Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness
Lac du Flambeau Boarding School
Lac du Flambeau, WI, June 14, 2009
View an interview with Don Coyhis at the Lac du Flambeau gathering done by Indian Country TV on June 14, 2009. Click here to view the video... >
View an interview with Kelly Jackson, Historic Preservation Officer for the Lac du Flambeau Tribe, at the Lac du Flambeau gathering done by Indian Country TV on June 14, 2009. Click here to view the video... >
A Drum and a Song at Lac du Flambeau
Four young boys sit at a drum and sing traditional songs. They are Ojibwe (Chippewa) boys, a couple with long hair and braids, boys who surf the Internet and probably use Google to help them with their homework. Their drum group is called Waswagoning (Wa –swa – goning), which means lake or place of the torches. It was awesome to see them singing and drumming the songs passed down from the ancestors.
The Waswagoning Drum at Lac du Flambeau These four young boys sit at their drum directly in front of a fence encircling a 1906 boarding school building. This building was one of the boy’s dormitories of the Lac du Flambeau boarding school that opened in 1895 and closed in 1932. This is a building that housed Chippewa boys with the purpose of robbing them of their traditions 103 years ago.
But now, in 2009, these are boys who are re-learning their traditions. They are boys whose songs provide the sacred context for our gathering, whose purpose is to heal from the boarding school wounds that their 100-plus year old brothers were just about to receive in 1906. What took place through this Drum at Lac du Flambeau in north-central Wisconsin was one of the numerous and incredible small miracles that we experienced on the Journey.
The 1906 Boy's Dormitory which is being restored as part of the Historic Preservation project. Kelly Jackson coordinated the Lac du Flambeau visit for White Bison. Kelly is the Historic Preservation officer for the Lac du Flambeau tribe. It is her job to restore the 1906 boys dormitory building in front of which the boys are sitting today. “For Lac du Flambeau, the Wellbriety Journey is perfect timing,” she says. “We’ve been working on a boarding school restoration project for several years and the contractors are just getting started with the actual bricks and mortar. The reconstruction begins tomorrow,” she said in an interview after the event. “The timing couldn’t have been better,” she goes on. “The restoration project is an incredible effort to interpret the boarding school with the same concept as the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness brings us: understanding and honoring those people who have gone through this tragic era.”
Kelly Jackson, Historic Preservation
Officer for Lac du Flambeau We are grateful to have been escorted on a mini tour of the old boarding school grounds by Geraldine Poupart Brown who attended the school and has lived within a three-block radius of the school her whole life. Geraldine shared with us a little of her history and background with Lac Du Flambeau. She told us of the area where many buildings used to stand, pointing out the direction of the pig farm where students used to labor. She showed us where the doctor’s office, kitchen, bathrooms, and other offices were located when she attended the school. Mrs. Brown said that after attending she also worked on the site cleaning and doing laundry for $6.00 a month. She attended the boarding school for one year but did not like it at all.
Geraldine’s father attended the school as well and she had stories to tell us of those times. She said that the man in charge of the boarding school would carry a whip with him at all times. Her father used to run away but was dragged back and whipped. She asked if we could imagine getting sick and the doctor having to pass medicine through the fence. She told us that is what used to happen in her father’s time. We encouraged Geraldine to share her history with the group. She said it was just too painful to talk about it. But she has shared her story with her children so they are aware of the things that happened to the Indian people.
Opening Ceremony. Geraldine Poupart Brown carries the Eagle Staff and Marlin Farley is wearing the dark shirt. Kelly Jackson’s song was another high point of the day. Accompanying herself on guitar, Kelly sang a beautiful song, which in English would be entitled, I Don’t Want to Go. It is a song about a young man taken from his grandmother at a very young age and carried to the boarding school. Kelly wrote it as a result of finding a letter from a tribal member written in the late 1800’s asking what right they had to take children from their families. It voices the horrific reality of stealing young children and taking them away. It expresses what impact that has on grandmothers, mothers and children. It is a gentle song that captures the change in the boy’s life in one generation. I Don’t Want to Go, and more of Kelly’s songs will be released soon. Look for them.
About 20 people showed up for the event. The boys at the drum are Eric Alan as well as Wilbur, Trey and Desmond Mitchell. Three Mitchells. The Opening Prayer was done by Leon Valliere and the Hoop was carried in by Craig Beardsley, Lisa Potts, Carl Edwards and Georgene Brown. The Staff was brought in by Geraldine Poupart Brown.
The tribe’s President Carl Edwards presented Don with a Resolution from the Lac du Flambeau tribal government during the opening festivities. White Bison is grateful to receive this and other Resolutions and Proclamations on behalf of the Wellbriety Movement. The Lac du Flambeau Resolution is rich in history and worth reading. You can find it after this story.
Carrying in the Sacred Hoop
at Lac du Flambeau Our day in northern Wisconsin was well received. There was a large powwow taking place about an hour away from our site and we were blessed to have the veterans, drum and participants that showed up to hear about the 2009 Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness. We were able to visit and talk with one another informally, which made it a day of relaxation and peacefulness for all. We were located right next to a lake with a fish hatchery down the way. Three bald eagles soared overhead most of the afternoon. It was very spiritual with those young boys drumming and singing.
We especially send prayers and good wishes to the Lac du Flambeau tribe for their cutting-edge efforts on preserving and interpreting their boarding school history for the generations to come.
~ Forgiveness Journey Team
Click here or on the Lac Du Flambeau Proclamation below to view a pdf version of the Proclamation.
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