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The American Indian Center of Indiana
Welcomes You!
We hope you find this newsletter informative. Your input is always welcome, whether it's event information, stories or poems you've written, your photos, or suggestions for something we should cover. Please submit any of the above to Info@AmericanIndianCenter.org. |
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AICI Closed
The American Indian Center of Indiana will be closed on Monday, May 28th for the Memorial Day holiday. The office will re-open at 9:00am on Tuesday, May 29th. |
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Talking Circle
 On the 3rd Monday of each month Natives gather for an informal pot luck dinner and share in a Talking Circle. The purpose of this circle is for Native Americans to socialize and do cultural and spiritual activities. This is an inter-tribal function and everyone is welcome. The next Talking Circle is scheduled for:
May 21, 2012
6:30 - 8:30pm The Church Within 1125 Spruce Street (Fountain Square)
Indianapolis, IN 46203
The Church is located behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, which sits on the corner of Prospect and Spruce Streets. For more information call Doug Poe at (317) 917-8000. |
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Steuben County preserve gives bison room to roam and brings a touch of the West to Indiana
When John Trippy put up the first fence posts at Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve in 1992, a Native American man came by to chat with him in the field.
"I heard you're bringing back the buffalo, and that's great for our people," the man said. He asked how he could help. Trippy asked the man to bless the fences and fields, and he did so the next morning.
Now, Trippy said, the preserve is "a sacred place" where the animals can Read more... |
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Waapaahsiki Siipiiwi Mound Historical Park
Sullivan County American Indian Council, Inc., (SCAIC) is proud to announce the official site description from I.U. Bloomington Anthropology Department for our community project to protect "Indian Mounds" in rural Fairbanks, Ind. Over 40 graduate students, along with Dr. Sonya Atalay and Dr. Susan Alt, participated in a research dig around the mound site on the land owned by Indiana Michigan Power Company in April 2011. SCAIC has leased this property to protect the mounds history and establish a historical park to honor Native American Indians who lived in Sullivan County along the Wabash River. The Waapaahsiki Siipiiwi Mound Historical Park is located in west Fairbanks on West County Road 835 North.
www.SCAICouncil.org
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Shawls for Grandmas honors Elders
A few young ladies from the American Indian community in Chicago decided to bring their community back together by making and gifting shawls for their Elders. Shawls for Grandmaswas started as a way of giving back to the Elders for gifting the community with their wisdom, stories, and presence, and has a goal of bringing Elders
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First shawl gifted to an Elder |
back to the circle, restoring traditional values, and preserving the culture. This is just a small step toward a bigger dream of intergenerational relationships and community wholeness.
This is a free project supported 100% by donations and contagious optimism. If you want to donate fabric, time, skill, sewing machines, needles, advice, ribbon, fringe, etc., anything is appreciated. Nobody gets paid and all they ask is that you gift anything you make. For more information, please send an email to Justine Pochel at pochelj@yahoo.com or follow them on their Facebook page. |
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Trail of Broken Promises Walk
passes through Indiana
By Shirley Willard, Historian, Fulton County, Ind.
Students at Haskell Indian Nations University are planning to walk from their campus in Lawrence, Kan., to Wash., D.C., to save the wetlands at Haskell. The walk will begin May 13 and will follow the Trail of Death across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana before heading east to D.C.
They are scheduled to arrive in Lafayette, Ind., around June 5th, and afterward they plan to come north to visit the Chief Menominee monument at Twin Lakes on June 7th. They are also planning to attend the 9th Annual NCGLNAC Gathering of Nations Pow Wow on June 9th.
Click here for the complete itinerary.
The wetlands at Haskell are historically important because that is where Indian families camped when they visited their children who were students at Haskell. The Kansas Department of Transportation wants to build a highway intersection over the wetlands, thus destroying it. Wetlands are important for ecology, too.
Millie Pepion, a student at Haskell, is in charge of fund-raising for the Trail of Broken Promises Walk. They need to raise $25,000 to pay for vans to follow the walkers, food and camping gear, etc.
For more information on making a donation or hosting the walkers, email Millie Pepion at minipah@msn.com or call (785) 749-8404, or you can follow them on Facebook. |
AICI receives Shining Star Award
The American Indian Center of Indiana was the recipient of the Shining Star Award and a check for $1,000 at the annual conference for the Indiana Minority Health Coalition (IMHC) in April. AICI receives grant funds from IMHC, which are used to promote health and well-being programs to our participants and the Native community in general.  |
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Obama names Jodi Gillette to Native American post
President Barack Obama has named a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to serve as his senior policy adviser for Native American affairs.
