Potawatomi Tribe Pow Wow: The Strength of Togetherness (Hannahville)

The other day I went out to our local Potawatomi tribe to enjoy and ponder their Pow Wow and its traditions. Not far from Escanaba but still a history integrally tied together. I have done this for a number of years in remembrance of a few family members who were connected to the people way back in the day. Most of us came from Bark River area when we were younger and lived on a family farm that was converted to a  number of homes and properties. As a very young youth I did dance with some of these members a few times based on likely a maternal line of descendent affiliation.

Let me say that the Hannahville tribe has done a lot for our communities and donate monies and other resources to local entities. The culture in this region is noticeable and should be increasingly more encouraged as a shared history. From a historical perspective it is tribes like this that created the foundation of our modern nation. From our way of fighting the colonial British to modern commerce. We should celebrate more of that in our local towns as an integral part of who we are as a peoples. History of Potawatomi

The Sacrifices

Furthermore, it would be unfair to not mention the sacrifices such people have endured in our nation's making. While that was a different time, some of those poor values carry forward in terms of bigotries today and impact choices and decisions. I have almost all my life been opposed to unfair treatment of others because I believe that the future of our country is a universal one in which all people honored for their sacrifices and for their contributions. There are people who are opposed to that idea of shared togetherness of course and if you talk to them a while you begin to understand the darker aspects of why they believe in exclusion. They may not know this, but it harms everyone and that includes the rest of the nation.

The Benefits of Shared Togetherness

Let me give you another perspective and it is only a perspective. Let us say that each culture and evolutionary development was purposeful based on the challenges and environment in which they learned and adapted. Evolution is Purposeful and Cultural and Human Adaptation.  If even partly true then those from a strategic mindset would all have potential solutions to problems we face as a nation and as a global community right there in our cultural heritages. It is helpful from a cultural and adaptability standpoint to respect and understand different cultures so as to lead to higher human capital development and greater pliability to overcome challenges nationally. Red Queen Hypothesis 

What We Can Learn

The people of this land have a lot to teach us if we are willing to listen and broaden our understanding of others.  For example, new technologies are making us more efficient and we may be able to undo the environmental mistakes of the past and learn a lessons of living with and not against nature. The native peoples learned to live embedded in the natural environment and that is a profound lesson for the rest of us if we are reflective students on nature's lessons and her (it/him/spirit/being, etc.) scolding. Or furthermore, we might consider the lessons from collective pain and why it is important to think about togetherness and the future of all before acting. People continue to cite the unfortunate errors in decision making of the past and it should give us pause and diligence in seeking out multiple perspectives in the future.  Cultural Adaptability and Leading Across Cultures. Wise people honor that loss and make a commitment to never repeat certain aspects of history again. The Traits of Wisdom

Come Out and Visit

If you get a chance to come out and visit you can watch the dances because each is a story that is part of the whole but also made from the contributing individuals. The collective whole community's dance has specific attributes and each individual person adds to that in their own twists and adjustments. Tribal dance is a conversation and a subconscious connection that creates a line of symbolic logic from one generation in order to retain certain knowledge through the ages. Since the beginning of our species we have carried cultural symbolism forward as a way of creating generational collective unconscious that has led to perspective and in turn solutions. (CU Archetypal Symbol Inventory and Organizational Level Collective Unconscious ).  

Dance and expression are not feel good activities alone but also an inherent part of society's knowledge sharing and generational deep communication. Dance and other cultural attributes are sacred for a reason and respecting and cherishing these differences helps us maintain those adaptive lessons in a way that can contribute to the long term health of the nation. The health of the nation and its people are the same. A Poem: Cottage of a Thousand Years. 

Personally, I think organizations and clubs should bring adults, visitors, and kids to pow wows to watch some of the dances and teach them the relatively unknown history. History/culture speeches, skit, events, etc. to put in perspective what has been learned and taught in the past and how that applies to the present. Even if your coming out alone or in a small group you will find lots of great cultural activities, vendors, and food. They will keep the fire warm waiting for people like you to come out and be part of it.

This video is about Northern Wisconsin Potawatomi but the Hannahville are in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Hannahville Indian Community