The Forest County Potawatomi (FCP) Band hosted the Potawatomi Gathering of Nations the week of Aug. 10-15, 2015, in Carter, Wis.
The week started as most gatherings do with the Potawatomi Language & History Conference, which was held at the Potawatomi Carter Casino Hotel (PCCH). This is a three-day conference during which the nine different bands of the Potawatomi Nation come together to speak to one another about how they carry on their history and language within their own communities. They come together as one nation to share ideas, thoughts, triumphs as well as challenges that each of their communities have overcome or are still working on.
The conference officially opened with the posting of colors by FCP Veterans Post 1 with the Fire Nation Singers there to accompany them. FCP elder Billy Daniels Jr. then offered the invocation. FCP Tribal Administrator Eugene Shawano gave a welcome to all of the bands that were present.
He began by saying, “Welcome on behalf of the FCP community! I hope you enjoy your time here and take back with you to your communities the things you learn here at this conference. Migwetch and enjoy your stay!”
FCP Cultural Center, Library & Museum Director Mike Alloway then gave some general announcements to the participants explaining the days to come and what was to be expected. There were a total of 348 people attending the language conference!
The many speakers at this year’s conference included Rhonda Purcell, who oversees the Pokagon Band Language Apprenticeship; Kevin Finney from the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi; Stewart King; Justin Neely; Lindsay Marean; Darrick Baxter as well as a number of others. The FCP had very special presentations by three of their elders including Billy Daniels Jr., Jim Thunder, and Lillian Rice.
As previously mentioned, the language conference lasts a total of three days. Some speakers repeated their talks on successive days so attendees would have the opportunity to hear talks they may have missed while attending another session. On the fourth day, the conference somewhat intertwined with the Potawatomi Gathering.
On Thursday, the release of the new Potawatomi Dictionary was dis- cussed with the other bands by those who worked on it, which included Billy Daniels Jr., Jim Thunder, Mary Jane Thunder, Kim Wensaut and Lindsay Marean. This presentation coincided with the beginning of the Gathering.
The Gathering started with a sunrise ceremony held in the long house. This had been built through the efforts of many community members of the FCP Community. The long house took some time to fabricate. Despite a few bumps in the road due to weather, the construction started out well and took about four to five days total to finish. The long house wasn’t constructed with any type of nails or glue, but rather was tied together with rope by the men who had volunteered their time to build this massive structure. Inside the long house was the sacred fire that burned for the entire four days of the Gathering. Fire keepers watched over the fire day and night, and their efforts assured that the fire never burned out. Each morning there was a sunrise ceremony held at 5:50 a.m., and these ceremonies were attended by members of all the different Potawatomi bands.
Once the sunrise service was over each day, it was breakfast time at the pow-wow grounds. Many thanks to Peggy Konaha and her staff who supplied both breakfast and supper for the three days and served hundreds of people. Many people were happy with and grateful for the food they received. Special thanks to Justine White-Fish who made 2,000 pieces of frybread!
On Thursday, there were a number of different activities to participate in for different age brackets. A golf outing was held at the McCauslin Golf Course in Lakewood, Wis. There were a total of 25 foursomes made up of both men and women. PCCH General Manager Frank Shepard held an event on hole #5 where he challenged golfers to out- drive him. Needless to say, everyone walked away a winner. There were also a number of other challenges offered including longest drive with a putter, longest putt for men and women, and most lost balls in the sand, or total lost balls for that matter. It sounds like it was a great time for those who participated.
The weather was a main topic when talking with anyone who attended the gathering. Let’s just say that the weather throughout the entire weekend was HOT! With temperatures in the high 80s and very high dew points, it felt like we were all on a tropical island. The community and volunteers did their best to try to help people stay cool with offerings of fans, shade, water and ice. There was much talk about the weather among the different bands that were not used to this heat. Of course, many Kansas Potawatomi replied to us all saying, “This ain’t nothing!” Many had a good chuckle over their comments, as they took the heat in stride.
Other events that were happening on Thursday included a creative art workshop run by FCP tribal member Sam Alloway; a Rabbit and Bear Paw Puppeteer Show from Ontario, Can., a dreamcatcher workshop; moccasin making, hand drum and men’s bells workshops.
