Cultural Identity: From Roots to Sprouts

Wendy Hernandez, junior nursing major, shares about being a part of a traditional indigenous longhouse ceremony and a tour of Pokagon Health Services with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

After a rather chilly night of camping at the Pokagon Campgrounds, we attended a traditional longhouse ceremony at Zagbëgon Early Learning and Development Academy. Zagbëgon means “sprouts” in Potawatomi. The “sprouts” are the students and the staff help them to place their roots, grow, and form their identities as well as learn about the world around them and how to care for it. In order to help with their identity formation, they hold regular ceremonies. Monday is their opening ceremony, held to have a good week and Thursdays are the closing ceremony performed to give thanks for the week and all the learning the children have done.

During this ceremony, the boys at the school wear ribboned shirts or vests. The girls at the school have ribboned skirts that they wear.  Adults who use she/her pronouns are encouraged to wear long skirts. This is to signify that women are child-bearing and helps to ground us with the Earth. Rebecca Williams, our host and the Youth Cultural Specialist for the Pokagon, explained the practices for the ceremony to us. This included entering the wigwam and walking clockwise around the lodge, giving a tobacco offering by picking it up with and praying or giving thanks, and a farewell. As we arrived at the wigwam we were greeted by Misho Donnie, the elders cultural associate for the school. He instructed that as we enter the lodge we say our name in order to introduce ourselves to the grandfathers they pray to. He used sage to cleanse the entrance and the people entering.

The children from the school entered after us and the ceremony began. During these ceremonies they sing many songs, each serving a different purpose. The initial song was to welcome the four grandfathers and we stood up and faced all four directions to do this. The children then sang the “Bozho” song, which is a greeting song as “Bozho” means hello. Misho then prayed over the collected tobacco and gave it as an offering to the fire that was in the middle of the wigwam. The smoke is believed to carry all the prayers up to the Creator.

After a few more songs, Misho proceeded to give a lesson to the children. He taught that the Creator has intentionally placed us on this land as a resource for us. Since the Creator has done this, we must learn how to care for the land and all the creatures living in it. After this, a water ceremony was performed, in which the children served water to drink for everyone seated in little cups. The significance of this is to teach the children about the purpose of water to us and to help the children learn how to care for it and appreciate it. We were then led into a traveling song which indicates the end of the ceremony. Starting at one end of the lodge we go around clockwise, shaking hands, fist-bumping, or giving high-fives in order to say goodbye and we exit the lodge. The children were well-versed in the ceremonial practices and we followed their lead.

Rebecca took us to visit the Community Center and the Village, where she shared about the powwow clubs and youth council. We enjoyed a traditional meal for lunch: vegetable hominy soup, corn, salad, sweet potatoes, dessert, wild rice, and buffalo.

After lunch we had a 90-minute tour of the Pokagon Health Services Building. The building offers a variety of services within: medical, dental, a pharmacy, optical, chiropractic, a gym, and behavioral health services. Aside from the resources offered within the building, there are many outreach programs offered and other facilities PHS staff can refer patients to. They also offer transportation for community members who may be unable to make it to their appointments otherwise. This state-of-the art facility and services are available to members of this tribe as well as many members of other tribes.

Daun Bieda, our tour guide and behavioral health manager for Pokagon Health Services, explained that tribal members from the Upper Peninsula, Florida, or even Alaska come to seek services here—sometimes many services in one visit. Daun explained that in the dental office they have a crown machine, so a patient can see their dentist, their provider, receive medications, and get crowns all in the same day!

Upon entering the behavioral health floor we were greeted by Duncan the Buffalo. He was donated by elders and provides a source of healing on the floor and is smudged with sage every few months by an elder in order to cleanse him and the floor. Daun’s motto is “never say no ” and the staff do what they can in order to provide exactly what a patient needs or find substitutions for them. One of their biggest programs is done to help with mental health and substance abuse. Daun explained to us that by offering support groups and tools to help with these problems they have had very little instances of substance overdose and no suicides over the last few decades.

Stacy, who also works on the behavioral floor, described a program she does using an indigenous version of Dungeons and Dragons called “Coyotes and Crows,” which takes place in a world never colonized. She created this in order to help young members of the tribe to learn about their culture and while they were not into it at first, after just three weeks, the youth in this program began to become more invested in their culture and excited to participate. The PHS also proves to me that their care is very holistic. By providing services that are accessible within days to members, they are ensuring to keep their community safe and healthy. They also work together with traditional healers when needed and offer smudging kits or beading materials when needed.

These experiences have proved to me that this community is very communal. Everyone knows who everyone is and they are not afraid to ask for help. They have also been very welcoming to our group and in teaching us about their culture. The efforts to help maintain cultural identity are evident and they are well worth the effort, as we learned that is a protective factor from Rebecca. By being able to start from a young age, children are able to form their identity and carry this as they begin to get older. They are also already looking at expanding their building as they are quickly outgrowing the current layout. It is incredible to experience and see firsthand how tight knit this community is and all the services provided and the ever growing efforts to teach the community about their culture.