Leah is a radio and podcast host/producer, singer/songwriter, and citizen of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Her work revolves around sound/music/voice and community story-sharing, with the mission to Amplify Native Voices. She currently lives in Grand Rapids, MN, with her husband, young son, and country dog.
She has spent sixteen years working in radio (and longer in audio & music) – engineering, producing, reporting, hosting, and learning from the best.
In the media:
- Subtitle || How the Ojibwe language survived the pandemic (Ojibwe language resiliency)
- MPR’s Minnesota NOW || For one ‘non-outdoorsy’ Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe member, a solo backpacking trip on the North Shore is surprising, scary and spiritual
- MPR || In Focus: Sustainability in Indian Country
- Spirits Podcast || Episode 258: Paul Bunyan and Indigenous Traditions (with Leah Lemm)
- (We’re joined by Leah Lemm, who shares with us growing up with Paul Bunyan stories, how he became a villain in her eyes, and how to honor history without making things up.)
- Pioneer Press || ThreeSixty Journalism: Podcast highlights Indigenous stories
- Slice of MIT || A Voice for Native Voices
- Interview with MN Humanities Center || Live Episode: The Watershed Podcast
Links to Leah’s recent work:
(past reporter, AMPERS)
(co-host) A year of conversations celebrating Indigenous wisdom.
More links to work examples:
Native Governance Center || NGC Resources (Voice Work)
Arts Midwest || Community Creativity Conversations (Interviews and written work)
Interview: Pangea World Theater Reimagines Forward
Interview: All About the Rural Communities Equity Action Guide
Interview: Thunder Valley CDC Grounds in Lakota Lifeways
Education:
Leah received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing/Poetry from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. Leah is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA where she holds a Bachelors of Science in Economics and a Minor in Writing. She has a Professional Diploma in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where her principle instrument was Voice. She also studied documentary-making at Duke Center for Documentary Studies. Leah was in the Spring 2021 cohort of the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism (highly recommend!).
Leah Lemm 