Loretta Barrett Oden

Loretta began cooking as a small child, directed and taught by her mother on the Citizen Potawatomi Indian Reservation in Oklahoma.  She learned how to cook food in a Native American way by incorporating her culture with food.  

Loretta is a chef and food historian and also earned a Emmy for her five part series on PBS that she wrote and hosted.

Olden now lives in Oklahoma City and is working on a cookbook to accompany her PBS series.  Loretta will not be including fry bread  or Indian tacos because fry bread was a product of the government's commodity program and it also has bad consequences for so many Native Americans.

Loretta has strong feelings about obesity and diabetes, especially with Native Americans.  Loretta has also taken a strong interest in growing gardens as a major supplier for her recipes. 

To purchase her PBS series Lorettas Link or to read more NY Times Article Link

To Purchase Loretta's cooking series

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FireKeepers Special

FireKeepers has special pricing to visit the casino on Sunday, February 21st, 2010.  A tour bus will leave at 10:00 a.m. and get back home at 5:15 p.m.

The cost is $20.00 per person, that includes travel, snacks, drinks, tour and $20.00 in FREE play along with a $5.00 food credit coupon.

3.5 million visitors visit FireKeepers Casino per year.


Special trip pricing link

Blue Chip Casino

A closer look at Blue Chip Casino shows the recent changes made, they just opened a new 22 story, glass-walled hotel that has many new upgrades to compete with Four Winds Casino Resort.  The hotel cost $130 million dollars.

The grand opening of the new hotel  was Thursday, January 21st, 2010.  Blue Chip Casino is 10 miles away from Four Winds Casino Resort.  The hotel was designed in shades of blue to mimic Lake Michigan, it includes a 15,000 square foot Stardust event center and 10,000 square foot Spa,  new bars, restaurant, and a Swimming pool.

 

Virtual Tour of Blue Chip Casino

Prairie Band of Potawatomi

Are looking for storm spotter trainers to look for dangerous weather conditions approaching the reservation.  The class will be on Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 6:30 at the Stone building.  Most reservations do not have tornado sirens and require storm spotters.


I remember reading a story of Derrek Collett who was 7 years old and a Potawatomi who made sure all the children in what was at the time the only foster home licensed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi were safe during a tornado in Dowagiac back in the fall of 2007.


Little Derrek rushed a 2 year old foster girl to the basement.  Then he helped two other special needs kids to the basement to wait out the storm.  The Collett family had a article written in the Dowagiac Newspaper and also Indianz.com link Dowagiac is the location of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

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Per City data.com link

Storm Spotter Training Link

National Geographic Lesson Plan Link

Patricia W. Kullenberg

Patricia W. Kullenberg of Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Passed away on January 20th, 2010, at Bronson Methodist hospital in Kalamazoo with her family at her side.  Her daughter Amy Kullenberg of Dowagiac, Michigan, is an attorney for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.
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Guest Book Link

Saginaw Chippewa Lawsuit

Originally filed by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe against Michigan in 2005, it claims that half of Mount Pleasant belongs to the tribe.  The case is scheduled to be heard August 10th, 2010 in the Untied States District Court in Bay City...; To read more link

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Sweetgrass

I enjoy gardening, mainly Native American herbs and plants.  One of my prized items is my Sweetgrass, because it is very easy to grow and is winter hardy.


Sweetgrass grows in rich, moist soils and is considered sacred to Native American, it smells like vanilla and is often used to make baskets and for prayer, smudging or purifying ceremonies.  It is usually braided, dried, and burned.  Dried Sweetgrass will smolder and does not produce an open flame when burned.  It is said to attract good spirits.


Smudging is burning the Sweetgrass then fanning the smoke towards people, objects or areas to purify ones eyes, ears, heart and body.  Tobacco, Cedar, and Sage is also used and is referred to as the four medicines.


Teas are also made by Native Americans to treat coughs, sore throats, chafing and venereal infections.  Women use it to stop bleeding.  Caution must be used because the roots of Sweetgrass contains coumarin which is considered a carcinogenic.   
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Forest County Potawatomi gets $2.5 Million

Forest County Potawatomi got $2.5 million dollars to implement an integrated energy deployment plan that will include wind turbines and solar panels.
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Wind Power Facts link

Smoking ban heads toward house

A possible smoking ban in public places in Indiana has many concerned.  Ryan Soultz of Boyds Gaming Corp., brought up one of his company's major competitors Four Winds casino does not have a smoking ban because it is a tribal casino and that Blue Chip casino has already suffered a 30% loss in revenue. and that FireKeepers will reduce earnings even more...
(Click the title of this story for the source) 

Tour the Mitchell Museum

John Low of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi takes you on a quick tour of the Mitchell museum of the American Indian.  John Low now works as a professor at the University of Illinois in American Indian Studies.

