Cass Lake, MN

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Cass Lake Idol and Talent Show Flyer

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

CASS LAKE IDOL and TALENT SHOW

Wants to know - what’s your talent -

Dancing? Singing? Magic? Ventriloquism? Making people laugh ‘til they cry?

Do you play an instrument - clarinet, trombone, kazoo, flute, hand drum?

Can you impersonate others? Twirl a baton? Whistle?

WANNA MAKE YOUR TALENT KNOWN?PARTICIPATE IN DA FUNNEST TALENT SHOW THAT’S EVER HIT
THE QUIET SHORES OF CASS LAKE?

BE KNOWN WHEREVER YOU GO - BE AN IDOL?

JUST WANNA WATCH THE FUN?

CASS LAKE IDOL and TALENT SHOW

James Allen, M.C.

Is looking for YOU.

When: July 19, 2008, 2:00-5:30 p.m. during the Rib Fest Celebration

Where: Cass Lake Community Family Center, 310 2^nd St. NE 335-7837

A Family Fun Event

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

Cass Lake Indian Village tidbit and visitor

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

While talking with our coordinator , we shared a story about the grounds blessing with her and she suggested we post it on the blog . So here it is.

Rushing around to meet the spiritual leader at 8am the morning of the blessing, I did not have time to get all the food prepared for the dish we were going to offer to the spirits. Being as how we are building this village on land owned by Indian restaurant entrepreneurs, I called Marilyn and said could you please cook me a breakfast and we will use some of it for the spirit plate. so when I got there i went into the restaurant and removed small portions for the spirit plate.I added berries , maple sugar cakes. Marilyn asked what to do with the rest of the plate and I said just keep it and we will have the spiritual leader come in and eat when he is done.

When we finished we invited him into the restaurant and told him he could have breakfast but one of us should eat the plate that was made that I had taken the food off for the dish. He said we should all eat some of that food . So there we were six big Indians sitting in this restaurant all eating out of one dish. Now I never once thought about how that would look to other people and the owners really didn’t think anything of it either. I mean the waitress brought us six forks and the one dish. so there we were all taking bites of eggs sausage and potatoes and cutting off little pieces of toast. visiting and laughing and just having a good time . Then a man stopped by the table and offered to buy us something to eat, we politely declined. Then another person came by and pressed $10.00 in my hand and said you can get another breakfast or something. I was so engrossed with the plans for the village that I didn’t give it much thought until later………………OH duh……what a sight we must have been, sitting there all eating out of one dish. dressed in our best going to cut poles in a swamp clothes.

well those of you on the rez and nearby might get a chuckle out of that and the update for the village is the weather, childrens mental health {my other life commitment} and ceremony and pow wow has just brought everthing to a slow crawl but I assure you we will be finishing this all up before the 4th of July.

Actually the village had a visitor who is really excited about the idea . My old friend Sam English is here doing a bill board with the Youth Divison for their second hand smoke campaign. We told him the spirit plate story. He laughed so hard. We got to talking about the village and the potential and he was all excited and said hes going to Hannaville Michigan but will be back here the 4th of July for the pow wow. So he wants to see what we have done by then….so i said how about a little reception for you at the village, we will grill a little walleye, fluff up some wild rice, make you some bannock with maple butter and lots of fresh fruit. If you are really good we will do some rabbit soup with dumplings.and blueberry rubarbarb cobbler. He says we are on . actually he was never raised here so being born and raised in the southwest Im sure he would like that cusine as well maybe even perfer it so I will throw in some enchiladas and and rice and beans and can’t forget the glacamole chips and salsa.

well gotta run ……..check back for the pictures , coming soon ……..maybe we will even get one of Sam at the village.

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A Christmas Story The Windigo Comes to Cass lake

Friday, December 21st, 2007

The Windigo Came to Cass lake

The Windigo came roaring into Cass lake 12 days before Christmas. He looked around and brought his blanket of woe and spread it out over the Cass lake Family center.. His arrival was announced when the voice on the other end of the phone told Thom that there would be no toys for the families that had signed up at the Cass lake Family Center. Thom said “oh no! That can not be.” But the voice assured him , indeed, it was. The toy donation was down this year and the program that gives the toys had thought that the little family center was part of another program on the reservation that already received their toys.

