Standing Bear Council will host its July membership meeting on Sunday, July 6, at 1 p.m. at the Hawkeye Restaurant, 105 N. Park Dr., Keokuk, Iowa. Those wishing to eat are encouraged to come at noon.
Standing Bear Council meetings and membership are open to all people– Native and non-Native.
Standing Bear Council Elder, Jerry Starr, will continue to speak on how to listen to the drum and the sacred aspects of the drum and drumming. The drum is the “heartbeat” of gatherings and powwows, a vital reminder of Native Americans’ resilience, strength and survival despite centuries-long persecution and upheaval, and of their bond with ancestral lands. He will be joined by Karen Sparrow.
Following the presentation, the meeting will focus on reviewing the program at the Montrose Health Center on June 10, the presentation at the Hamilton Public Library on June 12, the program for the Carthage Public Library on June 23, the presentation at the Keokuk Public Library July 2, and the blessing ceremony at the future Puck-e-she-tuck Native Garden in Keokuk. The Keokuk Historic Commission named the garden, which means “foot of the rapids,” and asked Standing Bear Council to participate.
The garden is at the site of the former Benjamin Bawdin home, constructed in the mid-19th century– circa 1847– and Keokuk’s oldest residence and last standing handmade frontier house until it was deconstructed and put into storage; a frame of the house with a roof– a “ghost structure” will be built in the near future. The home was located in what was once the “Half-Breed Tract,” a 119,000-acre tract of land housing people of mixed (Native American– especially Sauk and Fox– and European) heritage.
Grant applications and the Winter Gathering will be discussed. The Council will coordinate speakers and topics for educational programs during the membership meetings.
Standing Bear Council is a…
Seneca – front row, from left: Brayden Diller, Arabella Wade, Savannah Barnes, Jameson Slifer, Ryan Burns, Aria Nelson, Lane Wilfong and Michael Friel. Second row: Boone Cassell, Mia Valach, Savana Sharp, Jaryd Wilfong, Lillie Cassell, Mackenzie White, Amelia Rogers and Adalyn Beverage. Back row: Makiya Burns, Riley Hamons, Sienna Hamons, Layla Highland, Hannah Burks, Natalie Irvine, Konrad Lowe, Grayson Barlow, Caleb Ritter, Richard White, Jaxon Cassell, Kylor Brock and Victor Dean. 
Cherokee – front row, from left: Ayla Fanning, Sullivan Seldomridge, Kysor Calhoun, Andrew Herold, Daisy Hefner, Alida McNeel and Brinley McLaughlin. Second row: Elizabeth Friel, Chloe Annett, William Shifflett, Jesse McNabb, Rufus Morgan, Kendyl Hummel, Rowan Lindbloom and Ava Robinson. Third row: Karis Lowe, Laelah Clendenen, Levi Hill, Ramona Hardy, Andrea Alderman, Silas Dean, Sydney Slifer, Makenna Marsh and Ailec Lindbloom-Robinson. Back row: Ezra Bond, Colton Cassell, Tyler Friel, Bayla Plaugher, George Shifflett, Joseph McClure, William Lindbloom.
Mingo – front row, from left: Jonah Mann, Natalie Sisler, Emma Pugh, Rylee Calhoun, Elijah Keatley, Blake Alderman, Anthony Burdette and Val Phillips. Second row: Bentlee Gladwell, Canden Lambert, Kya Arbogast, Mason Markl, Lydia Taylor, Jace West, Shelldon Maitland and Aubrey Evans. Third row: James Monico, Ben Workman, Erin Rider, Kirsten Friel, Caitlin Mallow, Eden Smith, Grace Beverage and Melinda Beverage. Back row: Abigail Taylor, Katelyn Stull, AJ Bauserman, Riley Pollack, Rya Barlow, Morgan Smith, Rachel Felton, Riyan Gladwell and Cora Baldwin. 
Delaware – front row, from left: Ariana Woody, Evelyn Simmons, Jerzie Jackson, Simon Scotchie, Annabel Swan, Owen Boggs, Owen Sattler and Bianca Arnold. Second row: Elizabeth McClure, Kaya Eves, Isabella McClure, Diamond Owens, Madelynne Wims, Aliza Hayes, Brynn Clutter and Weston Cassell. Third row: Luke Taylor, Adalee Hayes, Ahna Valach, Luke Gainer, RT Hill,…
Paying tribute to the late Cecilia Gentili.Donna Aceto 