On April 27 Obama announced the appointment of Jodi Gillette to advise him on Native American issues on the White House Domestic Policy Council. Gillette previously worked on Indian issues at the Interior Department.
Obama says Gillette has been a key member of his administration's efforts in Indian Country. He says she'll continue to ensure that Native American issues will have a seat at the table.
Gillette is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, in North Dakota and South Dakota. She holds degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of Minnesota.
Reprinted from ABC News |
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AICI seeks volunteers
Native Inmates: AICI seeks qualified Indigenous people to help serve the spiritual needs of Native inmates. We receive a number of requests from prison chaplains and other organizations and are challenged with the ability to fulfill them. Contact Doug Poe at (317) 917-8000, (800) 645-5872 or dpoe@americanindiancenter.org
Many thanks to those of you who have already offered to help serve incarcerated Indians!
Powwows & Events: Keeping the culture alive is done in many ways, whether it's a tribal gathering or a health fair that prompts Indigenous people to return to a healthier diet, thereby curbing or eliminating diabetes and other health related issues. We are always grateful when volunteers donate a few hours of their time! Contact Conny Castoreno at AICI.Coordinator@att.net
Photographer: We are always looking for videos, photos and stories about events taking place within our community. If you've taken photos or videos and would like them published in our newsletter, please send them, along with the event name and photo information to Info@AmericanIndianCenter.org |
Groups identify trees bent by Native Americans
 "If they could talk, the stories they could tell," Steve Houser, an arborist and founding member of the Dallas Historic Tree Coalition, told the Associated Press (AP). The trees, he said, "were like an early road map" for American Indians. The trees are known as Indian marker trees or trail trees and Native Americans bent young trees to mark trails or other 
landmarks, like a creek crossing. Houser's mission: to protect the historic trees and their stories. The group has identified four marker trees and is looking into reports of 32 more across Texas. Groups like Houser's are popping up across the country to protect and maintain the trees. Mountain Stewards, a nonprofit based in Jasper, Ga., has compiled a database of 1,850 marker trees in 39 states, reported the AP. The group's process to verify a tree is indeed an Indian marker includes age, it must be at least 150 to 200 years old, and finding marks that show where the tree was tied down. The Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society's website has a bevy of photographs of Indian Read more...
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Mammoth trail marker tree in Indiana.
(File photo, Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society) |
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Can Wigmunke, The Rainbow Tree
Can Wigmunke, The Rainbow Tree, is a local gardening effort on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that works with community members to prepare and plant community gardens to increase green spaces and improve the quality of life for everyone living on the reservation. The project uses their farmer's markets and gardens as a small business model and inspiration for reservation youth looking to create their own jobs on the reservation.
Traditionally Native American youth were taught by the entire village, often in natural settings. Can Wigmunke has chosen to adopt this traditional model of working with and teaching the youth on Pine Ridge about gardening. Their community gardens have become experiential classrooms where youth learn about sustainable methods for growing their own food. The youth even take on service projects in their communities, like planting 273 trees across the reservation and transforming vacant lots into vibrant community botanical gardens.
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Did you know...
All of our AICI print newsletters back to 2008 are available on our website? Find them here.
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Chief Richardville House formally dedicated
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Chief Richardville House was formally dedicated as a National Historic Landmark on April 28, and is open to the public. It's located at 5705 Bluffton Road in Fort Wayne.
The house achieved this designation on March 2, 2012 and is only the second site in Allen County to be included on the list. It is the 38th National Historic Landmark in the State of Indiana and only one of a handful of Native American structures to be designated a National Historic Landmark.
Here's a history of the home, provided by the History Center:
"Born in Kekionga (in what would become Fort Wayne) in 1761, Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville (know as Pinsiwa, "The Wildcat," in the Miami language) Read more...
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Cherokee Language Classes Offered
Ever thought about learning the Cherokee language? Well, now is your chance! Crazy Bear /Jim Dixon (Cherokee) is offering free classes, asking only for a one-time Materials Fee of $15, then the classes are FREE for as long as you attend! For more information, call Crazy Bear at (317) 784-9187.
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It looks like fun and games...
...it's all that, and exercise, too!
Part 7
This is the seventh in a seven-part series that combines tradition and fun to promote exercise among Indigenous people spanning from newborns to the Elders.
The Physical Activity Kit (PAK) is based on best and promising practices to increase physical activity. The PAK toolkit can be used in schools, communities, worksites, Head Start programs, elderly centers and youth programs. The goal of the PAK is to increase the time American Indians and Alaska Natives spend in medium to high physical activity for all ages across the lifespan.
Book #7, Older Adults - Ats' iis' Baa' a' hwon dzin (English translation - Healthy Body Awareness), a physical activity and nutrition education program for Navajo elders. To view video demonstrations of some of the exercises, click HERE and scroll down. |
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Stay connected. |
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Reminder to Our Readers...
