Category: Munsee

Anishinabek Nation Council members joined Day 1 of the Anishinabek Nation Lands and Resources Forum in North Bay, Ont.

By Kelly Anne Smith

NORTH BAY— During the Anishinabek Nation Councils Panel at the Anishinabek Nation’s 8th Land and Resources Forum, Kina-Gego-Naabadosin – Everything is Connected, in North Bay from February 13-15., Eshki-niigijig Advisory Council member Lance Copegog of Beausoleil First Nation talked of important work being done to protect the Great Lakes.

The panel had members from the Anishinabek Nation Getzidjig Advisory Council including Nmishomis Leroy Dolson of Munsee Delaware Nation and Nmishomis Mike Esquega of Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinabek. The panel also featured Eshki-niigijig Advisory Council members Brittnee Waindubence of Shequiandah First Nation, Terra Roy of Beausoleil First Nation, Pierre Debassige of M’Chigeeng First Nation, and Katelyn Peters of Munsee Delaware Nation.

Peters shared her perspective as urban Indigenous youth, introducing spirituality on how we view the water.

“When it comes to the people who are watching this, it doesn’t only have to be [Indigenous people], it could also be white people. Because when I was in university in my Indigenous Studies courses, there are a lot of great, amazing white people who really want to help our people and who are going to be running this country in twenty years. They need to understand why do Anishinabe people respect the water? How do they see the water because they might not be exposed to that in any other capacity.”

Copegog spoke of being gathered at the 2024 Anishinabek Nation Lands and Resources Forum because of the commitment to the lands and resources of the Anishinabek Nation’s communities. He spoke of innovative solutions that can be worked on together when facing challenges.

“We’re very committed to carrying forward some of the work we’ve…

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UW-Madison freshman Arianna Reiter is part Stockbridge-Munsee and part Menominee Native American. She grew up on the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation and later attended the Indian Community School in Milwaukee. 

But despite her identity as a Native American, she’s 1/16th short of being eligible for enrollment in the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe, which means she is ineligible for UW-Madison’s tribal tuition promise program. The program, announced late last year, will cover all the costs of education for enrolled members of Wisconsin’s federally recognized tribes. 

UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said that creating the program “felt like the right thing to do” for the state’s Native American students to improve the school’s relationship with the state’s 11 tribes. UW-Madison sits on traditional Ho-Chunk Nation land while the Universities of Wisconsin system earns approximately $1 million per year from a land trust made up of largely former Ojibwe land, the Examiner reported earlier this month. 

While Reiter is missing out on thousands of dollars of savings, she says the announcement brought up feelings that have persisted since her childhood of “not being Native enough.” 

“Some [people] look at you differently,” she says. “I’m just that tiny fraction short.” 

The creation of the program has sparked a debate among Native communities in the state over the use of enrollment, the university’s effort to make up for the past with offers of money and how Native students are treated once they’re on campus. The program is also being launched as diversity, equity and inclusion programs have become a major issue for Wisconsin Republicans who see such efforts as malicious attempts to give certain groups more opportunity than white students. 

Native American tribes across the country use a system known as “blood quantum” to determine enrollment eligibility. First instituted by the federal government, blood quantum tracks…

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The keynote speaker at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ 125th commencement exercises will be Shannon Holsey, president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.

This year’s commencement will be held Saturday, May 11, at 11 a.m., in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts sits on the ancestral land of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.

In addition, MCLA will confer honorary doctorates to four individuals: President Holsey, state Sen. Paul Mark, Mass Humanities Executive Director Brian Boyles and former president and CEO of Child Care of the Berkshires Anne Nemetz-Carlson. 

“I am excited to have Shannon Holsey as the keynote speaker for this year’s Commencement,” said MCLA President James F. Birge. “Her dedication to community service, leadership, and advocacy for Native American rights aligns with our commitment to producing well-rounded, socially conscious graduates. I look forward to the inspiration and wisdom she will undoubtedly share with our graduating class.”

