Mnomen; The Food that Grows on the Water

This 24 minute film explores the importance of Mnomen (wild rice) as a critical cultural, ecological and spiritual resource for the Gun Lake Tribe and the Tribe's effort to restore the rice beds which were once a common natural feature in West Michigan.  For over a century Michigan rice beds have been declining and often all together disappearing from local lakes rivers, due to a wide range of environmental pressures.   However, recent efforts by the Gun Lake Tribe may help to restore rice to once again being a healthy and thriving West Michigan resource.  Over the past few years, tribal elders have worked with the younger generations to share traditional knowledge about wild rice, it's role in Pottawatomi culture and to revitalize age old harvesting and planting traditions which have been practiced for countless generations.  This film explores both the work and perspectives of tribal citizens in partnership with the Jijak Foundation and the tribe's environmental department.   

To learn more about the Jijak Foundation and Gun Lake Tribe's work of restoring wild rice and revitalizing ricing traditions please visit the link below:

Mnomenkewen (Wild Rice Restoration)

How to Play Gonegnebek - The game of snowsnake

Snowsnake is a traditional Neshnabe wintertime sport.   In this video, produced by Jesse Pigeon for the Jijak Foundation, Gun Lake Pottawatomi tribal youth demonstrate the basic of how to play game.

Kche Mko Gizes Wawye'nimediwen [Big Bear Moon Round Dance]

Kche Migwech to the GLT Powwow Committee and all who participated in Gun Lakes Tribe's 1st annual Round Dance, hosted by the Jijak Foundation.   Below is a short video of the Round Dance produced by Jesse Pigeon.  

Snowsnake: Traditional Winter Sport Makes a Comeback

It is a crisp morning in Pottawatomi Country.  Pondese (pon-deh-say), old man winter, has returned to wrap the hills and valleys in his heavy white blanket.   Dark silhouettes of maples and elms, deep in winter slumber, rise up, branching out as a silent audience against the grey sky.   The quiet scenery stands in stark contrast to the excited shouts and voices that fill the cold air.  Cheers and heckles erupt from a bundled crowd, as a player takes careful stance.   Building momentum and lunging forward, his polished stick springs from the hand into an icy snow track, gliding like a serpent over the crisp surface at tremendous speed, racing, slithering, flying hundreds of yards to its destination.  Snowsnake Season has arrived!       
There is no doubt that a number of popular sports have their origins in Neshnabe (Indian) culture.   Long before Europeans had ever considered what might be on the other side of the water, Potawatomis were avidly playing and watching a rough and tumble version of ice hockey called shinny.   One might even wager there were tailgate parties accompanying the old lacrosse games, albeit with canoes rather than cars.   Yet, while some Neshnabe sports have become great institutions of Americana, others like snowsnake, surprisingly, never gained much recognition outside of Indian Country.  

The game of snowsnake or gonegenabek (pronouced: gon-eh-gun-ah-buck), is a contagious high speed wintertime sport that draws as much on a player’s athletic skills as it does technical abilities, like design and craftsmanship.

Snowsnake Basics - How to Play  

A snowsnake, called zhoshman (zhosh-mahn) in the Pottawatomi language, is the fundamental piece of equipment.  It is a carefully carved and highly polished wooden stick, almost more like a thin ski, designed to travel incredible distances over ice and snow.   Many tribes throughout the U.S. and Canada play variations of the game.   The Michigan Neshnabe variation, involves a track, hundred of yards in distance.   The track is built by creating a ridge of snow a few feet high, then dragging a smooth log down it to sculpt a long icy trough similar to a luge.   A track is typically groomed for a few days to a week prior to a tournament to ensure the best possible surface for players. 
The goal of the game is for a player to launch their snowsnake the furthest possible distance down the track.   In the 1970’s, Sports Illustrated published an article on the game, where they recorded throws of nearly a mile in distance and a top speed of almost 90 miles per hour.   While that is enough to put anyones best golf swing to shame, most Michigan tracks these days are closer to 600 to 1000 yards long.   Most throws are usually far enough though, that CB radios are typically employed to relay final distances back to the players.
Throwers use many different techniques to get the best distance.   Some use a running start, others prefer to throw from a stationary stance, or even standing backwards.  

