January 23-29, 2023

Gichimanidoo-Giizis (Great Spirit Moon)

The 6th Annual Legendary Winter Pow Wow at Legendary Waters is set for this Saturday and Sunday January 28 - 29! There will be dance specials, indoor vendors, and performing drum groups. This event is open to all and will be indoors.

Saturday's grand entries are set for 1 PM and 6 PM, followed by the $1,000 Iron Person contest open to all dancers. Sunday's grand entry is scheduled for 1 PM.

Les Gibbs from Red Lake will serve as Master of Ceremonies. George Dick, also from Red Lake, is set to serve as Arena Director. Hope Lake from Northwest Bay is scheduled to be the Host Drum. Tamara Montano (Red Cliff) and Chi Ma'iingan (Fond du Lac) will feature as Head Dancers. Steve Perry (Lac Courte Oreilles) will serve as Head Veteran, and Keller Paap (Red Cliff) is set to be Spiritual Advisor.

An Iron Person award is expected to give away $1,000, along with Men's Woodland payouts of $250, $150, and $100.

Drum registration is currently closed.

This event is planned and hosted by Legendary Waters Resort & Casino. Please contact Legendary Waters with any questions at 715-779-9463.

Anyone interested in participating in the upcoming spring spearing season is invited to attend this meeting hosted by the Red Cliff Wardens. The meeting will begin at 5 PM on Tuesday January 31 at the Red Cliff Tribal Historic Preservation Office, located at 36750 Hwy 13.

Join to learn about regulations, dates, and anything spearing related!

Please contact the Red Cliff Wardens with any questions at 715-779-3732.

Youth artists aged 5-18 have a chance to be showcased on this year's Biboon Gabeshiwin (Winter Camp) t-shirts! There will also be cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

Youth artists interested should submit their digital design via email to pmartinson@bayfield.k12.wi.us by Friday January 27! Hand drawn designs will also be accepted and can be dropped off at the Bayfield School front office. View/Click both images below for all details!

Biboon Gabeshiwin (winter camp) will be held Namebini giizis (February) 20-26, 2023. Mark your calendars and save the dates. Biboon Gabeshiwin is open to all.

Biboon Gabeshiwin features outdoor and indoor activities, such as ice fishing, sled dogs, snow snake, wolf/animal telemetry, snowshoeing, asemaa teachings, storytelling, and much more! Stay tuned for more details.

Please contact the Red Cliff Tribal Historic Preservation Office with any questions at 715-779-3761.

Gaa-Miskwaabikaang Police Chief Jess Hall was recognized last week by the ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve) as a Patriotic Employer. This award recognizes the efforts made by Police Chief Hall to support Gaa-Miskwaabikaang Police Sergeant Shane Moilanen and his work as part of the Army National Guard.

Wisconsin Military Outreach Coordinator Dave O'Donahue visited Gaa-Miskwaabikaang to present the award.

Chi-Miigwech to Police Chief Hall and Sergeant Moilanen for serving both Gaa-Miskwaabikaang and the National Guard so well!

Sergeant Shane Moilanen, Police Chief Jess Hall, ESGR Outreach Coordinator Dave O'Donahue, and Red Cliff Tribal Council Member Butch Bresette.

Interested in learning more about budgeting and managing your personal / family finances, how to save, and how to build credit?

Join this free community workshop from 5:00-7:00 PM on Wednesday February 15 at the New Hope Commons, located at 37580 Pageant Rd in Red Cliff.

Dinner will be provided along with gift cards and raffle prizes. Child care will be available. You do not need to register -- simply show up!



Please contact RCCHA with any questions at 715-779-3744.

Community members had an opportunity to experience and take part in processing waawaashkeshi meat recently. Kalvin Hartwig from Red Cliff’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office harvested a buck along with his cousins in Michigan, and Kalvin brought it to work to process for a team exercise.

THPO staff, the language trainees from Bad River, and others were invited to help with the meat processing. For some, this was their first time learning how to process waawaashkeshi.

Individuals representing three different departments and four different Ojibwe Tribes participated. Everyone had a positive experience and all involved were offered meat to take home. Some community Elders were also able to take meat home.

“We appreciated this waawaashkeshi (white-tailed deer) for offering up its life for us and we were grateful not just for the meat,” said Hartwig. “The hide and head will also be used for teaching brain tanning and some of the bones may be used to make tools.”

Contact Kalvin Hartwig at the Tribal Historic Preservation Office with any questions at 715-779-3761.

The Red Cliff Tribal Council will meet on Tuesday January 24 at Legendary Waters.

The regular session is expected to begin at 4:30 PM. Community members are invited to attend.

Click HERE to access the meeting agenda.

