leah Lemm.
Marie: This is Minnesota Native News, I’m Marie Rock.
Last month, the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis had a virtual watch party on social media, bringing together viewers to see what community members are saying about sexual health and and related topics, including why it’s difficult to talk about sex.
We’ll hear more about how the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis works with the community to talk about sexual health.
But first... the US Census is well on its way, collecting information from citizens across the country... And, there’s still time to fill out the Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau has extended the 2020 census deadline to September 30th due to the pandemic.
Here’s reporter Leah Lemm with these stories.
STORY #1: CENSUS REMINDER WITH IHS DANIEL FRYE
REPORTER: The Indian Health Service is a critical program.... Of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services... providing healthcare to American Indian/Alaskan Natives nationwide.
The Indian Health Service or I-H-S uses Census data to plan its programs... and to determine funding formulas and more.
But, when it comes to Native representation in the US, the trend has always been under-representation, which has negatively affected many areas including: Native visibility, political clout, reservation economic development.... and Federal funding allocation.
Daniel Frye is the Bemidji Area Director of the Indian Health Service:
Dennis Frye: As a Native American, I want to see us properly represented, that's a fact. So, you know, I was happy to fill out my census. And you know, there is urgency because there's always been either under-representation Racial misclassification in Indian country.
And all those things are tied to when Congress is looking at how we're going to appropriate dollars.
REPORTER: You can still respond to the census by phone, by mail, or online. More information can be found at 20-20 CENSUS DOT GOV.
Reporter: Next up... the challenge of reaching people with sexual health education.
STORY #2: INDIAN HEALTH BOARD OF MINNEAPOLIS SEXUAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Delilah Robb: (00:16) my name is Delilah Robb. I'm a community health educator at the Indian health board of Minneapolis and the Indian health board is a clinic that's located in the Phillips neighborhood. It's been there for almost 50 years.
Reporter: Delilah Robb is Turtle Mountain and her works revolve around educating all age groups about sexual health.
Delilah says that many parents and grandparents never received sexual health education.
Delilah Robb: (02:23) there's a long history of reproductive abuse against American Indian women. And that really is rooted from like forced sterilization. Um, so I really try to be mindful about like, let's just educate so our community can make their own informed decision.
(15:03) I’m American Indian myself, um, and growing up, I feel like I didn't have all the answers that I wanted, um, and I needed. Um, and I didn't even realize that I needed that information until I was in my twenties
REPORTER: The sexual health program is funded by the Minnesota Department of Health and strives to reduce STDs and unplanned pregnancies... and so much more.... Delilah talks about sexuality beyond those immediate issues, as well.
Delilah Robb: (04:57) when I try to describe what sexuality, um, is, is to people, I like people to think about a pie and we all have these different pieces of the pie and our sexuality is made up a lot of different things.
It's not just the physical aspect of ourselves. It's our, um, reproductive health, it's our body image. It is our sexual orientation. It's our gender identity. It's how we express love and affection. So I always try to like, get people to think about, um, sexuality in a more holistic way.
REPORTER: And through these aspects that are a part sexual health education, Delilah relates to culture and values....
Delilah: (07:52) our stories have, um, lots of are a story can have a lot of different types of lesson in it, lessons in it where it may not specifically be about sexual health, but there may be a lesson in there about treating each other with respect.
So those are the types of things that I, I would like to incorporate into the education that I do.
REPORTER: Delilah is open to answering questions. She can be reached by email at [email protected]. That’s DELILAH DOT ROBB @ indian health board DOT com.
For MN Native News, I’m Leah Lemm.
Previous Episode
New Beginnings in Minneapolis
Headlines
Marie: This week on Minnesota Native News, new leadership at the M-I-W-R-C and plans for a new shelter in the Phillips neighborhood.
Story #1 Shelter
Marie: The Coronavirus pandemic has made a lot of problems worse, but one of the biggest is the housing crisis. That’s why the state, the city of Minneapolis, and Hennepin County are partnering with the American Indian Community Development Corporation to build a new shelter. A-I-C-D-C runs another culturally specific shelter, but it’s just for overnights. The new one will be different.
Mike Goze is the C-E-O of the A-I-C-D-C.
this will be a 24 hour facility. So people will, in fact, almost live there. We're hoping that people will get signed up for 30 days. And so they have a place that they can go to and as this as their apartment or their their home.
People will have to apply to live at the new shelter, and sign up for 30 days at a time.
we're putting in real beds, there'll be a locking wardrobe, and a chair for folks. We also are doing locking foot lockers. So there will be some storage for folks.
The shelter will replace a box factory that’s on the site now. That site is between Cedar and Hiawatha Avenues, just south of Franklin. It’s where the large encampment set up last year. The Red Lake Nation is building an affordable apartment building next door to where the new shelter will be.
for this part of the population, sometimes it's hard to go from homeless to an apartment without any steps in between, you know, and so we look at how we can get people into maybe a harm reduction type living situation, to help them stabilize to get into a position where they can have an apartment and meet all the expectations.
Both developments hope to open later in the fall.
Story #2 M-I-W-R-C
Marie: The Minneapolis Indian Women’s Resource Center has a new leader. Former executive director Patina Park is now director of Tribal State Relations. Reporter Laurie Stern has more about the woman who’s taking her place.