It’s All in the Stick

Most snowsnakes are made from dense hardwoods.  Hickory, Sugar Maple and Ironwood are all popular choices.  The weight of the snake helps to provide momentum to carry it further down the track.   Beyond that, shapes, sizes and specific designs tend to be as diverse as the people who make them.   Snakes from three foot to seven feet in length can be seen at most tournaments.   Snowsnakes often have pewter or lead added to the tip and center, to add additional weight and balance.  
The final finish on the snakes is another critical component to performance, explains Ed Pigeon, who took 2nd place in the men’s division of our 2013 tournament, “We all have our tricks. Lots of people have secret recipes that they put on their snakes to make them go farther.”   Many players even use different snowsnakes for different snow conditions.  Heavier snakes are used for wet snow and longer and lighter snakes for cold fluffy snow.    

 
Gaining Momentum in Indian Country

Snowsnake is unique in that it still remains almost exclusively a Native American sport.  If you mention snowsnake to pretty much anyone outside of Indian Country,  you will probably get a look of confusion.  Within native circles, the sport is steadily growing in popularity.  In the past few years, about a half dozen tournaments have popped up around the state.   “Twenty years ago no one in Michigan was hosting tournaments,” explains Jijak Director, Kevin Finney, “The game was something a few older people talked about, and occasionally someone would pull out an old snowsnake.   Now we see some of these old snakes being used again by younger players.  Many players now travel between communities to attend tournaments throughout the winter.”

2014 Pottawatomi Gathering

In 2014, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Tribe had the honor of hosting the Pottawatomi Gathering at the Jijak Foundation. The event is hosted each year by one of the nine bands of Pottawatomi. The Gathering provides an opportunity for members of all bands to come together and celebrate their Pottawatomi heritage.    

To watch a video showing highlights of the Gathering and to explore a slideshow of events and activities please follow the link below.

Moon Ceremonies

"Aniin - Punkin N’dizhnakaz Three Fires Neshnabe    Kwe N’dau -Wassabenokwe - Bizhew Dodem   (Hello - My name is Punkin Shananaquet.  I am a three fires Neshnabe woman - Lady of the Northern Lights - I am Lynx Clan.)"

I have been asked to provide a brief context of our beautiful Full Moon Ceremony.  A ceremony  that honors our connections as women/females, our Mother Earth and Creation, and which strengthens our communities. 

It is our tradition to gather once a month to honor the full moon. There are 13 moons in each calendar year.  As Neshnabekwek (Indian women) we are dedicated to our awareness, relationship and love for our beautiful Grandmother Moon, and her sacred creation on which we live. Though the moon Ceremony we recommit and dedicate our spirits, minds, body and emotions to the value of our traditional knowledge and teachings, and to preserving this precious sovereign way of life for future generations. 

The cedar moon pavilion at Jijak has been carefully dedicated as sacred space on our own tribal lands.   It is a place where we can gather to act on what is important in our lives; our  hopes, desires, and our visions for the future, doing so with thoughtfulness and respect to those who proceeded us.  Most importantly, it is a shared sacred space for those of us wishing to petition either verbally or silently those things needed in our immediate lives. 
As the ceremony begins, we present sema (tobacco) to the male fire-keeper who is  committed to properly tending and lighting shkode (fire) in a traditional manner. 
People who have attended ceremonies in the past know that yellow is the sacred color we use to present our offering cloth when ceremony is in session. We approach with the  values of Love and Respect and most importantly Humility as we lovingly address our Grandmother Moon. Anishinabe Kwek (Indian women) initiate all aspects of the ceremony.  Our nenwik (men) are called to present their sema first, while we as women encircle them with our blessing cloths/colors. Then, the men depart from our circle, and the women, from Grandmother to our youngest, now work with Grandmother Moon, to present individual offerings and prayers. Nibi mine Odeminen (Water and Strawberries) are presented as medicines. 

