Lance Haavisto’s Gift for Sharing Native Stories on Television

Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine

Native Lights is a weekly, half-hour radio program hosted by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo. It's a space for people in Native communities around Mni Sota Mkoce -- a.k.a. Minnesota -- to tell their stories about finding their gifts and sharing them with the community.

On today’s show, we talk with Lance Haavisto, a direct decedent of M'Chigeeng First Nation, and the Lead Videographer/Editor for Native Report at WDSE-TV. Lance earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Production from Northern Michigan University and has started working on his Master's in Communication from the University of Wisconsin Superior.

Lance Haavisto loves sharing stories on the PBS magazine-style series, Native Report, where he fulfills a childhood dream of working in television. As the lead videographer and editor, Lance works closely with all the members of the production team, making critical decisions about what goes on the air.

It was great to chat with a fellow media maker and inspiring to hear how Lance continually looks for new and innovative ways to present stories, especially those of our Native relatives.

Check out many thoughtful and wonderful stories shared on Native Report, now in its 17th season, here: https://wdse.org/show/native-report/

Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund. Online at https://minnesotanativenews.org/