Please click on the Facebook, Twitter or other social network site links at the top of this newsletter to share it with others. The more people who know about what's going on, the more people will get involved and support the Native community and vendors. |
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American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc.
Membership
 The American Indian Center of Indiana now offers several membership levels, for yourself or as a gift to someone else. Membership includes a moccasin key chain, a framed bear claw or a Pendleton blanket, depending on the level you choose. AICI receives most of its funding from federal and state grants, which allow us to assist our participants according to the nature of that grant. Your membership dues allow us the opportunity to create programs and services outside the grant restrictions.
If you are interested in becoming a member of AICI, please complete this FORM and return it to the American Indian Center at the address provided on the form. |
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Recurring Events
Talking Circle
3rd Monday of each month
AICI hosts a monthly Talking Circle, an informal pot luck gathering to socialize and promote Native American culture. The next meeting is May 21.
6:30 - 8:30 pm
The Church Within*
1125 Spruce
Indianapolis, Ind.
For info: Call AICI at (317) 917-8000 or (800) 745-5872
* The Church Within is located just behind the KFC on the corner of Prospect and Spruce.
Craft Night and Pot Luck
(when school is in session)
Join the community in a pot luck and craft session. Children are always welcome at the FNECC!
Please check to confirm class is taking place.
Weatherly Hall, 203
400 N. Sunrise Drive
Bloomington, Ind.
(812) 855-4814
fnecc@indiana.edu
www.Indiana.edu/~fnecc/
Native Storytelling/Drumming
2nd & 4th Saturdays of each month
2:00pm
Eitelorg Museum
500 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, Ind.
Info: www.Eiteljorg.org
Flute Circle
3rd Saturday of each month
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Native American Museum
Dobbs Memorial Park
5170 E. Poplar Street
Terre Haute, Ind.
Info: (812) 877-6007
Jane.Creedon@terrehaute.in.gov
Native American Museum
Bring your flute and/or drum and enjoy time with others making music. The group is free and open to the public.
Indiana Flute Circle
3rd Sunday of each month
12:30pm - 4:00pm
Christel Dehaan Fine Arts Center
Univrsity of Indianapolis Campus
1400 E. Hanna Avenue
Indianapolis, Ind.
http://home.earthlink.net/~gwcope/indianaflutecircle/
American Indian Council Monthly Meeting
3rd Sunday of each Month
Annex Building
Boone County Fairgrounds
Exit #138 off I-65 North
Lebanon, Ind.
Info: American Indian Council
maddox.s@comcast.net
Native Spirit Radio
Sundays at 10:00am EST
Native Spirit airs live on WFHB Community Radio.
www.WFHB.org
Info: Native@WFHB.org |
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To have your events posted, contact Info@AmericanIndianCenter.org.
The word "pow-wow" comes from the Algonquin word "pau wau" meaning a gathering in celebration to renew friendships, to exchange knowledge and to trade skills. | |
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Your Pictures and Stories
AICI creates both the print and electronic newsletters to inform and reflect the Indigenous community of Indiana. If you have event pictures you'd like to have published, please email them to the address below. We also welcome videos, stories, poems or articles that have a connection to Indiana's Indigenous people. If you know of an event or topic that might be of interest to our readers, let us know and we'll do our best to cover it.
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American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc.
AICI is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization whose purpose is to promote unity and well being among Indiana's American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other people indigenous to the United States through personal, economic, social and cultural development.
American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc.
2236 E. 10th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46201
(317) 917-8000
(800) 745-5872
Fax: (317) 808-2390
Hours: 9:00am -5:00pm
Walk-ins welcome, appointments preferred
info@AmericanIndianCenter.org
Staff:
Executive Director/ CEO - Doug Poe
Case Manager - Mark Bush
Contractors:
Grant Coordinator - Ross Davis, PhD
HR Professional - Tony Dill
IT Professional - Andrew Nelson
Accountant - Jim Simpson, CPA
Volunteer Staff:
Powwow List Coordinator - Ranita McMurtrey
Volunteer and Membership Coordinator - Conny Castoreno
Newsletters/ Website/ Facebook Editor - Kerry Steiner
AND COUNTLESS WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS!
If you would like to help a little, or a lot, please call:
(317) 917-8000 or (800) 745-5872
American Indian Center of Indiana Service Area includes all Indiana counties with the exception of Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall, Starke and St. Joseph Counties. American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians living in those six counties should contact the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians in Dowagiac, Mich., at (800) 517-0777, or contact Traci Henslee directly at (269) 782-0887, or by email to Traci.Henslee@pokagonband-nsn.gov.
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