Extra hands are always needed to arrive early, and assist in gathering firewood.   You can also bring your old tobacco, their ties, and other old medicines to burn in the sacred fire at this time.
 It was said that many generations ago, these ceremonies were conducted across all of Turtle Island in unison with everything in Creation.  We healed not only ourselves, but our families, Mother Earth and Creation itself.  Today, we are becoming what our elders, long ago, had spoken for us living in this Seventh and Final Fire, “Oshki Neshnabek” the new Neshnabek - the ones who will dedicate ourselves in the healing of this Creation.  
Nikaanigaa - All My Relations. 

Marian Peters: Beadwork Artist

The Gun Lake Tribe’s rich cultural identity is carried forward by our many community members.  The diverse talents, skills, arts, stories, and recollections of our people have, and always will, collectively, define who we are.     With each new issue of the Kigdowen Newsletter, we will be exploring our Tribe’s cultural identity, by showcasing the talent, skills, work, or recollections of a different member from our community.   

Blazing orange, vibrant yellow, deep green, and sky blue tiny beads carefully slip onto a needle, so fine that it is almost hard see.   Slowly, with painstaking detail, one stitch at a time, a curving vine emerges.   With skilled and patient hands, it twists it’s way across an empty white piece of canvas, branching into well balanced leaves, then blossoming outward into the full splendor of a multi-colored flower.    It is work that requires amazing amounts of patience and time for Marian Peters, but her results are breathtaking.    

Marian is a Gun Lake Tribal Citizen and an accomplished beadwork artist.  Her work is the present day culmination of a long Pottawatomi artistic tradition of beadwork, extending back through time, over two hundred years.  

Marian’s skills came to her through her family.  “I was about eight or nine years old when I first became interested in beading.” She smiles, “I had seen some of the beautiful  bear claw patterns done by Walker Stonefish, and I knew I wanted to be able to do that.   My Aunt, through marriage, Theresa Shipman, from Walpole Island, first taught me.” Marian pauses momentarily, thinking back over time, and laughs, “I guess I learned backwards.  I learned peyote stitch first, applique when I was thirteen, then the loom when I was 20.   Most people learn in the  opposite order.”

Marian makes a variety of pieces, from small objects like jewelry, to larger more elaborate items for regalia.   “I draw up all of my designs from my own dreams.   I can see them in my head, before I make them.” she explains.  The work of bringing them to life is slow going, and intricate enough that it might just drive someone with less patience mad.  “Beading relaxes me.”  says Marian. “When I’m beading, I aways have more than one project going on, all at once... keychains, one on the loom and usually a bigger piece.  The biggest piece I have taken on so far was Jeff Martin’s regalia.”   

Marian was recently selected by the Powwow Committee for the Pottawatomi Gathering to make the sash and crown, for the 2014 Princess Pageant.  “I got a lot of input from the committee.” she explains, “I am adding a lot of fading on the colors for the crown, which will really make the florals look three dimensional.   The sash will be fully beaded, rather than just being minimal.   This represents our Tribe so I really want the sash and crown to especially stand out.”

Marian has shared her skills by teaching others, including her daughter, friends, and family up North.  “Once you get going on it, its pretty easy.” she reassures, then adds a bit of wisdom, “Beading teaches us to never give up.   There is always a mistake. When you first start you are going to make lots of mistakes, but that’s ok.  You will get better at it.   My Aunt taught me, that if you’re that good, that you don’t make a mistake, then you have to put one in.   I always do, even if it is just one bead that is different, or out of place.  It reminds us that no one is ever perfect.”

Wild Rice Camp at Jijak Foundation 2013

A short video by Jesse Pigeon of our 2013 wild rice harvest and community processing camp.