Boozhoo! (Hello & Welcome!)
Welcome to the quarterly Maada’ookiing News & Updates!

We hope you will enjoy hearing about the good work happening!

Maada'ookiing (“the distribution” in Ojibwe) is a Northland Foundation effort to strengthen relationships with Indigenous community, build partnerships with Native nations, and offer support for community members to expand capacity in northeastern Minnesota.

A grant opportunity will be offered three times per year, awarding up to $2,500 per grant for Tribal citizens, descendants, or those have kinship ties or affiliation to Indigenous communities within the foundation’s geographic service area. Grant applications are accepted anytime on the online grant portal. The next application deadline is February 15, 2023.

Maada'ookiing Grants Awarded

Congratulations & Miigwech to the September 2022 Grantees!

Ryan Drew Bajan: $2,500
To hold a multi-day traditional hide tanning course for youth and adults on the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa’s Nett Lake and Lake Vermillion Reservations.

Bonnie Fohrenkam: $2,500
To hold weekly beadwork classes for community members on the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation, instructing participants on traditional and contemporary beadwork techniques.

Natalie Smith: $2,500
To hold activities to support the Native American recovery community in the Duluth and Cloquet areas as they strengthen connections in a good way.

Moira Villiard: $2,500
To support the implementation of Ojibwemowin signage and historical markers at the Chief Buffalo Memorial walls by Gichi-Ode Akiing in downtown Duluth.

Nashel Bebeau: $2,500
To hold women-led sewing classes for members of the Ball Club community on the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation, to learn how to create their own ribbon skirts.
Next Maada'ookiing Grant Round Open for Applications

Do you have a great community project idea? You can submit your application anytime!

Applications due by February 15, 2023. 
Maada'ookiing Board Updates
Departures and Arrivals in the Maada'ookiing Board
This fall Maada'ookiing Board member Melissa Walls, PhD, stepped down from her role. Melissa has served on the Board since it's inception and brought a great deal of wisdom, enthusiasm, and compassion to her role. Melissa (Couchiching First Nation and Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe) is a Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University, and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health's Great Lakes Hub.

We are grateful for Melissa's service to the Maada'ookiing Board and her outstanding local leadership. We look forward to working with her in new capacities in the future!
Even as we are sad to see Melissa go, we are excited to introduce you to the newest member of the Maada'ookiing Board: Crystal Greensky!
Crystal Greensky, MSHA, is a Senior Research Associate at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and serves as Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives at the Center for Indigenous Health's Great Lakes Hub. Crystal (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) comes with a strong background in research and methodologies and promoting Indigenous community health and leadership.

We are thrilled that she has chosen to bring her expertise to the Maada'ookiing Board. Welcome, Crystal!
2022 Maada'ookiing Grantee Celebration Builds Connections
In October we held our first grantee celebration at the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center in Duluth. 33 people representing grantees, guests, Northland Foundation staff, and Maada’ookiing Board members gathered together to enjoy dinner, share their experiences, and celebrate their work to strengthen community. Rebecca Gawboy and Liz Jaakola of Oshki Giizhik Singers started the evening with a song, followed by a prayer from Frank Goodwin.
Karen Diver was our emcee for the evening, leading a fruitful conversation about the grant program and what it has helped people accomplish. She also facilitated discussions on how we can improve the program and fielded some excellent feedback from grantees. We will be hosting future grantee celebrations across the region in the first half of 2023.
Chi-miigwech to everyone who contributed their time and efforts to making this great evening happen, and to all who attended. Stay tuned for details about upcoming gatherings!
Photos courtesy of Erik Torch

Ojibwemowin-Ojibwe Language Vocabulary

Gikinawaabi

s/he learns by observation
Who can apply for a grant?
Individuals or small groups who are citizens, descendants, or have kinship ties or affiliation to Indigenous communities for projects of activities within the geographic service area below.
Keep in Touch!
Are you a current or former Maada'ookiing grantee? We would love to hear from you! Please contact Cayla at cayla@northlandfdn.org with stories or photos of your experiences doing your project work. 
Land Acknowledgement
The Northland Foundation’s geographic service area rests on ceded territory established by the Treaties of 1837, 1854, 1855, and 1866 between the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe Nations and the United States government. This region is the traditional homelands of the Ojibwe, Dakota, Northern Cheyenne, and other Native nations, and Indigenous people continue to live here. We humbly acknowledge that we are on traditional Indigenous land that holds a long history that continues to grow. Our relationships today shape and define our ongoing shared history. Together, we are actively building mutual respect based on trust and understanding. See a more detailed acknowledgement of this land and its history.