CHI-MIIGWECH, BIG THANK YOU. The Gathering of the Waters Powwow will be held for a second year from 11am to 6pm on Saturday, Sept. 20. The offering will now feature four dance specials, all culminating around the Grand Entry at 12pm.

To those who have attended before — and those who have yet to come — a returning offering in the Chippewa Valley invites the community to be ever present to the Native nations who share their stories for all to hear.

The Gathering of the Waters Powwow will return from 11am-6pm on Sept. 20 at the Valley Sports Academy (1855 125th St.) in Lake Hallie.

Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings, a powwow singer, drummer in Bizhiki, and member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, will emcee the powwow.

“Being offered a space to share and celebrate our culture where we were once suppressed is an act of reciprocity,” Sami Taylor, a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and returning powwow organizer, said. “This public celebration of culture helps to restore and strengthen Indigenous identity, ensuring that traditions are not only preserved but are actively lived and passed down.”

The offering will now feature four distinct dance specials, all culminating around the Grand Entry at 12pm — one of the most integral components of the powwow, Sami said.

“Having the traditions of movement and music built into (this) coming together; it’s medicine that is intuitive; It calls your spirit back. It’s a place to release energy and take energy in, all at once.”

JENNIFER GOUGÉ

ARTISAN, STORYTELLER, MEMBER OF THE Lac Courte Oreilles band of Lake Superior Ojibwe

Michelle Reed, the returning lead female dancer and a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, has once again collaborated alongside Sami to continue the intentional offerings from last year’s event.

“Our goal this year was to get the word out about the specials and get people really excited about coming to dance here,” Michelle said.

Reflecting on last year’s Gathering of the Waters, Michelle said she looks forward to watching her son, Hunter Reed, perform again as a hoop dancer. He — alongside other new dancers — will invite the Chippewa Valley to witness the importance of storytelling through traditional regalia, song and dance.

Michelle Reed, pictured left, will once again act as the lead female hoop dancer during the powwow. She will be joined by her son, Hunter Reed, returning as a featured artist and hoop dancer during the offering.

Jennifer Gougé, an artisan, storyteller, and member of the Lac Courte Oreilles band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, will also return to the powwow as a featured artisan. Both her artisan booth and workshops, titled “Oníya Wičózani,” will be rooted in Indigenous somatic literacy teachings and “enriched by cultural healing modalities,” Jennifer shared.

“Our resources will encourage curiosity about inherited trauma in the Indigenous community, and offer a pathway through the healing loop rooted in body awareness and returning to the self,” Jennifer said.

Billie Jo Cadotte, another featured artist, will offer a separate workshop — titled “Bundle and Burn Smudge” — to demonstrate blending her community’s traditional medicines to create healing bundles.

As the chair of Mayo Clinic Health System’s Supporting Indigenous Peoples Mayo Employee Resource Group (MERG), Sami shared that the clinic and its partners will have a greater presence at the powwow and offer “community healing through resource education.”

In the event's second year and onward, Sami hopes the Gathering of the Waters Powwow invites a safe space for Indigenous peoples to connect, heal, and reconnect with others whilst celebrating their traditions.

For all attendees, she hopes the Gathering of the Waters brings a sense of shared humanity, and “a chance to reflect on our collective responsibility to care for one another and the land.”

Jennifer also champions this belief and — as her Indigenous community navigates the world — she remains vested to establish more convergence spaces throughout the Chippewa Valley.

“Having the traditions of movement and music built into (this) coming together; it’s medicine that is intuitive and potent across Indian country,” Jennifer said. “It calls your spirit back. It’s a place to release energy and take energy in, all at once.”

The second annual Gathering of the Waters Powwow – slated for 11am-6pm on Sept. 20 at the Valley Sports Academy – is a partnership between the Mayo Clinic Health Systems, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire American Indian Studies program, and other Chippewa Valley organizers. For more information on the free-to-attend powwow, visit the event webpage online.