Cass Lake, MN

Odenah, The Indian Market………..is what we have named the Indian Village. We have a large wigwam up and a smaller wigwam and 5 arbors and over the weekend we had vendors at the market. As soon as we can we will post the photos we have of the building of the market.

We have been blessed with the help of the youth works youth who are here in town doing work projects for the summer. Each week a new group of kids come and they are just amazed and excited to be building wigwams. For some it may well be the high light of their whole summer. for us its a pleasure working with and sharing knowledge with them.We do some story telling and teaching with them.Its a win win situation for  everyone. Some one asked where our kids were and why they aren’t out there and I said well about 500 years ago ………………..and you know how the story goes.  Actually I want to keep a positive out look here but along the way of the village we have learned somethings and one of these days I will blog about it and what we have learned.Meanwhile enjoy the pictures of the village and check back for  pictures of the talent show and poetry slam.

The weather didn’t cooperate but the show went on and we had some class acts. But mainly we had fun and if there was ever a community who deserved to have some fun it is this community.

All this went on as a part of the big RIB FEST celebration the town does.  Well, we choose to believe it was a part of the rib fest , after all they did put us on the schedule. And thats about as much collorboration that  the Horizons Group has seen with  any agenda item we have tried to implement.  So success at last I would say. and just wait until next year. Meanwhile, I signed on As agent to “Candace and The BAD to the BONE Boys” So if any of you need a class act of song and dance to entertain you contact me and we will hook you up.

These young people were wonderful and it made all the work worth it watching them preform.

The poetry slam workshop was a sucess i would say. and we are getting ready ,maybe next year we will have a team going to the nationals in Chicago………..In fact we could send two teams One from the city and one from the rez.  Oh the opportunity for youth out there. Unfortunately it all requires committed adults to make this work and sometimes around here it would appear that all the adults have already been committed or close to being there. Oh wait wrong kind of committment………………..anyway we are looking for more people to help with  community projects. Pass the word.

Wants to know - what’s your talent -

James Allen, M.C.

Registration forms are available at the Cass Lake Municipal Center and the Cass Lake Community Family Center. Deadline for registration is July 10, 2008.

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In our meetings with the community, bringing back the Cass Lake Days was one of the desires discussed by the Talking Circle members.   Stories abounded of the fun and feeling of community spirit the festival engendered.  What the final outcome of talks with the City Council and the City’s Chamber of Commerce was a melding of the Cass Lake Days with the Cass Lake Rib Fest.   And two of the events that were deemed do-able in the short time available are the Cass Lake Idol and Talent Show (one event)  and a Slam Poetry Contest.

 I was put in charge of organizing the talent show.   My first thought was to get people on board with me that had some inkling of an idea of how to run a talent show.   Nadine Chase sits on the Cass Lake Community Family Center and had regaled Sharon Mitchell and me with tales of other talent shows she’d participated in, so I called her to pick her brain and get some ideas for the event.   Having seen Jim Allen perform,  I asked him to M.C. the event and I knew he had equipment we could utilize.

Sharon and I had already decided that we would use the Cass Lake Community Family Center as the site for the event.   Tom Blackbird, the director, was all for it.   He was with Nadine and me for the first organizational meeting held back in May.   Then, we had to have a meeting with the city council so that they could approve barricading the streets around the family center.  When that was achieved, I began work on the flyer for the show. 

One of the ladies that completed the Leadership Plenty Training has been invaluable.   Her name is Amanda Burnette.   She has volunteered her time and transportation in hanging flyers and wants to be involved in other projects such as building the Indian Village.   As time goes by, more and more people are expressing an interest in what the Cass Lake Horizons is up to in this community, and more important, they want to get involved.   After all, this is one of the things Cass Lake Horizons is all about:   getting the community involved.

 The wolf is officially off the Endangered Species list for Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Minnesota the numbers of wolves has grown to 3000. Check out the Minnesota DNR site- -What are the implications for reservations in Minnesota?
-What will this mean in the nearby future as protections for wolves change?
-How does this relate to Native people? 

International Wolf Center