From Justin's mother Ramona Doud:

Justin has dealt with being a Type 1 diabetic for a year and it’s been a wild ride. He got hit by a drunk driver, then he had Lyme's Disease and now this.

We are still working on getting the insulin pump so he doesn’t have to take as many shots a day. He is the light at every dark tunnel. Nothing he can’t beat!

In recent weeks, the news in Canada has been painful for residential school survivors, learning that mass graves containing the remains of over 1,000 Indigenous children have been found. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of hundreds of government boarding school searches that will continue to take place. The last operating government boarding school closed it's doors in 1996.

On July 1st, the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Historic Preservation Boys Dorm was the site of a community gathering that took place to remember the children who attended government boarding schools in the United States and Canada, and to stand in solidarity with our relatives in Canada.

Although it was Canada Day on July 1st, and celebrations were being held to commemorate the 154th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, Indigenous communities and allies across Canada and the United States recognize the day as a time of mourning. They mobilized to hold marches or other gatherings to let the world know that acts of cultural genocide inflicted on Indigenous families would not be ignored.

Rene Goodrich, a Bad River Tribal Member who resides in Superior, WI, and works with the Native Lives Matter Coalition and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's Movement, came to Lac du Flambeau to take part in the gathering of remembrance.

"We are helping to support our local communities with prayer - there's a lot of healing that needs to be done," shared Rene." We wear the color orange in honor of the survivors and the children lost during the boarding school era. This orange shirt movement started in Canada to honor Every Child Matters, and down here we are standing in solidarity with our relatives across that medicine line (border)."

Rene also mentioned the connection between the trauma inflicted on boarding schools survivors and the ongoing epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women, men, children and two spirit as something to recognize while our communities begin this healing process.

The Lac du Flambeau Government Boarding School was active from the years 1895 until 1932. In 1990, community input began on what to do with the building. In 2005 it was listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Through the years 2010-2014, the building was renovated. It now serves as the headquarters for the Tribal Historic Preservation Office, and also a center of cultural activities for the community.

Tinker Schuman and Greg Johnson shared prayers and some background on the boarding school era. Greg shared that while that building was once the site of efforts to force assimilation onto Indigenous children, it has now become a place of reclaiming all that was violently ripped away in not so distant history.

The Potawatomi Riders were able to tour the building, with a few sharing that their grandparents had been forced to attend the school. After a few songs and a tour, the riders made their way back to Crandon for a feast and candlelight vigil at the Forest County Courthouse.

Chi Miigwech to all who came out to support and share their prayers and good intentions towards healing.

For more information on the Free Little Library, please contact Jeanne Wolfe at

715-588-7001 or email jwolfe@ldftribe.com.

For Immediate Release

 

For more information, contact:

Jessica Wagner-Schultz, Director of Institutional Advancement

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College, jwschultz@lco.edu

715.634.4790 x186 (O)

 

Scholarships are provided by generous donors funding the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College Scholarship Fund. You can support the student scholarship fund by making a donation here: https://www.lco.edu/give

 

The Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College’s mission is to provide Anishinaabe communities with post-secondary and continuing education while advancing the language, culture, and history of the Ojibwe.

 

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College (LCOOC) is a non-profit Ojibwe tribal community college. Our focus is to help Native students advance themselves in the world, while studying their own history and language. We are an open-door institution which welcomes anyone who would like to work toward a better tomorrow. LCOOC does not discriminate based upon race and will not deny admission to any Native student regardless of tribal enrollment or affiliation.

 

Learn more at http://lco.edu                                                                         

Email clei-nako@ldftribe.com or call 715-588-4688

Current class is already full but stay tuned for more class announcements.

As always, please call the Berry Hotline at 715-588-3485 for further updates!

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Email: communications@ldftribe.com

 Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians © 2021

Championed by Karl James & Company