Shannon Holsey

Holsey will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters recognizing her leadership and commitment to the well-being of her community that has earned her three terms as president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band, following her eight years as a member of the Tribal Council. Raised on the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation in Bowler, Wis., Holsey has dedicated herself to ensuring the tribe serves as responsible stewards of economic, environmental, cultural, and intellectual resources.

She also serves as the president of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, which represents 12 member tribes across 45 counties with a land base of about 1 million acres. She is an appointee to the Wisconsin State Legislature’s Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations and…

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PublishedFebruary 16, 2024 11:34 AM EST|UpdatedFebruary 16, 2024 11:34 AM EST

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Actress Lily Gladstone wants people to know she’s very offended by Kansas City Chiefs fans doing the Tomahawk chop.

The Tomahawk chop is done by a handful of major college and pro teams with the Chiefs, Florida State Seminoles and Atlanta Braves being the most notable.

The chop is done to intimidate opponents, and let’s be honest, a stadium chanting it prior to kickoff is awesome and downright chilling under the lights.

Just don’t tell any of this to Lily Gladstone.

The “Killers of the Flower Moon” star told Variety the following:

“Honestly, you could hold both teams accountable. The 49ers are based on the California Gold Rush, which was an incredibly brutal time for California Indians. And then the Chiefs. There are many ways that you could interpret the name ‘chief.’ It’s not the name that bothers me. It’s hearing that damn Tomahawk chop. Every time, it’s a stark reminder of what Hollywood has done to us, because the Tomahawk chop directly ties to the sounds of old Westerns where we were not playing ourselves, or if we were, we were merely backdrop actors. It’s this ‘claiming’ of that sound and saying it’s in ‘honor’ and the commodification of who we are as people. It’s great to love the game and your players, but it still hurts.”

Lily Gladstone offended by Chiefs fans doing Tomahawk chop. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Lily Gladstone isn’t impressed with Tomahawk chop.

While people are welcome to have any opinion they want on literally any subject – this is America, after all – Gladstone is way off base with her assessment.

The Tomahawk chop has nothing to do with “ties to the sounds of old Westerns where we were…

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The Tribal Council of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians is sounding an alarm about unaffiliated groups — including one based in the Berkshires — that may be seeking to exploit the Wisconsin-based tribe for financial gain.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Community has strong ties to this area, as it is part of our ancestral homelands. Reconnecting with our homelands is a means of recovery from forced relocation and assimilation, and we are happy with the local interest in our history, culture and traditions.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Community is a federally-recognized Indian tribe made up of both Munsee and Mohican Indians with an ancestral territory that includes portions of what is now New York State, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Jersey. We are a sovereign nation geographically situated on a reservation in Shawano County, Wis. Our tribe is governed by a duly elected Tribal Council, pursuant to our constitution. As a sovereign tribal nation, we enjoy a unique trust relationship with the federal government and engage in government-to-government relations at the federal, state and local levels.

Our tribe was one of the first tribes to meet the European explorers when Henry Hudson sailed up the Mahicannituck (later called the Hudson River) into the lands of the Mohicans in September 1609. A more detailed summary of our history can be found on our website at https://mohican.com/brief-history. Because of that early encounter and pressure to assimilate, our language, culture and tradition were significantly eroded. As a tribe, we are committed to recovering both language and culture and protecting what our ancestors left us. That commitment includes remaining true to the traditions we have and exposing misuse, misrepresentation or monetization of our culture and traditions.

Toward that end, we…

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Corry’s coaches react to Cooper Hodak getting a two-point takedown. Standing is Brad Allen. From left are Mark Munsee, Austin Gillihan, Travis Proper and Lucas Munsee.

SHARON — In high school wrestling, you can’t take anything for granted.

Corry had high expectations at Saturday’s District 10 Class 2A Team Duals on Feb. 3. But after disposing of Grove City 45-21 in the quarterfinals, the Beavers fell to Fort LeBoeuf 33-24 in the semifinals.

Ironically, LeBoeuf’s head coach is former Corry state finalist Shane McChesney, and one of his assistants is Corry state champion (1984) Ed Burkhart.