For those that wanted to stay really cool, bingo was offered at the casino. A number of attendees took advantage of this opportunity to leave the heat for a bit.
FCP Culture and Language/ Education Mentor/Advisor/Gekendaset Donald Keeble, FCP Cultural Liaison Brooks Boyd, and FCP Language Apprentice Gloria Gutierrez held a youth conference on Thursday. The event began in the morning and lasted into late afternoon. There were approximately 30 youth who attended, and the leaders were very pleased with the turnout. A handful of youth came up from Green Bay West High School who were tribal members, but who had minimal knowledge about their heritage or native ways. A few actually stayed all weekend to learn more about themselves and their history.
The entire group participated in a number of activities including ice-breaking lessons (getting to know one another). Keeble spoke to them about stereotypes/mascot issues. Keeble and the youth both shared their own personal stories about being stereotyped on an everyday basis in their own communities and schools. They touched on the subject of mascots that were Native American-based such as the Redskins, how they don’t like those images, and how they are portrayed to the public. “What defines us today,” says Keeble, “is our language, ceremonies, culture, and communities, and that is where we find our identity.” ]
Boyd spoke about how the language can affect sovereignty as a federally recognized tribe. He talked to the youth about the Allotment and Assimilation Act of 1887 (Dawes Act) and its relationship to the boarding school era. This presentation also pointed out how the language seems to have dwindled within the past 30 years. The goal was to show how this has occurred and how to move forward with a clearer understanding about how to approach language revitalization today.
Boyd stated, “Every culture in the world was given a way to practice. Ours was the language, songs, and teachings. This is something that we need to hold on to while we have it here. Our elders are not getting any younger and we still have a window of opportunity, but that window is slowly closing.”
Gutierrez then took the youth outside for a bit of fun after letting Keeble and Boyd’s presentations soak in. Once outdoors, the youth got to know each other a bit more through modern play including basketball and volleyball. They also had the chance to shoot a bit of pool in the We Care facility. In all, the presenters as well as the youth seemed to have a great time meeting new people, learning a deeper side of their culture, and how that actually relates to them in everyday life.
Later in the afternoon, FCP tribal member and Chief Judge Eugene White-Fish, who happens to be a very skilled hide tanner, held his own workshop in hide tanning with the help of his nephew Chris Daniels. This workshop was crowded each day of the Gathering with people taking advantage of the opportunity to learn this skill from one of the best teachers around.
White-Fish has been tanning hides for over 20 years and he remembers learning some of the process from his grandmother. He also went to a friend, Dennis, and learned a few tanning techniques from him. White-Fish is extremely proud of his hides and takes very good care of them as well as the tools he uses to tan them. As most know around these parts, he is the man to go to if you need a hide for moccasins/regalia pieces. If a group of hides are lined up, most people with knowledge of his abilities can pick out White-Fish’s from the others based on the coloring and the obvious quality of the hides. Tanning takes a lot of patience and commitment to the process. “Tanning is all about timing,” White- Fish explained. “You have to be committed to the hide once you start the process because it will wait for no one.”
It should be noted that there were workshops that ran all three days of the Gathering. As a result, if you were busy at one on Thursday, you were able to go to a different one another day and yet another the next. Some that repeated themselves were the men’s bells, dreamcatchers, moccasin making, bow making, and tanning hides.
There was also entertainment in PCCH’s conference room on Thursday night with comedian Don Burnstick. Burnstick is a Cree from the Alexander First Nation located outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Can. He had lived an extremely rough life as an alcoholic and drug addict for a time and sobered up when he was 21 years old. He went on to school at the University of San Diego in holistic urban youth development and obtained certification as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor. He then graduated from the Native Trainers Development program at the Nechi Institute in Edmonton. He uses his humor as a way to help people cope with their problems, which in turn helps him heal as well. Many people thought he was great! Laughter is a great healer for many.
Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, was definitely the busiest day of the Gathering. It was a long day with the sunrise service starting at 5:50 a.m. It ended after the first night of the Potawatomi Gathering pow-wow, which lasted until about 11 p.m. Many events that were held on Thursday were also repeated on this day. These included activities previously mentioned as well as a creative art workshop, a bead work workshop and bingo. Some additional new events took place on Friday including the 3-on-3-basketball tournament, which included both youth participants and participation by some older members. Another new event during this day was a hand drum contest. In addition, there were field games for those aged 7-12 with these being held in Wabeno, Wis. People could also hop on a shuttle to tour the Potawatomi Cultural Center, Library & Museum located in Stone Lake, Wis. And, of course, the big event that everyone was waiting for on Friday was the start of the Potawatomi Gathering Pow-wow.