Tom wearily hung up the phone .and said to the staff “there will be no toys for our families” It was a moment before anyone said anything as the sad news sank in. “What are we going to do?” ” One hundred and twenty-five families with 400 children and no toys for Christmas.” Our Families depend on this extra help. Most of the children will have nothing for Christmas . “Its too late to get the families signed up for toys elsewhere.” ” What are we going to do??” is what the staff was saying.

Thom Blackbird recently became the director at the Cass lake Bena Family and Community Center. He had moved here from Alaska. That meant Thom was not familiar with resources or known to a lot of people. This kind of news would be hard to get and give for someone who had this job for a while. Thom and his small staff set about letting the families know. Not all the families had phones so some would have to be told in person. No one wanted to bring this new s to the people but they had to be told.

Bad News Travels Fast.

When Thom called one lady she asked Thom if she could try and help. She said “They say its not what you know, but who you know and in my lifetime I’ve met a lot of people. Let me see what I can do”. This lady knew that she would need a lot of help, so she went out and talked to Grandma Rabbit Choker. Grandma Rabbit Choker was an old lady living out in the woods. A lot of people in the area don’t even know her and certainly Thom had never heard of her.

The woman took Grandma Rabbit Choker some Tobacco and a few little gifts and said “the people need your help”. It is always said that the elders are waiting to be asked and grandma took the tobacco and gifts and told the woman to go home and send as many smoke signals to everyone she could and let them know. She told the woman that the Windigo was in Cass Lake and that only man kind and love would defeat him ,Compassion and kindness would kill the Windigo and that mankind was good and the people must have faith that good will come of this. The woman went home and did what she was told.

Grandma Rabbit Choker went into her house , turned on her computer and emailed everyone in her address book. She told of the Windigo or his relative who had come to steal the children’s Christmas. And said HELP! Now Grandma was old but she had heard about these computers and went to town one day and bought one. Her grand children taught her how to email. She was always amazed that one could send smoke signals to a lot of people at the same time and you did not need to chop all that wood. But when Grandma sent out the email she put her own phone number down instead of The Family Center. It was a mistake she found out about the next day.

Help is Coming.

The lady called Thom the next day and said help will come and told him what Grandma said. “Have faith , that some good will come of this”. Meanwhile the Windigo was hanging out at the family center. He would go out to the food shelve and munch on anything he could find. He went down to the post office and hung out , making sure that people heard of his work here and there would be no toys at the little family center. He could not have been happier. And many of the people who heard the news would have liked to help but this was a very poor community. Lots of people with no jobs and families with no place to live. It got cold and he went back to the family center. Thom was on the phone with Grandma Rabbit Choker who told Thom that a lady named Sue called { that’s when Grandma realized the mistake she made} and she wanted to help and she was sending $250.00 and another lady named Carolie called and said I will help. Carolie got her her husband Bob to help too. Bob Collins helped put the word out all over Minnesota. They also sent a check. Grandma felt good as she knew both Sue and Carolie and how hard they work for families and children.

The next day Public television called . Grandma told them come to the family center. Grandma was beginning to hear from a lot of people. By Friday night there had been $2,500 raised for toys. Granma did a Little dance and told Thom again “Have faith the Windigo is going down.

Mean while two people came to town , they came to do a workshop for people in the community. The business they run is called Access Philanthropy . They left after writing a check for $500. And rescheduling the workshop. When they left the Windigo was lurking around out side and I believe the Windigo was starting to realize this was not going to be easy. The people in the family center were laughing and say maybe we will have Christmas and they were so happy and grateful that it made the Windigo sick. So he went up to the Indian Hospital and they gave him some pink stuff for his tummy and told him come back if you get worse. He had to wait a long time before he saw the doctor. But what he saw and heard there made him feel better. Sick children and unhappy people always made the windigo happy.

