David Amitrano: Witnessing
From Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine by Minnesota Native News
February 26, 2026 · 29 min · Season 3 · Episode 173
About this episode
Leah speaks with David Amitrano about his journey from working at a domestic violence shelter to owning a Native-owned wrestling organization.
Today, Leah speaks with David Amitrano, the owner of Midwest All-Star Wrestling, a Minnesota-based, Native-owned independent wrestling organization in Woodbury. He is originally from Ely, Minnesota and is a citizen of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. He and wife Brittney have four kids at home. He got into wrestling as the CFO of Women of Nations, a women and children's domestic violence and sexual assault shelter. He's been there for over a decade. It's a 44-bed shelter for Native women and children but also women and children of all nations. It was founded in 1982. Located in St. Paul, it is one of the largest shelters of its kind not on reservation land. In 2017, David was at work when he got a call from Jesse Ventura. He had seen a video about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The shelter had been mentioned in the program. Jesse suggested doing a fundraiser and put him in contact with an owner of Midwest All Star Wrestling. David didn't know much about wrestling at the time, but they held their first wrestling fundraiser at the American Indian Center in 2017. It was a success and ever since they've done it every year. After the fundraiser, he became an owner of Midwest…
People in this episode
Host: Leah Lemm
Guest: David Amitrano
Topics covered
- wrestling
- Indigenous issues
- fundraising
- domestic violence
- women's empowerment
Keywords
- wrestling
- Indigenous women
- fundraiser
- domestic violence
- Midwest All-Star Wrestling
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Midwest All-Star Wrestling, Women of Nations, American Indian Center, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
Places: Minnesota, Ely, Minnesota, St. Paul
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