In the semis, Corry built an 18-12 lead through seven matches. However, the Bison then won five straight, including two crucial swing matches to virtually wrap up the match with a forfeit in the next-to-last bout.

To kick things off, FL’s heavyweight John Duran pinned Owen Nickerson before Wyatt Swan was a 9-4 winner at 107 pounds.

Logan Hodak turns his Grove City foe before a first-period fall.

Beaver freshman Carson Braswell pulled off a stunner, decking Brady Bowers 33 seconds into overtime after going 4-4 in regulation.

Logan Hodak (121) then won 3-1, giving Corry a 12-6 lead. Bison Jake Bennett then pitched a 4-0 shutout over Steven Willis, getting three third-period points via a nearfall. Isaiah Bayle then lost 10-6 to Brody Myers, and the contest was tied at 12.

At 139 pounds, Will Allen was up 6-1 when the LeBoeuf wrestler suffered a shoulder injury and defaulted, giving Corry six points and an 18-12 lead.

Jackson Bowers then used a late takedown to subdue Beaver Cody Proper 4-3. At 152, Bison ace Joe Przybycien’s first-period pin gave LeBeouf a 21-18 lead.

At the pivotal 160 bout, FL’s Aidan…

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STOCKBRIDGE — The Tribal Council of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians is sounding an alarm about unaffiliated groups — including one based in the Berkshires — that may be seeking to exploit the Wisconsin-based tribe for financial gain.

Sherry White, liaison to the Tribal Council, cited two groups — the Alliance for a Viable Future, sponsor of annual Indigenous Peoples Day Weekend events in Great Barrington, and another that has organized an upcoming powwow in Ohio.

“Those have nothing to do with the Mohican tribe, and the tribe has not authorized this,” White said in a phone interview Monday from her home in Keshena, Wis. “Groups are using the Mohican name, probably either to help raise money or to draw attention to their events. The Tribal Council is getting very concerned that people think they’re donating to the tribe or working with it, and they’re not.”

The local group has agreed to clarify that its events, attended by tribal members on their own, do not represent the tribal government.

The federally recognized tribe of about 1,500 Munsee and Mohican Indians, based on a reservation in Shawano County, Wis., includes descendants of the original settlers of Stockbridge and other ancestral homelands in Berkshire County and adjacent New York state, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans is reclaiming 351 acres of sacred homeland in Stockbridge

In a letter to The Eagle, White pointed to a three-day event in September in Loudonville, Ohio, dubbed the 38th annual “Great Mohican Pow-Wow” on a “Mohican Reservation.” The website, mohicanpowwow.com, charged admission for individuals and groups and also listed sponsors and offers applications for vendors. It includes a disclaimer that it…

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Then it all came to be. On DePerry’s visit she asked Karius about making time for a workout. She didn’t want to skip a day.

“She was a bundle of energy on that visit,” Karius said. “I’ve never had an official visit with a kid where they asked to make time for a workout. She loves the weight room. I coached for three years at a Power 5 school and no player has ever said, ‘Hey Coach, I know we have an itinerary but would it be OK if I have an hour-and-a-half where I can go lift? I don’t want to fall behind in my workouts.’”

Since then, Karius has seen the toughness, energy, and willingness to work hard. The coach has also seen DePerry’s unmistakable enthusiasm for representing her culture to young people attending games.

“She’s really passionate about the young kids because she was one of them,” Karius said. “She gives them a role model to look up to and to show them that it’s possible that you can do that. You can get a college degree and play Division I basketball.”

During DePerry’s decision-making process she discovered that USD didn’t have anyone in the transfer portal going into 2023-24. For some that might have been a deterrent because it meant a lot of the roster was going to stay the same, but DePerry didn’t see it that way.

Instead, she called it “a green flag.”

“During my three-day visit I got to spend a lot of time with the girls and I felt very comfortable,” DePerry said. “When I saw that no one was transferring out I thought it showed the culture of the team. Everyone wanted to stay together the next year.”

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