Sam Zimmerman (Grand Portage). After two decades on the east coast in public education, Sam moved back to Minnesota to rededicate himself to his passion for painting and to be closer to his family and community.

His artwork explores his Ojibwe heritage, as well as his learnings and experiences in nature after returning to his ancestral homelands. Sam shares about learning language and culture through community collaborations, illustrating books for Native authors, and collaborating with family. He tells Leah and Cole about his path, which began with a college-age passion for painting, and then a love for teaching, and has now come full circle as he returns home.

Marcie Rendon founded Raving Native Productions theater. Along with various plays, screenplays, poems and short stories, she has written two nonfiction books for children, and three crime fiction novels. Her first novel Murder on the Red River won the 2018 Pinckley Prize for Debut Crime Fiction. Her second novel Girl Gone Missing was shortlisted for the 2020 G. P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Her most successful theatre work to date is "Free Frybread Telethon", a play which satirizes the American prison system and its treatment of Native Americans.

Anishinaabe and Oneida Hip-Hop artist Tall Paul’s ancestral roots flow from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota and beyond. Born and raised in South Minneapolis, Tall Paul’s music strongly reflects his inner city upbringing. From personal expressions of self to thought provoking commentary on issues affecting Indigenous and diverse communities as a whole, his music evokes a wide variety of substance and soul.

His acclaimed single “Prayers in a Song” is the first rap song to incorporate the Ojibwe language for more than sixty seconds. The track was produced as part of his senior project at the University of Minnesota, which focused on language revitalization, and where he became a first-generation university graduate. The chorus in “Prayers in a Song” is composed exclusively in Ojibwemowin.

His most recent album The Story of Jim Thorpe was released in November 2022 during National Native American Heritage Month. The album is an homage to his childhood hero Jim Thorpe, a Potawatomie and Sac and Fox Olympic gold medalist, NFL Hall of Famer, Major League Baseball Player, and advocate for Native rights.

In addition to being a one-of-a-kind rap artist, Tall Paul is also a powerful inspirational speaker and artist-educator. He has performed and given talks all over the world, from his hometown in Minneapolis, MN, to Chemnitz, Germany, and more. He’s also half of Native rap duo Red Poets Society, who have served as opening act for major artists such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mobb Deep, and Jay Electronica.