John Pigeon Pokagon Culture

Steve Pigeon

John Pigeon is a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, his family lives from northern Indiana to Southern Michigan. John currently resides in Dorr, Michigan. John makes baskets from the black ash tree, pounding wood until he can pull long strips from the tree to make baskets. A skill that he learned from his parents and grandparents and has passed his learning down to many others.

Johns work has been seen around the world and even in the Smithsonian. John says "The reason I do a lot of the traditional arts is to keep them alive, as Anishinabe people, we try to think of the seven generations. Those seven generations include my grandfather's grandfather all the way to my grandfathers grandchildren. By making baskets or keeping rituals and ceremonies alive, we're able to give something to our grand-childrens grandchildren."
(Click on the title of this story for the source) Pigeon 


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