John Low is a humble man that really was a major source of one of the most important pieces of written history of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.  Pokagon history link

(Click on the title of this story to visit the Mitchell Museum)

Photo's of Nottawaseppi Pow Wow

Five great photo's of from the 2009 Nottawaseppi Pow Wow.  The tribe was federally recognized in 1995 and has about 1,000 members.

Flickr Photo's link

Timeline for Tribe link

Potawatomi Pow Wow

2009 Wichita, Kansas inter tribal warrior society Pow Wow.  The Prairie Band of Potawatomi are located in NE Kansas.  Originally from from the Great Lakes region but were removed in the 1800's west of the Missisippi.

Trail of Death link

The History link

Letter of concern

John T. Popp, the CEO of Aunt Millies Bakeries wrote a interesting letter to Indiana state legislators.

"Blue Chip has already suffered a 30% revenue loss from Four Winds Casino and now a second casino, FireKeepers will erode even more...We urge you NOT ...."


To read the letter link

Saginaw Chippewa Tribe

Many tribes are purchasing land and then asking to put the land into trust.  That is what the Saginaw Chippewa tribe is and has been doing.

When land is in trust, there is no question of Tribal sovereignty on that land.  There's also no question that land in trust is not taxable by local governments.  When a tribe owns land that's not in trust, it has to pay taxes on the land.

Once land is put into trust, it is very difficult to take out of trust, it can't be sold.  The Tribe doesn't really own it.

Isabella County does not want the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to be able to put more than 400 acres of land into trust, partially because of lost tax revenue.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe is closing the Soaring Eagle Inn and Conference Center to make a 45,000 square foot indoor water park and 120 room hotel that is expected to open in spring of 2011. 
(Click on the title of this story for the source)

Water park link

Things the tribe owns link

 

Kenneth "Jimmy" Bush

Has passed on Saturday, January 16th, 2010 at the age of 42 years old, he was a member of the Nottawaeppi tribe. 

Funeral services will be Link to funeral services

Guest Book link

Federally Recognized

The criteria for a tribe to be recognized by the federal government must meet all seven of the following criteria:

1, The petitioner must have existed substantially and on a continuous basis since 1900.
2, The petitioner has had a distinct community since historical times.
3, The petitioning group has maintained a political influence over it's members since historical          times.
4, The petitioner provides a copy of it's governing document.
5, The petitioner's members descend from the tribe.
6, The petitioner's membership are not members of another tribe.
7, The petitioner not be subject to legislation forbidding the Federal relationship.


Once a tribe can prove all seven of the criteria then the tribe can receive Federal assistance which includes, economic development, education, law enforcement, social services, real estate services, agriculture and range management, and resource protection.

There are sometimes benefits for members of a federally-recognized tribe because of opportunities given to tribes that are federally recognized based on federal programs and business ventures such as casinos and businesses that a federally recognized tribe owns and operates.

Gun Lake Potawatomi Casino

Is under construction in Wayland Township, located between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo in Michigan.  It will be 83,000 square feet, and is scheduled to open at the end of this summer.

750 casino workers, 1,000 spin off jobs, 1,200 slot machines and 36 gaming tables.  The Gun Lake potawatomi have had to fight since 2002 to be able to open this casino to support very needed programs for the potawatomi people.  Programs like elders care, education, police protection, fire protection and cultural development.  I am so excited for them and what it means to them because they will have money to develop programs that will help all Native Americans.

(Click on the title to read the entire story)

This is what it will look like!

Location

  

Watch construction of casino link
Gun Lake Casino link

$50,000 slot winner

A anonymous women from Battle Creek won $50,000 on a slot machine at FireKeepers casino in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Winner of slot machine link

 

Chief Simon Pokagon Speech of 1897

Chief Simon Pokagon gave a speech in 1897 that many say was one of his best speeches ever, his admirers dubbed him "the Longfellow of the west."

To read his speech ; Simon Pokagons speech link

Julia Wesaw

Julia Wesaw was a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, she was born in 1908 and passed on to a better place in 1992.

She learned the traditional art of black ash basket making from her grandmother, Swansee Augusta, and her mother Sarah Augusta who sold the handmade baskets.  Julia made three to four baskets a week, she preferred to make the more traditional black ash baskets, like sewing baskets with lids or the market basket with strong handles.   she also crocheted, quilted, and made traditional bead work.
She passed her skills of the arts to her granddaughters Tammy and Loretta Wesaw and great granddaughter Ginny.

Black ash basket making started to decline in popularity in the 1950's but was revived in the mid 1970's by Philip Alexis, who knew how to find the black ash tree and the Pokagon's have been making baskets ever since.

Since then many of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi members have been teaching how to make the black ash basket as was done during the tribes early existence.

Julia participated in the Smithsonian art festivals and her work can be seen all over the world, even today.  Her students live on and pass on the learning of the black ash basket making her part of Pokagon culture.

Photographs by Al Kamuzda, Michigan Heritage Awards. 
(Click on the title of this story for the source of article)

Ribbon Town Singers

Ribbon Town Singers has many members of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in it's band, they are very very good.

(Click on the title of this story to reach them)