The next book club session at the Library will be led by Nellie Barri! The group will be reviewing "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline this Thursday January 26 at 6 pm.

Please contact the Library with any questions at 715-779-3766.

Red Cliff Behavioral Health Services will host its next Sobriety Speaker Feast at the Noojimo'iwewin Center at 4:00 PM this Friday January 27.

Join for an evening of good food, and listen to a community member speak about their recovery journey: what is was like, what happened, and what it's like now.



Please contact Noojimo'iwewin Center staff with any questions at 715-779-3508.

The Noojimo'iwewin Center is located at 37450 Watertower Rd in Gaa-Miskwaabikaang.

Breanna Kinnunen has been hired as a new Dental Assistant at the Red Cliff Community Health Center. Breanna is a college student attending UW-Eau Claire. She is working on completing her Biology degree to later become a dentist.

She lives in Grand View, WI when not at school. Breanna enjoys cooking, traveling, camping, baking, and photography. Breanna is exited to join the team as a dental assistant. Aho!

Click image to access the entire Behavioral Health newsletter

FoodWIse Nutrition has released its January 2023 newsletter!

FoodWIse is federally funded statewide by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). FoodWIse advances healthy eating habits, active lifestyles and healthy community environments for Wisconsin residents with limited incomes through nutrition education at the individual, community and systems levels.

Click HERE to view the full January 2023 FoodWIse newsletter.

Boozhoo families with the Red Cliff Early Childhood Center! Week 16 of the Second Step Curriculum will teach your children how to manage disappointment. Teachers will be implementing this curriculum and families will also receive these exercises to continue practicing at home.

Contact the ECC with any questions at 715-779-5030.

Ms. Haley from the Red Cliff Early Childhood Center teaches us Ojibwemowin! The phrase this week is "namadabin" (sit down).

Challenge yourself and your children to use "namadabin."

Dear Early Head Start Families,

I hope that the New Year finds you and your family happy and healthy.

I would like to let you know that we will be reducing our service hours for Early Head Start. We will be closed for students eight extra Fridays through the end of the school year, beginning January 27th.

Below are dates of closure that were regularly scheduled for services. We will also be sending out amended calendar pages to assist with keeping track of the changes.

January 27, February 24, March 10, March 24, May 5, May 19, June 2, July 14 

This is only through this school year and will impact 8 scheduled Fridays. We know that this may cause challenges for some families and for that we apologize!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jamie, Center Director, at 715-779-5030 ext. 2527 or Jenn, Center Administrator, at 715-779-5030 ext. 2561.

The Red Cliff Education Department is offering additional financial support for those who have already applied for the Higher Education and Job Training Program.

Click HERE to learn more and access an application.

Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority is accepting applications for housing and housing assistance!

RCCHA provides clean, safe, adequate, and affordable housing for qualified families and elders.

Housing options to apply for include low rent, 6-plex, 4-plex, Elderly, Tax Credit, Tax Credit Rehab.

Oski-Ombendaam New Hope Supportive Housing

The Oski-Ombendaam New Hope housing contains efficiency, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units. The goal of New Hope housing is to provide supportive services to those individuals and families while providing clean, safe, adequate, and affordable housing.

Click HERE to access an application for Housing Assistance.

Click HERE to access an application for New Hope Housing Assistance.

Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority tenants have access to a Residential Resource Coordinator. The coordinator will help tenants get connected with various resources.

This service is available to Housing tenants Monday through Friday at New Hope Building A, at 37580 Pageant Road.

Please call 715-779-3744 extension 3514 with any questions.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has extended the public comment period for their draft wolf plan through the end of February 2023. Read the plan and submit a comment HERE.

The public review and comment period is a key opportunity for the public to share their thoughts on the proposed wolf management plan. The DNR will review and consider all feedback submitted during the review period while preparing the final draft of the proposed wolf management plan.

The draft management plan lays out a holistic approach to ensuring the state’s wolf population remains healthy and secure while balancing the diverse interests of the public.

The proposed plan was developed in consideration of many factors, including public input, consultations with Wisconsin's tribal nations, scientific literature reviews, a study on current public attitudes towards wolves and potential outcomes of various management decisions.

The draft plan aims to effectively balance the tradeoffs between three main objectives:

• Ensuring a healthy and sustainable wolf population to fulfill its ecological role.

• Addressing and reducing wolf-related conflicts.

• Providing multiple benefits associated with the wolf population, including hunting, trapping and sightseeing.

In addition, the draft plan details proposals to increase public understanding of wolves, identify important scientific research to be conducted and outline steps to ensure collaboration on science-based wolf management in Wisconsin.