The pow-wow began with grand entry starting at 6 p.m. with all the veterans and staff carriers from each band representing their nation. Along with this powwow were the interviews for the new Potawatomi Gathering Princess who would also be known as Miss Potawatomi 2015. Arena director for the entire powwow was Sam Howell from Oklahoma and emcee was Dylan Prescott, FCP tribal member. Both did an amazing job throughout the weekend and their senses of humor provided the audience with a number of good chuckles. Dancers for Friday night were as follows: Ohkwalli Skenandore, Head Male Dancer; Katie Howell, Head Female Dancer; Brevin Boyd, Head Jr. Male Dancer; Dania Wahwasuck, Head Jr. Female Dancer. Host drum was Young Fire Keepers and co-host drum was Fire Nation. Head veteran was Billy Daniels Jr. Specials for Friday night were Men’s Woodland Contest, Youth Team Dance Contest, Buck and Doe Exhibition, and Two Step. The crown and title of Miss Potawatomi 2015 went to Dania Wahwasuck, Prairie Band Potawatomi. Congratulations to Dania as we here at PTT wish you the best of luck in the year to come!
Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, was a day of repeats with different activities and events again being offered allowing those who may not have had the opportunity to take part in something they may have missed. Many of the events previously mentioned were again available on Saturday. But there were also some new ones, which included a volleyball tournament, a horseshoe tournament, and a canary singing contest. There was also a tour to Camp 5 in Laona, Wis.
With the weather continuing to be unbelievably warm for this time of year, many people just spent their day under the arbor in the shade and listened to Howell and Prescott announce the events and happenings as well as recap the weekend to that point.
Many workshops ended this day, as it was the last day of the Gathering. People were able to see their moccasin and beadwork projects come to an end. Those attending White-Fish’s work- shop were able to see a fully tanned hide.
Again on Saturday night as on Friday, the Potawatomi Gathering pow- wow started at 6 p.m. with the same grand entry. The new dancers for this night were: Daniel Prescott, Head Male Dancer; Adriana Wahwasuck, Head Female Dancer; Reddmen Lemieux, Head Jr. Male Dancer; Onyleen Zapatpa, Head Jr. Female Dancer. Drums ran the same as Friday night with dance specials being Women’s Scrub Contest, Adult Team Dance Contest, and Fish Dance.
PTT heard nothing but positive remarks from the attendees about the people who were doing the workshops, about those who were volunteering, and about all of the people working in the kitchen. A remark from one lady was, “We are really enjoying our time here. It takes a whole community to pull something like this off…you all are doing an amazing job!”
The FCP Community thanks all the volunteers who took the time to help out on their weekend. Things would not have gone as smoothly as they did without the help. To the drivers of the golf carts and shuttles, to the medical staff on the premises, to the volunteers who helped all the elders, to all of the cooks and their helpers, to all of the helpers with registration, to all of the vendors, to all of the workers – to everyone – many thanks! Also, a big thank you to Doc Polar who did not stop wetting down those trails so that people didn’t have to deal with a cloud of dust all day. Many apologies if anyone was left out. Just know that the help was greatly appreciated!
The Gathering has the feel of a family reunion, and in a sense, it certainly is. It is a time for all Potawatomi people to come together to share their life, gifts, talents, and presence as one family member to another. It is a time to share stories of the past year and it is time to reconnect with old friends and family. It is also a time to meet new friends or even new family members. It’s a time of joy and laughs. The total number of people in attendance for this Gathering was 1,615!
PTT heard through the grapevine that the place to be next year for the 2016 Potawatomi Gathering is in Oklahoma with the Citizen Potawatomi Band hosting. Look for more information to come. *The Gathering was an extremely busy and fun event to attend. Being the reporter at PTT, I was able to experience so much firsthand. Many thanks go out to all who allowed me this opportunity.
More Gathering photos will appear in the Sept. 15, 2015 issue.
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