Marissa Miakonda Cummings is introducing herself in her language, Omaha,
Our language actually is both Algonquin and Souxian. So we have a long history and tradition of being connected and close to those two communities. So I feel very thankful to be welcomed into the Minneapolis area and what is now called the state of Minnesota.
Miakonda Cummings explains she is the oldest of seven siblings, the matriarch of her family since her parents passed away. She has four children, the youngest will be a senior in high school this fall.
My partner and I also have four little Omaha relatives ages 60 1—in our home.
Cummings is from Sioux City. She went to college at the University of Iowa and for a while, worked for the Omaha Tribe. She helped found the Office of Violence Against Women at the University of South DakotA, and became the director of Native American Student Services there.
There was one where students could merge both cultural identity into mainstream Western education. And I felt like that was so important for us to be able to make ribbon skirts and do programming around things that are important to our students culturally, as well as be able to, you know, learn about other things that you learn about in college. So we really had a strong network at the Native American cultural center there.
While at South Dakota, Cummings got her Master’s Degree in Tribal Administration from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. There she learned about nation and community building and about indigenous practices from sustainable food to healing from patriarchy in both the community and from colonialism. Now she can’t wait to put that experience to work.
I’m really excited to better understand the programming that they're doing. To meet the community. I mean, it's just kind of difficult in this time where normally we would do things around food and community building and interpersonal contact. And right now we kind of have to put that on hold for the safety of our community.
Cummings and her family moved to Minnesota at the beginning of August. She started her new job August 5th. For MNN I’m LS.
Next Episode
Prestigious McKnight Arts Award Goes to Anishinaabe Writer Marcie Rendon
[theme music]
This is Minnesota Native News I’m Marie Rock.
Anishinaabe writer Marcie Rendon has just been awarded the prestigious McKnight Distinguished Artist Award for 2020.
Rendon is a citizen of the White Earth Nation who lives in south Minneapolis. She is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, play write, author and poet.
The McKnight honor comes with 50-thousand dollars.
Reporter Melissa Townsend talked with Rendon about her work and the most recent recognition.
Marcie Rendon says she feels grateful, honored and humbled by the recognition.
RENDON: It was not something that I expected or even knew about - like it was totally not on my radar at all as a possibility.
And it was intended to be a surprise.
RENDON: Laurie Pourier of first People’s Fund had sent me an email asking me if I would do a Zoom meeting about my writing in the coming year. I said sure. So I signed on to the Zoom that day. And there were all the peoplle from the Twin Cities and Laurie and that’s how they told me and that’s when I burst in to tears. [laughter]. (:24)
Rendon is the first Native woman ever to win the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award which was first given in 1996.
She says she sees amazing Native women artists all across the state.
RENDON: And I might have even said it to the people on Zoom is I can think of a 100 other people who deserve this award. You know Laura Youngbird’s work, Wendy Savage, Karen Savage, you know that whole Savage family up in Fond du Lac. Sara Agaton Howes... I mean I could just go on naming names naming names. In arts and even in writing, women tend to always be thought of second - so I think we are the backbone of creativity in this region, in this landscape. (:32)
Rendon says she’s been writing poems and stories since she learned how to write.
In 1978 she moved from White Earth to Minneapolis to get a job to support her children.
The company she worked for went out of business but gave Rendon a year’s pay as severance.
She says that gave her the chance to do the three things she wanted - take care of her kids, sew and write.
She went on to get paid writing assignments for community newspapers and magazines and she landed couple of key writers programs where she was able to get the time and resources to dig in - [the Loft Inroads Writers Award for Natives and the Norcroft women’s writing retreat.]
One of her early mentors was the wonderful Anishinaabe writer Jim Northrop.
Like Northrop, Rendon’s work is primarily focused on Native people in the here and now.
RENDON: One of the things I’ve tried really hard to do in all of the work that I’ve done is to create a mirror. You know growing up there were no Native books where I could go and look and say oh, this is us - this is may family, this is who I am. And so really trying to create things where other Native pole can point and say this is us. (:19)
She points to David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s new crime thriller “Winter Count” and Angeline Boulley’s “Fire Keeper’s Daughter”.
RENDON: They are current day stories that are coming out that are not locked in the past. (:10)
Rendon has just finished a new play and is working on her third novel in the Cash Blackbear mystery series which is set in the Red River Valley.
On September 2nd she’s hosting a Facebook Live event where she’ll read from the second book and do a dramatic reenactment of a scene from the story.
It’s one of the ways Rendon is trying to connect with readers during the pandemic.
Rendon says she is humbled to receive this year’s McKnight Distinguished Artist Award.
RENDON: You know the word distinguished, That is certainly not a word I would use to describe myself or my work. I am always conscious of writing from my heart. (:17)
Perhaps she doesn’t think of herself as distinguished, but she says this does mark a milestone in her life.
RENDON: As a woman, as a writer, as an artist, I have to own what I’ve done and what I continue to do both for myself as an artist and then for the larger community. Holding a place for other native people and women - young people coming up - or even older women, because I’m certainly not young, you know. (:20)
Congratulations Marcie Rendon.
For Minnesota Native News, I’m Melissa Townsend.
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