More details about the plan’s objectives and metrics for evaluation are described in the implementation section of the management plan. The descriptions and metrics provided give a clearer understanding of the intent behind each objective, how the DNR plans to measure it and what conditions constitute satisfactory progress toward the objective.

What’s Staying The Same?

The draft plan provides that DNR staff will continue to monitor wolves each year and address wolf-related conflict (consistent with current law). The DNR will continue supporting and conducting scientific research and science-based decision-making. Collaboration with other agencies, tribal nations, stakeholder groups and the public on items of mutual importance remains a department priority.

What’s Changing?

The plan proposes several changes to align the DNR’s wolf management strategy with the current state of the wolf population, the available science and the perspectives of a diverse public, such as:

• Moving away from a single numeric population goal and instead using an adaptive management process focused on balancing the three main objectives (above).

• Reducing harvest registration times and issuing zone-specific wolf harvest permits to improve the department's ability to effectively meet harvest quotas.

• Adding mechanisms to address localized concerns, including wolf harvest concerns near tribal reservation boundaries and focused wolf harvest in areas with a history of wolf-livestock conflict.

• Revising wolf management zone boundaries to better reflect current wolf distribution and habitat.

The public is encouraged to review the updated plan in detail to learn more.

Click HERE to order online!

Invitation to artists and craftspeople to demonstrate cultural traditions

The 28^th Portage County Cultural Festival (PCCF) is scheduled for Saturday, May 13, 2023, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at The Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH), 1201 North Point Drive, Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In past years, this event, which is free to the public, has attracted as many as 14,000 people of all ages and cultural backgrounds to sample food, music, folk dances, crafts, and games from around the world and here in Wisconsin.

The Portage County Cultural Festival (PCCF) is a community initiative celebrating Central Wisconsin’s rich cultural heritage. It began in 1992 and brings together area residents to showcase their cultures and learn about multiculturalism in a fun and festive environment. Dubbed; ”a landmark event for the community run completely by volunteers” by the Portage County Gazette, the PCCF brings together people of all ages from Central Wisconsin and beyond for a day of celebration and enjoyment of each other’s cultures. More information about the Portage County Cultural Festival can be found at the festival website, http://www.portagecountyculturalfestival.org/.  

We are seeking members of ethnic/cultural groups to demonstrate a traditional art, craft, or other cultural activity. Demonstrators are expected to share information about their cultures and are welcome to bring examples of their art for sale if they wish, although this is not required. Participants are expected to comply with all applicable copyright and trademark laws.

Thanks to the generosity of donors to the PCCF, there are limited funds available to offset travel expenses for demonstrators. 

Those interested in participating as demonstrators should send a request for an application form as soon as possible to PCCF, P. O. 739, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or via email to pccf92@gmail.com. When you receive the form, please read the information on application, policies, and expectations of demonstrators carefully. To ensure mutual understanding, applicants are asked to sign or initial on the space provided on the completed application form before submitting it to PCCF, P. O. 739, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or via email to pccf92@gmail.com by February 15, 2023.



Anyone with interest in participating in other aspects of the festival (vendors, dancers, musicians, native language speakers) can express this interest by contacting the PCCF organizers at pccf92@gmail.com.

The Eiteljorg Museum Indian Market & Festival is scheduled for June 24-25, 2023. Artists can apply to be featured!

Learn more and apply online HERE.

Greetings! We have exciting news! Native American Tourism of Wisconsin will be hosting the Native Wisconsin Arts Festival in June 2023 at the Menominee Nation Casino Resort/Powwow Grounds. Our goal is to raise $75,000 in support of NATOW’s tourism initiatives throughout the state.

But we can’t meet this goal without your help.

Below are the details for this year’s sponsorship levels:

1. $5,000 - Bear Level: Your company name and logo on our event signage; Your company/org name on our Golf Tournament Signage; Listed as event sponsor in all PR, marketing and outreach for the conference; Your logo on event T-shirt; Complimentary 1-year Associate Membership; 2 Conference Registrations; VIP Reception.
2. $2,000 - Eagle Level: Your company name and logo on our event signage; Your logo on event T-shirt; Complimentary 1-year Associate Membership; 1 Conference Registration; VIP Reception; Listed as an even sponsor on social media and website.
3. $1,000 - Wolf Level: Your company name and logo on our event signage; Complimentary 1-year Associate Membership; Your logo on event t-shirt; VIP reception.
4. $500 - Manoomin Level: Logo on event T-shirt; Complimentary 1-year Associate Membership; VIP Reception.
5. $150 - Booth Spaces for vendors.

If your organization would like to participate in this year’s event as a sponsor, please contact us to donate or for more information. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

Suzette Brewer

Executive Director

Ph: 715-861-1212

Email: director@natow.org