8 days before Christmas

The Windigo was still in Cass lake. Thom

was still worried. The family center could get some toys but would not fill the need. Meanwhile Grandma Rabbit Choker heard from a hometown Gal by the name of Val. Val had taken a request for toys to the board meeting of the Two feathers Foundation and they had just approved $4,ooo for toys for the Family Center. Val had been told about this from Joanne who had gotten Grandmas email. Gosh Grandma Rabbit choker loved those Gals.!! That Val is a home town Hero .One who the people can be proud of. , When the Windigo heard Thom getting the news he just layed down in the middle of the street and was throwing a fit. Flopping around and hollering. Meanwhile a man named Will was driving by, now Will came to the family center at times. He enjoyed visiting the people that came there and he helped out there when he could. So he was driving by, wondering why people were there so late and looking at the cars so he didn’t see the Windigo flopping around in the middle of the road and ran right over him with his big ol truck. Oh the windigo was up set all battered and bruised. Little did he know the worst was yet to come. He decided to find a place to hide and rest up.

Grandma was so happy there would be toys. On Tuesday 6 days before Christmas Joanne called gramdma with more good news an individual had heard about the little family center and he was sending $5ooo for toys for Christmas . When grandma heard that she called Thom and Thom told the staff at the center and all the people who came in and the happiness spread . The Windigo was so mad he huffed and puffed and hissed and spit. Everyone was so happy that the Windigo couldn’t stand it. And he blew him self into millions of little pieces and blew away in the wind. It was said later that the Windigo actually made the air bad for people to breathe in places around the state.

This is a true story and if you don’t believe it you can just ask Thom. Grandma was right Man kind is good, and Windigos are no matches for the people when they come together.

Merry Christmas to all, and Blessings to all who gave.

Forward

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Comming soon…A Christmas Story

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Watch the blog for the new Christmas Story of how the or one of his relatives were run out of Cass Lake after they tried to steal Christmas from 400 waiting children.

Posted in 03. Poverty: Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Miracle on 2nd Street

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

On or about December 12th, the Cass Lake/Bena Family Center, located in Cass Lake started making phone calls. Calls went out to approximately 128 families that their 400 children were not getting toys this year. The Family Center gives out toys every year, but this year for some unknown reason, their application for toys from the Toys for Tots Program in the Twin Cities wasn’t received, or wasn’t processed.

The new director of the Family Center, Tom Blackbird was filled with regret and very apologetic to every family he talked to. He called my friend Sharon’s house and I took the call. “I’m sorry,” he said, “But, the Family Center isn’t having a toy give-away this year.” When I asked why, he told me and I said I’d pass the message on to Sharon.
Every year, for the past few years, I have helped pass out the toys at the Family Center. It has given me a sense of joy to see the mothers and fathers that come through, picking out the toys for their children and seeing the looks on their faces as they fulfill their children’s dreams of a visit from Santa Claus. The children were not the only ones that were going to be disappointed.

When I gave Sharon the message, she gave Tom a call to get more information. She told him, “Well, I don’t know what can be done, but give me a day, maybe something will happen.”

She got on the computer, and every name that was in her address book, she sent the same e-mail, letting them know about the crises at the Family Center. By the following Monday, she began to get responses. People started donating money and toys to the Family Center. The RTC of Leech Lake even made a donation. Then, Sharon’s sister, Joanne called and she had donors lined up, but they probably wouldn’t be able to issue checks until after Christmas, so the foundation where Ms. Stately works, offered to wire the funds in advance so that the Family Center would have that cash available for the purchase of toys.

As of this moment, the Family Center has collected enough money and toys for the children of this community through the generosity of strangers, that they’re going to have the best Christmas ever. My heart is filled with emotions I haven’t felt for quite awhile, the joyfulness and gratitude, the humility, the renewed hope. It’s like when the Grinch’s heart started growing again, and he didn’t know quite how to react. When tears came to his eyes and he cried to his dog, “I’m feeling, again!” Well, that’s how I am. Just so-o-o-o happy.
Sharon has proven once again what can happen when a pebble is thrown into a pool of water, the ripple effect of our actions can touch people at all levels. I am thankful that Sharon tossed that pebble. The response has given me a renewed faith in the goodness that lies within each of us. Have a very Merry Christmas and remember this story as your children open their presents, how four hundred children on the Leech Lake Reservation almost didn’t have Christmas.

Posted in 05. Leadership: Knowledge and Awareness, 06. Leadership: Skills and Mobilizing, 07. Leadership: Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »