Otoe-Missouria Day 2023

Center for Great Plains Studies Author

09/27/2023 Added

28 Plays

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The Center for Great Plains Studies and its Reconciliation Rising Project hosted the second annual Proclamation Day and Homecoming Ceremony for the Otoe-Missouria nation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Sept. 21.

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[00:00:04.800]Thank you so much for being here for this homecoming.
[00:00:07.860]It's truly an honor to be a small part of it.
[00:00:10.560]I wanna say thank you to Kevin for introducing me,
[00:00:13.140]and thank you to all of you
[00:00:15.180]for being a part of this special day.
[00:00:17.600]And I wanna say thank you to my colleague
[00:00:19.500]from the city council, Sandra Washington,
[00:00:21.300]who is here with us.
[00:00:22.410]Thank you for being here, Sandra. (applauds)
[00:00:24.741](audience applauding)
[00:00:28.440]And thank you to the Center for Great Plain Studies
[00:00:31.620]in the Reconciliation Rising Project
[00:00:33.810]for organizing and hosting
[00:00:35.730]the second annual Otoe-Missouria Homecoming ceremony.
[00:00:39.510]Thank you so much Dr. Jacobs, for your hosting today.
[00:00:43.140]And of course to the folks at Lied Commons.
[00:00:45.030]We are really grateful for this space to convene.
[00:00:48.420]And on behalf of the city of Lincoln,
[00:00:50.580]I want to extend the warmest of welcome home
[00:00:55.564]to our Otoe-Missouria friends and family.
[00:00:57.000]Welcome home. (applauds) (audience applauding)
[00:01:06.000]It's truly an honor to have you home
[00:01:08.160]and to celebrate with you today.
[00:01:11.046]And we are so grateful that so many were able
[00:01:12.914]to make the journey from Oklahoma to be here in Lincoln.
[00:01:17.310]I wanna thank everyone who has helped
[00:01:19.350]make this historic event both last year
[00:01:21.330]and this year possible.
[00:01:23.040]It's powerful, it's palpable, and it's a passion.
[00:01:27.270]And it's wonderful to be in your presence.
[00:01:30.590]I wanna thank as well to Cory DeRoin
[00:01:33.690]for leading a delegation to my office back in May of '22
[00:01:38.817]and to the community.
[00:01:40.680]Cory and the other members of that delegation
[00:01:42.330]initiated this celebration that we are experiencing today.
[00:01:46.050]And again, thank you Dr. Jacobs
[00:01:47.850]and to the staff of the Center for Great Plains Studies
[00:01:50.310]for coordinating this event
[00:01:52.500]as a part of the Reconciliation Rising Initiative
[00:01:55.343]to further reconciliation efforts between Natives
[00:01:58.830]and non-natives in our community and beyond.
[00:02:02.160]Thank you to Kevin and to the Indian Center,
[00:02:04.470]new director Steve Laravie,
[00:02:06.600]let's give him a round of applause
[00:02:08.444]on his new leadership role. (applauds)
[00:02:09.485](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:02:14.520]And to the staff of the Indian Center
[00:02:16.410]and to the board of directors for hosting
[00:02:18.330]and helping to organize logistics
[00:02:20.190]for the homecoming celebration.
[00:02:21.990]And now I would like to just offer a proclamation
[00:02:26.670]to mark this auspicious occasion,
[00:02:33.780]Whereas prior to the westward expansion of settlers,
[00:02:37.350]the land surrounding Lincoln
[00:02:38.760]was covered with tallgrass prairie
[00:02:42.269]and Indigenous peoples hunted along Salt Creek
[00:02:43.380]and its tributaries harvesting salt
[00:02:45.360]from those waterways deposits.
[00:02:47.640]And whereas by 1714, the Otoes were living in a village
[00:02:50.670]on the Salt Creek tributary of the Platte River
[00:02:52.800]in what is now eastern Nebraska,
[00:02:55.320]a territory which they occupied
[00:02:56.730]for the remainder of the century.
[00:02:58.830]And whereas the Missouria's joined the Otoes there in 1798
[00:03:03.090]after the Sac and Fox drove them out
[00:03:05.250]of the northwest Missouri.
[00:03:07.136]And henceforth the Otoe and Missouria were one nation.
[00:03:09.840]And whereas the Otoe-Missouria tribe signed
[00:03:11.610]the Treaty of September 21st, 1833
[00:03:15.930]and the Treaty of March 15th, 1854, and ceded land
[00:03:20.070]on which the city of Lincoln currently exists.
[00:03:23.370]And whereas by signing treaties with Tribes,
[00:03:25.080]the US government on paper affirmed
[00:03:27.570]and recognized their inalienable inherent statuses
[00:03:30.690]as separate sovereign nations.
[00:03:32.910]And whereas the city of Lincoln was founded in 1856
[00:03:36.960]as the village of Lancaster and became the county seed
[00:03:39.810]of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859,
[00:03:43.200]the township of Lancaster was renamed Lincoln
[00:03:45.515]following incorporation of the city of Lincoln
[00:03:48.750]on April 1st, 1869.
[00:03:51.270]And whereas the city of Lincoln in the spirit of education
[00:03:55.230]and awareness can integrate land acknowledgements
[00:03:58.260]and the inclusion of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe
[00:04:00.600]and its citizens into practices and initiatives.
[00:04:03.510]And whereas the Otoe-Missouria reconciliation
[00:04:05.640]and reclamation movement seeks to spread awareness
[00:04:08.358]of the Otoe-Missouria people who lived in the Lincoln region
[00:04:12.030]before extensive concessions were made
[00:04:14.547]to broaden understanding of the significance of these lands
[00:04:18.210]and to provide information on how people
[00:04:20.010]can help respect and protect these lands.
[00:04:23.010]And whereas the city of Lincoln
[00:04:24.330]supports the Otoe-Missouria Tribe
[00:04:26.617]by acknowledging that our city is on its ancestral lands,
[00:04:29.220]and by thanking the Otoe-Missouria
[00:04:31.320]and the other Indigenous caretakers of this land
[00:04:33.630]who have lived and who continue to live here.
[00:04:36.630]Now, therefore, I, Leirion Gaylor Baird,
[00:04:38.700]mayor of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska
[00:04:40.860]do hereby proclaim September 21st, 2023
[00:04:44.100]as Otoe-Missouria Day to honor the land and people
[00:04:47.070]as an act of good faith in the reconciliation process.
[00:04:50.383](drum banging) (audience applauding)
[00:05:04.860]Thank you. So at this time,
[00:05:06.690]we're gonna start our main event here,
[00:05:08.910]our homecoming celebration.
[00:05:11.280]We're gonna start our event by bringing in our colors,
[00:05:14.573]Joe Rousseau, who is a US Navy veteran and part of
[00:05:19.320]the Lincoln Public Schools Indian Education Program,
[00:05:22.920]he'll be bringing in the colors,
[00:05:24.600]so we want to thank him for that.
[00:05:25.740]And our local drum group, the Four Directions drum group,
[00:05:29.190]will be performing an honor song during this as well.
[00:05:32.010]So if we could have you all rise at this time
[00:05:34.590]as we bring in the colors. Thank you.
[00:05:44.137](drum banging)
[00:08:17.420]Oh, we'll have you stay standing here for another minute
[00:08:21.570]as we call our Otoe-Missouria elder, Addie Tohee,
[00:08:25.650]up to the stand here to give us our opening prayer.
[00:08:51.240]Good afternoon, everyone.
[00:08:53.880]It's a real privilege to be here
[00:08:55.500]and I'm glad that I got to come up here
[00:08:58.440]and bring my grandchildren.
[00:09:00.750]This is something I wanted to do.
[00:09:06.090]I am getting older
[00:09:10.969]and I'm not gonna be able to travel anymore,
[00:09:12.090]so I wanted to bring them.
[00:09:14.370]Like when you travel somewhere and you go off and work
[00:09:18.090]and go on adventures and when you start going home,
[00:09:22.287]you get closer to home, you have this real good feeling.
[00:09:25.230]And that's how it felt to me the first time I came here.
[00:09:28.590]And when I left it found lonesome.
[00:09:32.310]But when I tell my kids about,
[00:09:34.740]my grandkids about being up here
[00:09:36.780]and how our people were moved
[00:09:38.910]and what they had to go through and where we were moved to,
[00:09:42.900]but every time you come back, it's just a real good feeling.
[00:09:47.790]And you could feel like our people being here watching us.
[00:09:53.460]And they walked us ground and I tell my grandkids about it
[00:09:57.450]and they were real excited to come.
[00:09:59.471]And I thank you, Cory for asking me.
[00:10:02.466]I wasn't really prepared.
[00:10:03.750]We kind of got up early and got up here fast
[00:10:05.970]and I'm not really...
[00:10:12.757]I'm just really thankful to be here.
[00:10:14.430]Thank, everybody for doing this.
[00:10:16.530]And everybody that I met have been very kind to us.
[00:10:20.670]Last time we was here, it was so exciting.
[00:10:23.310]We went out to the land and looked around out to,
[00:10:26.130]what is it? Salt River and Creek.
[00:10:29.190]Oh yeah. Well, it was really beautiful.
[00:10:31.440]And it's kind of sad because I know
[00:10:34.650]we're gonna have to go back home and it's just, like I said,
[00:10:36.450]it feels like a lonesome feeling when you leave here.
[00:10:39.600]And I would just, I was standing out there
[00:10:42.480]and I close my eyes just to picture
[00:10:44.670]how our people would be running and hunting.
[00:10:48.240]And these little boys were playing out there
[00:10:49.980]in that tall grass.
[00:10:51.703]And I could imagine them back in the day,
[00:10:52.617]the little kids playing and running and falling
[00:10:55.470]and you know, just doing all kind of stuff.
[00:10:57.270]And it just made me cry, you know?
[00:10:59.700]But then on the other hand, I was happy
[00:11:01.260]because we made it, we survived that walk.
[00:11:04.230]And where we're at now, our other home,
[00:11:06.960]but this will always be our home.
[00:11:09.300]So, I'm gonna give a word of prayer right now.
[00:11:14.040]Heavenly Father, I come to you on this beautiful day
[00:11:16.110]that you provided for us.
[00:11:17.190]Lord, thank you for everything.
[00:11:18.840]Thank you for all the work that Cory
[00:11:20.760]and all the people here has been doing all year.
[00:11:25.110]And thank you for making it possible
[00:11:27.450]that I could come back up here with my grandchildren,
[00:11:29.520]my family, my relatives.
[00:11:32.445]We're all related some way or another.
[00:11:36.240]And I just like to say, bless everyone that's traveling,
[00:11:40.890]going home and that they may go home
[00:11:44.520]and something be there for 'em real happy.
[00:11:48.759]And Lord, I ask you to look over the people
[00:11:51.570]that's in mourning.
[00:11:52.860]Some of our people ain't here because of that.
[00:11:54.870]Some of 'em are traveling,
[00:11:56.040]but they're all here in heart, Lord.
[00:11:57.960]And I just thank you so much.
[00:12:00.750]This is a very blessing and real touching to me.
[00:12:07.440]And I just want my grandkids to know
[00:12:09.090]that this is where they're from.
[00:12:10.770]And you know, Lord, you brought us here
[00:12:12.450]and you took us somewhere,
[00:12:13.650]but it's always you that has a plan for us.
[00:12:16.560]And I give you all the praise and glory again.
[00:12:19.500]And I thank you for giving me where I fallen short.
[00:12:21.780]In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
[00:12:29.789]Thank you.
[00:12:31.514]Thank you.
[00:12:32.347]Okay. Thank you.
[00:12:33.672]Thank you. Appreciate it.
[00:12:34.683]Give you a hug.
[00:12:35.516]This is for you
[00:12:41.999]Good to meet you.
[00:12:44.819]Would you mind doing the acknowledgement
[00:12:46.488]of our dignitaries? Sure.
[00:12:51.750]Thank you, everyone.
[00:12:53.190]I think it's okay to have a seat now at this time.
[00:12:58.440]And I wanna greet everyone. (speaks in Indigenous language)
[00:13:01.650]All my relations.
[00:13:02.850]It's good to see everybody.
[00:13:04.110]Thank you for being here.
[00:13:05.820]And to our Otoe-Missouria, (speaks in Indigenous language)
[00:13:14.376]our relatives. (speaks in Indigenous language)
[00:13:17.970]It's good you're here. Welcome home.
[00:13:21.060]So right now we're co MCing today, Kevin and I,
[00:13:27.360]Kevin's my brother, my Lakota brother.
[00:13:30.510]And if you know me
[00:13:31.680]then I always say, (speaks in Indigenous language)
[00:13:43.560]And so I said my Omaha name is Sacred Horse Woman.
[00:13:48.090]My English name or white man name
[00:13:51.270]as it's translated means it's Renee Sans Souci.
[00:13:57.265]And I always say it's a French name actually,
[00:13:59.610]rather than English.
[00:14:02.430]And I'm an Omaha woman, so at this time,
[00:14:06.780]I just wanted to acknowledge again
[00:14:09.930]our Otoe-Missouria (speaks in Indigenous language) relatives
[00:14:13.800]and thank them for coming all this way
[00:14:16.800]back to their homelands.
[00:14:19.170]And last year when we welcomed them, I had a poem,
[00:14:22.680]I'm not gonna read a poem,
[00:14:24.180]but I will say some words again later
[00:14:28.590]as we're going along here.
[00:14:30.540]But today we just wanna acknowledge our dignitaries.
[00:14:34.140]And again, you know, those who are here, some may be gone,
[00:14:38.280]but Steve Laravie, where are you, nephew, please?
[00:14:43.290]Yeah, this is our director,
[00:14:45.330]our new director of the Indian Center Incorporated.
[00:14:47.988](drums bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:14:54.668]And we have city council member, Sandra Washington.
[00:14:59.359](drum bangs)
[00:15:00.918](audience cheering and applauding)
[00:15:04.290]And as you know, Mayor Leirion was here earlier
[00:15:08.400]and I know she's got a busy schedule,
[00:15:11.228]but we wanna acknowledge her presence.
[00:15:14.610]Bob Wilhelm, vice chancellor for research.
[00:15:20.430]I don't know.
[00:15:21.690]No. Okay. He had to leave.
[00:15:24.332]All right. He was here.
[00:15:25.410]And we have Marco Barker, vice chancellor
[00:15:29.490]for Diversity and Inclusion here at UNL.
[00:15:32.979](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:15:34.980]Also Sherri Jones, dean of the College
[00:15:38.250]of Education and Human Sciences.
[00:15:41.100]She had to leave early.
[00:15:42.371]Oh, okay. So, she had to leave.
[00:15:44.618]I graduated from the College of Education
[00:15:45.720]and Human Sciences.
[00:15:47.700]Back in the day.
[00:15:48.996](audience laughing)
[00:15:50.100]Larkin Powell, director of School of Natural Resources,
[00:15:54.840]please, you know.
[00:15:56.528](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:16:00.180]And Liz Lorang, I'm not sure
[00:16:03.810]if I'm pronouncing her name right.
[00:16:06.366]I don't think she made it.
[00:16:07.635]Okay.
[00:16:09.085]And anyone else?
[00:16:10.440]I'm trying to think, any other dignitaries that we got here?
[00:16:14.723](speaker speaking faintly)
[00:16:15.810]Everybody's a dignitary indeed.
[00:16:17.670]Our elders over here to my right, you know,
[00:16:22.470]I definitely want to acknowledge them.
[00:16:25.380]And thanks to our sponsors, city for...
[00:16:29.130]City, where'd that come from?
[00:16:30.540]Center for Great Plain Studies.
[00:16:32.850]Yay. (applauds) Give them a... (audience applauding)
[00:16:38.986]The UNL Chancellor's Office.
[00:16:41.610]The Lied Center for Performing Arts.
[00:16:43.830]And I'm also a teaching artist here through the Lied Center.
[00:16:47.676]Been doing that since 2009.
[00:16:49.860]The Indian Center Incorporated.
[00:16:54.420]Wachiska. I don't say Wachiska
[00:16:56.730]'cause in Omaha we say Wachiska,
[00:16:59.220]Wachiska Audubon Society is also in the house.
[00:17:03.977]So, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center.
[00:17:07.342]And I know I saw my friend here somewhere.
[00:17:08.340]Oh, there he is over there.
[00:17:09.510]My friend, Jason is in the house as well.
[00:17:12.600]So with that, we continue going.
[00:17:16.890]Yeah.
[00:17:17.723]What do we?
[00:17:18.556]I would just maybe add a couple more names to that list.
[00:17:20.799]So I just wanted to acknowledge as well
[00:17:21.900]the Trauma Warriors Youth Council,
[00:17:25.650]and they put up the beautiful banner in back there.
[00:17:27.870]So, thank you so much for doing it.
[00:17:29.692](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:17:37.560]Angel Geller, if you would just stand up.
[00:17:39.120]She's with the Trauma Warrior Youth Council, so thank you.
[00:17:41.509](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:17:42.342]Yes. (chuckles)
[00:17:44.370]Yeah.
[00:17:49.497]And with that we'll move on to our next presentation here.
[00:17:53.820]So now we have an honor song
[00:17:55.899]by the Four Directions drum group.
[00:17:57.120]oh no, I'm sorry, that's a little later.
[00:17:59.070]Jumped ahead of myself there, I apologize.
[00:18:02.370]This point we'll have Cory DeRoin step up if you would,
[00:18:05.045]and say a few words.
[00:18:07.522](audience applauding) (drum bangs)
[00:18:16.572](speaks Indigenous language) Cory DeRoin.
[00:18:19.249](Cory continues speaking in Indigenous language)
[00:18:24.240]Hello, my relatives.
[00:18:25.260]My name is Cory DeRoin.
[00:18:26.901]I'm of the Otoe-Missouria tribe from the Bear Clan.
[00:18:30.030]And I come here from my home in Red Rock, Oklahoma.
[00:18:32.460]I'm not much of a public speaker,
[00:18:33.930]but my heart has compelled me to get up here
[00:18:35.790]and express my gratitude to everybody
[00:18:37.410]who has provided this warm welcoming
[00:18:39.720]for me and my relatives.
[00:18:41.130]My Otoe Jiwere-Nut'achi relatives.
[00:18:43.439]I want to say thank you to all of the elders
[00:18:45.750]that made it from the local Indian community
[00:18:48.540]and those elders that can make it from home.
[00:18:50.520]We appreciate your presence.
[00:18:51.720]And most importantly, our elders and our youth.
[00:18:55.470]You know, those are, I hold them to high regard.
[00:18:58.080]All of our people do.
[00:18:59.310]And I'm very happy to see
[00:19:00.450]so many of our youth here with us today.
[00:19:02.735]Makes my heart happy to think
[00:19:04.560]that this will resonate in their heart.
[00:19:06.870]Some of 'em, it's their second visit back up here.
[00:19:09.455]And this is our second annual Otoe-Missouria Day.
[00:19:10.710]So, they haven't missed one yet. (chuckles)
[00:19:12.300]And it makes my heart happy to see them here.
[00:19:16.800]It just kind of shows that this will carry on
[00:19:20.340]from our generation to the next.
[00:19:21.810]And then hopefully beyond that even.
[00:19:23.820]It's a very warm feeling coming home.
[00:19:25.590]And just like my grandma Addie said,
[00:19:26.970]it was very lonely feeling leaving here last year.
[00:19:31.200]And so while we're here,
[00:19:32.130]I want to ask you all to pray for us.
[00:19:33.960]We'll have those moments of overwhelming sadness
[00:19:37.290]and even overwhelming happiness,
[00:19:39.630]and I just want you guys to pray for us.
[00:19:41.610]I'll be praying as well that those balance each other out
[00:19:44.037]and that we get to continue our visits
[00:19:45.870]up here in a good spirit.
[00:19:47.733]It's always been such a blessing and such an honor
[00:19:50.700]to be in all of y'all's presence.
[00:19:52.080]And I'm glad I've seen many faces.
[00:19:54.780]This is the second year and I see many faces back again.
[00:19:57.750]And so thank you for continuing to support us
[00:19:59.730]and our mission up here to kind of commemorate our people.
[00:20:03.300]I know our old folks are looking down on us happy
[00:20:06.330]that we're here, that we're able to come back
[00:20:07.890]and walk in their footsteps.
[00:20:09.180]And as I was saying earlier, some people might say
[00:20:12.450]that some of our Otoe- people might say
[00:20:15.137]that our home is further north
[00:20:16.050]in Wisconsin Great Lakes region.
[00:20:18.900]That's where we originated from.
[00:20:20.514]But back in around 1714, or even prior to that,
[00:20:24.360]we left that area.
[00:20:25.350]And back in about 1714 is whenever we made our home here
[00:20:28.620]in Nebraska and this Lincoln area.
[00:20:31.743]And the stories that we were told from our old folks,
[00:20:35.324]this is the place that they were told stories about,
[00:20:39.000]you know, their home.
[00:20:39.833]And so, it's good to be back here.
[00:20:41.550]This is, you know, in my heart, I feel like I'm at home.
[00:20:43.800]And I thank you guys again.
[00:20:45.630]You know, the greatest gratitude,
[00:20:47.040]the word for gratitude that we have in our language
[00:20:49.260]is, (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:20:52.308]And that means I pray to you. But that's really translates
[00:20:54.510]into our greatest sign of gratification to you all
[00:20:56.940]and how we can voice it and put it into words.
[00:20:59.840]So thank you all for being here and providing us
[00:21:02.606]with the warm welcome (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:21:05.032](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:21:14.520]Thank you so much, Cory.
[00:21:15.510]I sure appreciate that.
[00:21:18.000]I'm gonna share a few words at this point.
[00:21:20.460]Again, my name is Kevin Abourezk.
[00:21:21.930]I'm gonna greet you in my traditional Lakota greeting.
[00:21:25.479](Kevin speaking in Indigenous language)
[00:21:33.441]I greeted you all as relatives.
[00:21:35.220]In the Lakota belief system,
[00:21:36.570]we believe that we are all related
[00:21:38.640]and that all things are related.
[00:21:40.770]So, I greet you in that way.
[00:21:42.870]I told you that my Lakota name is Holy Road.
[00:21:46.530]My white man name is of course Kevin Abourezk,
[00:21:49.260]and I'm a journalist here living in Lincoln.
[00:21:51.660]I've been here since 1999.
[00:21:54.000]Today, I work for Indian Country Today
[00:21:55.650]as a reporter and an editor. (chuckles)
[00:21:59.844]So I just started that in July,
[00:22:00.677]so I really enjoy it. (chuckles)
[00:22:05.084](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:22:12.960]As Renee did, I just want to really, really welcome
[00:22:16.470]the Otoe-Missouria here back home.
[00:22:20.460]You know, it's such a powerful thing to be able
[00:22:23.460]to welcome a displaced people
[00:22:26.160]back to their ancestral homelands.
[00:22:28.470]This is something that rarely happens,
[00:22:31.380]but as we go throughout,
[00:22:32.610]the years is happening more and more.
[00:22:35.994]I really enjoy seeing that.
[00:22:36.827]Margaret and I, we have a website
[00:22:38.730]for our project, reconciliationrising.org.
[00:22:42.662]I would encourage you to take a look at it,
[00:22:45.240]but we have a section on the website
[00:22:46.740]where we just list different acts of reconciliation.
[00:22:50.880]When people, our organizations give land back
[00:22:53.700]to Native people, we list that there.
[00:22:56.040]And it's one of the most powerful things
[00:22:58.770]I see happening across this country
[00:23:00.360]is people trying to reconnect to the displaced people.
[00:23:04.618]And oftentimes giving them land as well.
[00:23:06.870]And I would say that's what we wanna do here ultimately.
[00:23:09.660]We want to give them land back,
[00:23:11.700]so that they can come, next time they come back here,
[00:23:14.130]they'll actually have somewhere to do their ceremonies
[00:23:16.770]and do this kind of a celebration there.
[00:23:18.840]Wouldn't that be an amazing thing?
[00:23:21.713](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:23:32.317]So, Just a little bit ago, somebody asked why we do this.
[00:23:36.157]And first and foremost we do this
[00:23:38.310]to welcome the Otoe-Missouria back here.
[00:23:40.980]But I would say second to that, and this, you know,
[00:23:44.970]I don't want to undersell this at all,
[00:23:47.550]but it's for all of you.
[00:23:49.860]This country, I believe was founded on broken treaties
[00:23:54.960]in land theft and the displacement of people all over.
[00:23:59.760]And I believe that this displacement,
[00:24:01.860]this removal of people,
[00:24:03.450]mass removal of people created a scar in this society,
[00:24:08.070]in this American society.
[00:24:09.930]And even non-native people today, I know feel that.
[00:24:13.770]They feel that guilt.
[00:24:16.646]And they feel that guilt of what their ancestors did.
[00:24:20.760]And so this is for all of you, all of us together
[00:24:23.730]to heal from these traumas that have happened in our past.
[00:24:28.042]And this is the way that we can do it. We can welcome back,
[00:24:31.191]we can acknowledge the people who were, you know, who were,
[00:24:35.520]whose origins, I guess came from this area.
[00:24:38.280]And that's one of the things I try to do wherever I go,
[00:24:40.440]is ask people, you know,
[00:24:41.880]who are the original inhabitants of the land you occupy?
[00:24:46.170]You know, and get to know them, whoever they are,
[00:24:48.445]write a land acknowledgement.
[00:24:50.461]And ultimately try to get 'em some land back.
[00:24:54.810]Try to give. (chuckles)
[00:24:56.727](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:25:04.739]And I wanna say too,
[00:25:05.942]it's just incredible to see so many youth here.
[00:25:07.140]So many youth who are helping set up things,
[00:25:09.540]help us with the tepee this morning.
[00:25:10.980]We had 30 students or so out this morning
[00:25:13.890]helping set up the two tepees out there.
[00:25:16.110]And it was such a incredibly empowering thing to stand there
[00:25:19.200]and be able to help them,
[00:25:20.640]be able to document the work they were doing.
[00:25:22.920]It's so empowering to see them gathered as well today here.
[00:25:26.730]And helping with the elders and putting our plates away.
[00:25:30.660]You know, if you do a good thing,
[00:25:32.310]if you really do that thing well, it'll continue beyond you,
[00:25:36.900]you know, that's the true test of a thing,
[00:25:39.270]of a project is is that it outlives you.
[00:25:42.540]So that's my one of my deepest hopes,
[00:25:44.340]that this work that we're doing is just the beginning.
[00:25:47.310]You know, this is just the first steps we're taking
[00:25:49.440]in trying to reconnect to the displaced peoples
[00:25:51.930]of this land.
[00:25:53.070]So, I hope that our youth will continue that project
[00:25:55.530]as we move into the future.
[00:25:57.420]So with that, I'm gonna pass it along.
[00:25:59.130]Thank you so much.
[00:26:01.040](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:26:07.856]At this time, we'd like to call out Mark Brohman.
[00:26:10.710]He's the executive director of the Wachiska Audubon Society.
[00:26:17.580]I've gotta always say that. Yeah.
[00:26:18.992]Whoo. (audience applauding)
[00:26:21.750]Thank you, Renee.
[00:26:23.464]Yes. My name is Mark Brohman from Wachiska or Wachiska.
[00:26:25.500]And we do have members that do say Wachiska
[00:26:27.390]from time to time,
[00:26:28.223]so we do get that pronunciation.
[00:26:30.090]I wanna welcome on behalf of my board
[00:26:32.490]and our 350 members in Nebraska,
[00:26:35.014]the Otoe-Missouria back home.
[00:26:36.360]So, welcome home today.
[00:26:38.879]I also wanna welcome our other Indigenous people
[00:26:40.080]that are in the room today with us.
[00:26:42.240]Wachiska has a long history
[00:26:43.200]of trying to preserve Eastern tallgrass prairie.
[00:26:45.960]It's our 50th anniversary this year,
[00:26:47.820]and we have nine prairies.
[00:26:48.990]And I don't say we own them.
[00:26:50.100]From the prayer that we had earlier,
[00:26:51.690]we learned that no one really owns the land.
[00:26:53.550]We're the caretakers right now.
[00:26:54.867]And I wanna thank the ancestors of those of you in the room.
[00:26:57.810]Your ancestors were the first conservationists,
[00:27:00.180]the first land steward, the first environmentalist.
[00:27:02.880]They're the ones that took care of the land
[00:27:04.200]and lived with the land and the wildlife.
[00:27:06.000]And we hope to get back to that state at someday.
[00:27:08.970]So for now, we are just the caretakers
[00:27:10.860]of these nine properties in Nebraska.
[00:27:12.510]And we have 23 easements that we hold.
[00:27:14.370]And we welcome the Tribes to come out
[00:27:16.200]and have ceremonies on our properties.
[00:27:18.823]And we hope someday that they will have lands
[00:27:21.030]across Nebraska, all the different tribes.
[00:27:23.118](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:27:30.360]I know some of you have traveled great distances
[00:27:32.190]from Oklahoma this morning to get up here, to get back home.
[00:27:35.370]And it's very touching to hear the story about
[00:27:37.230]how you feel when you leave.
[00:27:38.983]It is kinda like that,
[00:27:40.308]I feel like that when I leave our ranch
[00:27:42.228]out in the Sandhills, when I come to Lincoln,
[00:27:44.097]when I leave our family ranch,
[00:27:45.438]it feels like I'm leaving home a little bit,
[00:27:46.830]so I understand that feeling.
[00:27:48.129]Your folks have, ancestors have been here
[00:27:50.790]for hundreds of years.
[00:27:52.200]In fact, there were 300 years
[00:27:53.730]the Otoe had the village out by Yutan.
[00:27:56.250]Tomorrow morning we're gonna take a group of folks out there
[00:27:59.135]and others are invited to join us.
[00:27:59.968]We're gonna meet in the morning at eight o'clock
[00:28:01.140]at 84th on Highway 6 and go out Yutan Prairie.
[00:28:04.200]It's called Knott Prairie.
[00:28:05.490]So, we're gonna go out and visit that facility.
[00:28:07.080]And then on Saturday morning,
[00:28:08.070]folks that wanna join us on their way to Nebraska City
[00:28:11.310]can stop at Dieken Prairie down by Unadilla.
[00:28:14.010]And we were fortunate last year
[00:28:15.420]when the Otoe-Missouria were in town,
[00:28:17.280]they came out to both of our prairies
[00:28:18.840]and just to see the kids, it was mentioned earlier,
[00:28:21.669]her grandson running across the tallgrass prairie.
[00:28:24.060]I remember that standing out there last year
[00:28:25.590]at Knott Prairie and seeing the kids
[00:28:27.210]running around out there and it did my heart well,
[00:28:29.730]and I know it had to have really touched hers
[00:28:31.380]to see the younger generation.
[00:28:33.210]And so, that's what Wachiska is about.
[00:28:34.920]And that is to preserve these little remnant prairies
[00:28:37.590]in southeast Nebraska.
[00:28:38.700]And we welcome the help of our Otoe-Missouria
[00:28:40.947]and our other Indigenous people.
[00:28:42.390]And we hope that someday they'll have large prairies
[00:28:44.677]in eastern Nebraska that they'll have under their ownership
[00:28:48.090]and we will be able to pass it on to future generations.
[00:28:50.910]And with that, I want to thank you again
[00:28:53.010]for coming all the way from Oklahoma.
[00:28:54.960]We really appreciate you coming back.
[00:28:56.217]And it does our community well
[00:28:58.260]to be able to interact with you folks,
[00:29:00.510]the original people from this land.
[00:29:02.340]So, thank you very much.
[00:29:04.097](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:29:12.510]This time I'd like to introduce
[00:29:13.740]my sister, Renee Sans Souci.
[00:29:16.560]You know, I first moved to Lincoln,
[00:29:17.790]one of the first people I met was Renee.
[00:29:20.700]I had been introduced to her as a poet, as an activist,
[00:29:23.910]as somebody who really understood the history of this place
[00:29:27.810]from a Native perspective.
[00:29:29.580]And it's been just an incredible journey with her
[00:29:33.097]doing the work that we do together.
[00:29:34.921]And so at this time, I just wanna welcome her.
[00:29:37.680]Thank you. Thank you.
[00:29:40.149](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:29:46.390](speaks Indigenous language) Kevin.
[00:29:48.270]Today I just wanted to make some remarks about
[00:29:53.100]a lot of the research that has been done
[00:29:56.820]and the books that have been written
[00:29:59.100]have been primarily by non-native people.
[00:30:04.699]And for me growing up, of course growing up here in Lincoln,
[00:30:07.500]and you know, of course living throughout Nebraska,
[00:30:10.710]that's always bothered me.
[00:30:11.877]And I always wondered like, "Well, where are our writers?
[00:30:15.180]Where are our orators?" On and on.
[00:30:18.690]And you know, being a child,
[00:30:20.940]not fully understanding why that was like that.
[00:30:26.520]I wanted to know.
[00:30:28.110]So of course, becoming an educator,
[00:30:32.850]one of the first things that they did that they had us do,
[00:30:37.363]and I'm talking about our college of education,
[00:30:39.450]at the time they gave us a directive to study our history.
[00:30:46.110]So all of us were, at the time were primarily Omaha.
[00:30:50.250]They were trying to create more Native American teachers.
[00:30:55.290]And so here I am and I fully embrace it
[00:30:58.590]because here's my opportunity now.
[00:31:01.740]And I wanted to understand,
[00:31:03.990]because when you're living life, of course,
[00:31:07.110]do you ever have time to fully engage in your own life?
[00:31:11.220]When you think about that, that's why I embraced that time.
[00:31:15.600]So, I took that time to begin to study my own history.
[00:31:19.890]And not just the Omaha Tribe's history,
[00:31:23.460]but my family's history.
[00:31:25.830]And then it went out,
[00:31:28.710]I always say concentrically to all the other Tribes
[00:31:31.890]that were here with us and had been formerly here
[00:31:36.690]to understand what happened to us,
[00:31:39.780]because no one teaches that, right?
[00:31:42.208]So as an educator, I felt like,
[00:31:45.037]"Well, it behooves me to know this
[00:31:47.880]if I'm going to be a teacher.
[00:31:50.520]I need to understand what really happened."
[00:31:54.300]And I had some good teachers.
[00:31:56.700]So I wanted to share a quick story
[00:31:59.160]because one thing with my own Tribe,
[00:32:02.790]and this is something that I'm challenging at this time,
[00:32:06.330]is that they say that Omaha women don't speak in public.
[00:32:11.699](audience laughing)
[00:32:12.780]And I always found that hard, you know, because it's okay,
[00:32:15.120]you know, if I had a brother to speak for me
[00:32:17.190]or my dad or my uncle or somebody,
[00:32:20.250]it doesn't bother me for most part.
[00:32:22.800]But now I'm a teacher,
[00:32:25.590]I'm going to be speaking all the time.
[00:32:28.860]So we had classes together and one of our instructors,
[00:32:33.930]his name was Dennis Hastings (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:32:36.960]we say (speaks Indigenous language) after their names
[00:32:38.700]because they're in a spirit world now.
[00:32:41.160]And he brought us stacks and stacks of information.
[00:32:44.580]I mean like my stacks were like this tall
[00:32:47.070]of Omaha history, right?
[00:32:49.140]Plus the books, plus everything else.
[00:32:51.090]Plus he was our Tribal historian.
[00:32:54.000]And I remember after I graduated from UNL, you know,
[00:32:58.170]walked across the stage,
[00:32:59.820]I didn't go into teaching right away,
[00:33:01.920]I went to work for the Nebraska Department of Education.
[00:33:06.270]My responsibility during the summers
[00:33:09.030]while I was working for them
[00:33:10.530]was to have summer institutes where our teachers, right?
[00:33:14.280]Especially the teachers, non-native teachers
[00:33:16.920]that were living and working on our reservations,
[00:33:21.000]working with Native students and families.
[00:33:24.150]So my responsibility was to bring in
[00:33:27.120]our Tribal representatives, be they council members,
[00:33:31.650]historians, you know, or Tribal elders.
[00:33:35.580]And so, that's what I would do.
[00:33:37.320]And I would go see them personally.
[00:33:39.930]If they were Asante, I went to see them.
[00:33:42.930]I gave them a gift, and I gave them tobacco,
[00:33:45.630]please come and share your history with our teachers.
[00:33:50.310]Did that with each Tribe.
[00:33:51.840]And I came back to my own Tribe.
[00:33:55.050]And the Tribal council at the time couldn't make it, right?
[00:33:59.280]They were like, "Well, we're too busy.
[00:34:01.440]Our schedule won't allow us to come
[00:34:03.510]during that time you want us to."
[00:34:05.250]So they said, "Well, go see Dennis."
[00:34:07.530]So here's me, I had all these gifts in my arms
[00:34:11.430]and I went to his house, knocked on the door,
[00:34:15.510]and he, you know, Dennis, if you knew him,
[00:34:18.480]he was an eccentric person.
[00:34:20.760]I mean, it was just, that was just him.
[00:34:24.000]And so, here I am all confident showing up at his door.
[00:34:27.690]He opens the door and I said, you know,
[00:34:30.480]I was really, really, what do you call that? Like formal.
[00:34:35.160]And I said, "Dennis, would you come and speak
[00:34:39.357]and talk about Omaha Tribal history
[00:34:42.150]to all of these educators?"
[00:34:45.210]And before I even had a chance to offer him these gifts,
[00:34:50.070]he said, "The Omaha women are the true historians.
[00:34:54.390]You are the one that's supposed to be teaching."
[00:34:56.310]And he slammed the door in my face.
[00:34:58.871](audience laughing)
[00:35:00.074]I was standing there holding all this stuff like, you know,
[00:35:03.657]but it changed me in that moment.
[00:35:05.910]And I realized, "Well, okay then, I just had an encounter
[00:35:12.000]with one of our Omaha Tribal historians, but an elder.
[00:35:16.080]And he's telling me this."
[00:35:18.180]So from that point on, I said, all right,
[00:35:21.392]if it's my responsibility as an Omaha woman
[00:35:25.830]to share this history, then I will do so.
[00:35:30.960]Nobody's gonna stop me.
[00:35:33.000]And is there anybody in here who's gonna stop me?
[00:35:35.220]No. (laughs)
[00:35:37.620]But I wanted to share that story with you
[00:35:39.660]because I always found it so funny
[00:35:42.150]that, you know, I was, like I said, I approached him
[00:35:45.390]and I thought I was doing really humble,
[00:35:47.460]doing the right thing.
[00:35:49.358]And he just said that and slammed the door in my face.
[00:35:50.817]And I was like, "Okay."
[00:35:53.079]But the information he provided,
[00:35:55.410]and the reason why I'm saying that
[00:35:56.760]is because it applies to our Otoe-Missouria relatives.
[00:36:02.070]He gave me a lot of information.
[00:36:04.440]This is what I have when I use,
[00:36:07.500]utilize his information in any of my presentations.
[00:36:10.980]It's because of his research.
[00:36:13.620]I'm standing on his shoulders, but also other Omaha elders,
[00:36:18.360]their shoulders of what they know
[00:36:20.430]and what they recorded about our people.
[00:36:23.498]That information goes extensively
[00:36:28.170]into what was happening given from the 1600s, late 1600s,
[00:36:36.150]to what happened in the removals, the forced removals,
[00:36:41.670]and keep that in mind.
[00:36:43.710]So I wanted to share something here very quickly
[00:36:48.120]as I'm, you know, I always have to go back and relook,
[00:36:52.560]you know, reread everything that I studied way back when.
[00:36:56.460]And this book is, "An Unspeakable Sadness,"
[00:37:00.690]written by David Wishart.
[00:37:03.300]I don't know any of the UNL personnel here
[00:37:06.540]probably knows who he is. Yeah.
[00:37:08.850]And he came to us years and years ago
[00:37:12.069]to talk about this book.
[00:37:13.920]And of course us in the audience
[00:37:15.960]was like about 23 years ago maybe,
[00:37:18.660]we all had questions for him.
[00:37:20.250]Why did you write this book?
[00:37:21.600]what gave you the right to do this, first of all?
[00:37:25.380]But he had good answers for us.
[00:37:30.476]And it was helpful because the information that he compiled.
[00:37:34.740]So one thing I'm gonna read here,
[00:37:36.487]"The American Indians were central
[00:37:39.000]to all of these objectives,"
[00:37:41.400]meaning United States governments objectives.
[00:37:45.097]"Not only did they inhabit the country,
[00:37:47.430]but also under US law, they remained owners of the land."
[00:37:51.150]Now, keep that in mind.
[00:37:52.830]Under US law, we are still owners of the land to this day.
[00:37:58.507]"So, they remained owners of the land
[00:38:01.170]subject only to the recently imposed
[00:38:03.840]sovereignty of the United States."
[00:38:05.730]That's still in question.
[00:38:07.260]And the United States government does know that.
[00:38:09.907]"Consequently, Jefferson's instructions
[00:38:12.870]concerning the Indians were particularly specific.
[00:38:17.520]And in carrying them out,
[00:38:18.810]Lewis and Clark made the first systematic survey
[00:38:22.890]of Indian populations, territories,
[00:38:26.070]and lifestyles in the Western United States."
[00:38:29.070]And I always think about that in that context
[00:38:32.910]of what the ancestors were experiencing
[00:38:35.340]at that time When they came through.
[00:38:37.567]"They recorded languages, estimated the numbers of villages,
[00:38:40.696]lodges, warriors, and total populations,
[00:38:44.250]described the territory claimed by each Indian group.
[00:38:47.970]Their role in the fur trade,
[00:38:50.000]and their animosities and alliances
[00:38:53.160]significantly given the turn of events after 1820.
[00:38:58.896]They also investigated whether the Indians
[00:39:00.750]on the lower reaches of the Missouri,
[00:39:03.360]the Osage, Kansa, Otoe-Missouria,
[00:39:07.260]would be willing to move."
[00:39:10.560]Think about that for a second, would be willing to move.
[00:39:14.760]Were any of us willing to move?
[00:39:17.850]You have to think about that too.
[00:39:19.500]So when anything's written down,
[00:39:20.970]this is how I'm always thinking, right?
[00:39:23.707]"So would be willing to move in order to make room
[00:39:26.880]for relocated Indians
[00:39:28.380]from the increasingly populated eastern United States."
[00:39:32.520]Because of encroachment, all the Tribes were moving west,
[00:39:37.830]and we were part of that too.
[00:39:40.590]So willing to move was actually forced removal.
[00:39:44.760]And you know, Jefferson had that Indian Removal Act,
[00:39:48.630]or Jackson, sorry, getting my presidents mixed up.
[00:39:52.200]They all blend together after a while.
[00:39:54.220](audience laughing)
[00:39:55.147]"They had hope perhaps to make contact
[00:39:57.570]when the Indians returned from their summer bison hunts
[00:40:00.450]to their villages, blah, blah, blah,
[00:40:02.190]blah, blah, blah, blah.
[00:40:04.172]Lewis and Clark wanted the council,
[00:40:05.700]So, Eastern Nebraska was to be the testing ground
[00:40:08.588]for Jefferson's Indian policy
[00:40:11.033]and for their own diplomatic skills."
[00:40:14.280]Testing ground. This was us.
[00:40:16.814]We were the guinea pigs, right? Nebraska.
[00:40:18.630]For all United States Indian Federal policy.
[00:40:22.350]Federal Indian policy. There we go.
[00:40:24.840]And then to close this off,
[00:40:27.960]so it said then Little Thief
[00:40:31.110]talking about the Otoe-Missouria
[00:40:32.880]and Big Horse made their replies,
[00:40:35.550]after they had this whole council and everything,
[00:40:38.280]immediately it was evident
[00:40:39.900]that the Indians had their own pressing agenda.
[00:40:42.570]They were concerned that their strategic position
[00:40:45.570]in the St. Louis fur trade would be undermined
[00:40:48.300]if the United States established closer ties
[00:40:51.240]with the Omaha Ponca
[00:40:53.220]and other Indians further up to Missouri.
[00:40:56.220]They were also, as William Clark reported in his journal,
[00:41:00.060]not well satisfied with the presence, given them.
[00:41:03.570]Imagine that not well satisfied with the presence.
[00:41:06.502]What kind of presence were they giving?
[00:41:09.599]It was kind of like, that's what you have to think
[00:41:12.990]when you're reading such documents,
[00:41:15.180]go through it like and think Indigenous.
[00:41:18.660]That's what I always say.
[00:41:20.160]So, they talked about the great white father in here.
[00:41:24.030]And I put on there the great white father,
[00:41:27.000]Spanish, French, or American.
[00:41:28.770]What difference did it make to the ancestors at the time?
[00:41:33.000]What difference did it make to us?
[00:41:35.040]Not much.
[00:41:36.090]All the same.
[00:41:38.190]I say that too with tongue in cheek,
[00:41:40.980]because of course, who am I?
[00:41:43.590]Renee Sans Souci, right?
[00:41:45.120]You can't get any more French than that.
[00:41:48.453]In that process, I understand my own history,
[00:41:51.810]my family's history, my connection to the land,
[00:41:54.390]but also my connection to the people that came here.
[00:41:58.440]Because I'm a descendant of French and Spanish fur traders.
[00:42:02.783]I know that history well.
[00:42:06.212]In that process, we're re-engaging now,
[00:42:09.900]all of us as Indigenous peoples.
[00:42:12.990]And it's good for our non-native relatives
[00:42:16.110]to understand how we engage.
[00:42:18.960]And you may or may not even realize how formal we are.
[00:42:23.220]We greet each other formally all the time.
[00:42:26.640]And we make sure that we're speaking in a very, very,
[00:42:31.560]not only just courteous 'cause that sounds like
[00:42:34.103]that we have to do that.
[00:42:35.490]No, in a very responsive manner,
[00:42:39.180]that we are showing respect for one another.
[00:42:42.674]Our relatives who are coming home have endured much.
[00:42:48.450]And in that process of healing, now, as it says,
[00:42:53.610]I'm trying to pronounce this correctly, so please excuse me.
[00:42:58.140]I'm using Omaha pronunciation. (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:43:07.607]Okay, so I'm thinking of how it, you know,
[00:43:10.627]the pronunciation goes. (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:43:13.770]So that healing, that's what we're looking at now.
[00:43:18.570]So as looking in the back,
[00:43:21.300]behind us in the ancestral way,
[00:43:23.545]we're also thinking about the present
[00:43:25.860]and what the work that we're doing.
[00:43:27.750]But we're also thinking about the future,
[00:43:29.880]which are our children.
[00:43:32.010]So there's a saying now,
[00:43:34.260]and you may see it wherever, social media,
[00:43:36.540]but it says the past was Indigenous,
[00:43:42.390]the present is Indigenous, and the future is Indigenous.
[00:43:47.490]So, please keep that in mind.
[00:43:49.380]And when you're working with us, always come.
[00:43:53.280]Come in a good way, don't come empty handed.
[00:43:56.040]I always say that. Can't do that.
[00:43:58.410]Just like me showing up at the doorstep
[00:44:00.330]of Dennis (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:44:03.450]come in a way that shows your respect
[00:44:06.090]and regard for who we are as sovereign nations.
[00:44:09.420]This is what I always teach.
[00:44:11.190]And I say thank you, you know,
[00:44:12.810]thank you for your kind attention.
[00:44:14.259](Renee speaking Indigenous language)
[00:44:16.601](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:44:23.454]How's that?
[00:44:24.320]Good.
[00:44:25.603]Yes.
[00:44:26.695]Good. Appreciate it.
[00:44:28.687]Yeah. (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:44:29.728]Well done.
[00:44:31.590]Thank you so much for those powerful words, Renee.
[00:44:34.800]Yeah, and if you get a chance,
[00:44:35.700]do check out that book, "An Unspeakable Sadness,"
[00:44:38.450]by David Wishart.
[00:44:39.811]It really does document the displacement
[00:44:41.370]of Native people here in Nebraska.
[00:44:43.380]In great detail, I should say.
[00:44:45.861]That's a little bit of a thick read.
[00:44:47.877]But at this time, we'd like to ask Sandra Washington,
[00:44:50.490]city councilwoman to come up and share a few words.
[00:44:52.740]Thank you.
[00:44:54.947](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:45:06.205](chuckles) It's good to be back.
[00:45:11.010]Good afternoon.
[00:45:13.230]I begin by saying a greeting to all my relations.
[00:45:19.320]It is good to be here with you.
[00:45:21.060]It's an honor to be a part of the celebration,
[00:45:22.980]to welcome the Otoe-Missouria home again
[00:45:25.590]to Lincoln, to Nebraska.
[00:45:28.080]Thanks to Margaret Jacobs, to Kevin Abourezk
[00:45:31.230]and the entire planning committee.
[00:45:33.660]To the elders and the children,
[00:45:36.720]to all who gather and witness whether you were born here,
[00:45:40.260]you made a home here, or you are coming home again here,
[00:45:44.040]I offer my small welcome.
[00:45:47.820]A couple years ago, I learned this greeting
[00:45:50.070]all my relations from a kind and wise teacher.
[00:45:54.090]And it called to mind something I learned in grade school.
[00:45:57.930]Near the end of the school year, in late spring,
[00:46:01.230]all the sixth graders in my school
[00:46:03.450]went to science camp for three days.
[00:46:05.610]It was the best thing ever.
[00:46:08.730]I grew up to be an environmental scientist.
[00:46:12.389]One activity left a lasting impression on me.
[00:46:16.110]Our science teacher, Mrs. Cook, asked each of the students
[00:46:18.720]to pick a card out of the bowl and a ball of yarn.
[00:46:23.280]Sitting in a circle, we revealed our card.
[00:46:27.000]Beetle, tree, rabbit, fungus, fox, rock, owl, grass, turtle.
[00:46:35.370]And then we started telling stories.
[00:46:38.581]Who ate who, where did they live?
[00:46:43.800]What did they need for shelter?
[00:46:47.850]Each time we found a connection between us,
[00:46:49.950]we passed a ball of yarn.
[00:46:52.230]And every so often our teacher would pass out another card
[00:46:55.650]and place it in someone's hands,
[00:46:57.090]so that we could tell new stories and find new connections.
[00:47:01.110]Within 20 minutes, it looked like a beautiful mess.
[00:47:04.350]We were each wrapped together
[00:47:06.360]in a tangled web of colorful yarn.
[00:47:09.270]And the web revealed that no one lives in isolation.
[00:47:13.890]Though we have many ways to distinguish our differences,
[00:47:17.760]we are all closer than we know.
[00:47:21.210]I was lucky then, and I am lucky now
[00:47:24.210]to have kind teachers remind me of this truth.
[00:47:30.827]So the theme of reconciliation and healing,
[00:47:35.310]being in relationship with each other,
[00:47:38.310]it requires that we show up and be present with each other,
[00:47:42.180]even if we are discomforted by the stories that are told.
[00:47:49.662]I have taken time for many years
[00:47:53.970]to learn more stories in history about
[00:47:57.000]the Indigenous people who were here first.
[00:48:00.060]And I have heard the hard stories, the disettlting history,
[00:48:07.830]and recognize that the basis of the United States
[00:48:10.860]is not only about displacing one group of people,
[00:48:14.526]it's about displacing another group of people
[00:48:16.920]and bringing them to this continent
[00:48:19.560]and tearing them from their roots,
[00:48:20.910]so that they don't have the long history
[00:48:23.400]of being able to say, this is my home.
[00:48:27.840]So for all that it can be, this is my home,
[00:48:33.990]and there is another home somewhere else.
[00:48:38.250]But if we're as citizens, residents of this United States
[00:48:42.600]to reconcile the sad parts of our nation's history
[00:48:45.780]with a desire to build a brighter
[00:48:47.640]and more prosperous future for all,
[00:48:50.700]let us not shy away from the hard conversations.
[00:48:54.060]We have to be determined to do better.
[00:48:57.300]Let us be willing to listen with open hearts.
[00:49:01.229]Let us be willing to acknowledge the accounting of the past
[00:49:03.866]without guilt that stops us or shame.
[00:49:06.900]And let us show by our actions a true welcome
[00:49:10.260]and a commitment to liberty and justice for all.
[00:49:13.890]Welcome home, our work continues.
[00:49:18.223](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:49:30.630]Thank you so much, Sandra, for those powerful words.
[00:49:33.150]I always appreciate your presence, thank you.
[00:49:36.420]At this time, we're gonna call forth Carly Rigatuso,
[00:49:39.900]who's a member of UNITED, I'm sorry,
[00:49:42.390]the University of Nebraska Inter-Tribal Exchange.
[00:49:45.780]That's our student Native American Youth Group.
[00:49:48.960]And just wanted to thank UNITE for helping us
[00:49:51.900]set up the teepee this morning,
[00:49:53.610]for helping us serve the elders today
[00:49:56.130]and for bringing the garbage cans around,
[00:49:58.470]and just all these things
[00:49:59.910]that make this kind of event happen smoothly.
[00:50:03.900]So, thank you so much.
[00:50:06.601](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:50:14.386](speaks Indigenous language) So, hello, my name is Carly.
[00:50:18.630]I don't have a ton to say
[00:50:20.340]other than what I've seen today is beautiful.
[00:50:23.700]To see everyone out here today,
[00:50:25.260]to see your families and your children,
[00:50:27.930]really warms my heart
[00:50:30.150]I really enjoy being a part of this.
[00:50:33.060]I think it's beautiful that you're able
[00:50:35.340]to come back to this place that rightfully belongs to you.
[00:50:39.450]And I can understand that feeling
[00:50:40.800]of like when you're going home.
[00:50:43.985]I think earlier when the elder was talking about that,
[00:50:46.623]that really hit me.
[00:50:48.450]And I'm glad that I could help in the process
[00:50:51.810]of bringing you guys home.
[00:50:54.454]So for me, and UNITE, welcome home.
[00:50:56.430]Thank you. (speaks Indigenous language)
[00:50:59.033](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:51:06.956]You ready?
[00:51:09.913]All right, this time we're gonna have an honor song
[00:51:12.570]by the Four Directions drum group.
[00:51:14.700]This is our local drum group.
[00:51:18.447]Hey, Mike, you want 'em to stand or.
[00:51:20.713]Yeah.
[00:51:21.903]Okay.
[00:51:22.736]We would ask you to stand at this time. Thank you.
[00:51:27.518](drum bangs)
[00:51:29.878](singers singing in Indigenous language)
[00:51:59.727](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[00:52:29.708](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[00:52:59.607](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[00:53:29.577](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[00:53:55.662](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[00:54:05.873]Go ahead.
[00:54:09.871]All right, this time we'd ask
[00:54:10.800]the Otoe-Missouria drum group to,
[00:54:14.160]first of all, I just wanna thank the drum group
[00:54:16.110]for coming up today.
[00:54:18.210]There was a death on the reservation there back in Oklahoma,
[00:54:22.170]and so I know they were needed there as well.
[00:54:24.690]But I do appreciate them giving us some time today.
[00:54:27.600]So, I wanna thank them for traveling up here
[00:54:30.559]to be part of this.
[00:54:31.392]At this time, we're gonna do a blanket dance.
[00:54:35.275]And I don't know if you wouldn't mind, Cory,
[00:54:36.601]just kind of describing what that is. (chuckles)
[00:54:41.334]Okay.
[00:55:01.508]I actually thought this time to follow proper protocol.
[00:55:05.121]We'll have Don Patterson, elder from back home
[00:55:08.070]come up and kind of introduce himself
[00:55:11.250]and give some background on the songs.
[00:55:13.110]they're gonna start with our flag song
[00:55:14.670]and a couple other songs.
[00:55:15.630]Then we'll take care of the blanket dance song last.
[00:55:18.510]And he'll kind of give a brief explanation
[00:55:20.700]of what all that is.
[00:55:23.130]Thank you.
[00:55:30.330]Since we're here to celebrate Otoe-Missouria
[00:55:36.600]or Jiwere-Nut'achi as we understand it,
[00:55:40.352]a homecoming of sorts,
[00:55:43.290]I thought I would try to make the songs that we sang
[00:55:47.880]a little bit more understandable.
[00:55:52.260]I know to most of you, Native music, like you've just heard,
[00:55:56.580]is probably alien and you're probably asking yourself,
[00:56:01.177]"Wonder what all that means."
[00:56:03.660]I know when I hear Mexican music or Chinese music
[00:56:08.790]or any other kind of ethnic music, I ask the same question,
[00:56:12.697]"It's very beautiful but I don't know what it means."
[00:56:16.680]And so, I'm going to try to make
[00:56:20.602]our singing performance as informative as I can.
[00:56:25.380]But first of all, any Jiwere-Nut'achi language
[00:56:31.380]to our cooks.
[00:56:35.260](Don speaking in Indigenous language)
[00:56:39.990]That means in our language,
[00:56:41.940]thank you for that very good food.
[00:56:44.430]I think we could all applaud that.
[00:56:46.539](drum bangs) (audience applauding)
[00:56:52.560]We're going to sing what we commonly refer to
[00:56:58.350]as a flag song, but this is equivalent of a national anthem.
[00:57:06.990]We're all familiar with the national anthem
[00:57:09.600]of this great country.
[00:57:11.790]We hear it right over here in the stadium about
[00:57:15.420]every time they play football, the Huskers,
[00:57:19.544]just before they get beat by Oklahoma University.
[00:57:22.904](audience laughing)
[00:57:29.067]Unbelievable.
[00:57:36.365]But the lady mentioned in so many words,
[00:57:39.442]and I will kind of make the same expression that we believe
[00:57:43.410]that our women are the keepers of the treasures.
[00:57:50.490]And following that thought,
[00:57:54.300]we're about to sing the flag song,
[00:57:58.755]the equivalent of the American national anthem
[00:58:02.070]which we would simply refer to
[00:58:04.020]as the Jiwere-Nut'achi national anthem.
[00:58:10.290]So, it has the same meaning, the same understanding.
[00:58:15.330]But I want to explain a little bit about it
[00:58:18.300]for your understanding.
[00:58:22.590]The Otoe-Missouria people had many patriotic songs
[00:58:26.190]in times passed, especially in traditional times,
[00:58:30.180]but so many of 'em have been lost down through the ages,
[00:58:34.839]but many have been retained as well.
[00:58:38.760]And this particular song was composed
[00:58:41.904]by an elderly Jiwere-Nut'achi lady
[00:58:46.770]during the post-war era of World War I.
[00:58:55.050]Her name was Nanny Charles Alley,
[00:58:59.520]an elderly lady at that time.
[00:59:02.782]She was a very prayerful lady.
[00:59:08.160]My understanding is that she had a son
[00:59:11.460]who served in the military and like all mothers,
[00:59:14.490]she was very concerned for him and about his wellbeing
[00:59:19.290]since they were right in the middle of a world war.
[00:59:24.240]And so she prayed often for not only him
[00:59:27.900]and but for all of the young men and women
[00:59:30.360]who were serving in the military during that era.
[00:59:35.460]And during the course of her praying,
[00:59:41.280]this particular song evolved out of her prayer.
[00:59:46.890]During the course of her prayer,
[00:59:48.150]she acknowledged the colors of our national anthem.
[00:59:54.090]And of course she prayed for the wellbeing of those serving,
[00:59:58.290]prayed also for their safe return.
[01:00:02.007]And of course they all came back,
[01:00:05.489]at least all of the Jiwere-Nut'achi.
[01:00:09.390]And so, her prayer was answered.
[01:00:13.256]And she recalled that prayer and put it into a song.
[01:00:18.690]And that song was very well received
[01:00:21.900]by the Otoe-Missouria people.
[01:00:25.650]And it was thereafter used
[01:00:28.500]as the national anthem of the Jiwere-Nut'achi.
[01:00:33.660]And so, we're going to sing that song here for you today.
[01:00:38.490]And then we're gonna follow that with a memorial song
[01:00:42.450]of which we remember all of our relatives long since gone.
[01:00:52.800]At the same time, we acknowledge our children
[01:00:56.130]who are indeed our future.
[01:01:00.570]And then we will follow that with a couple
[01:01:04.200]of what we call round dance songs.
[01:01:07.770]And our ladies over there,
[01:01:09.990]the Otoe-Missouria ladies will lead that dance.
[01:01:14.153]And this particular dance was an old dance
[01:01:16.170]that was originally called a Soldier's Victory dance,
[01:01:21.270]whereby women dances honoring men and women
[01:01:24.810]who come back from war victoriously.
[01:01:28.860]The formation is circular in essence,
[01:01:32.940]and so we simply call it a round dance.
[01:01:35.940]So, I think you can get that understanding.
[01:01:37.740]So we're going to sing the Otoe-Missouria
[01:01:41.877]Jiwere-Nut'achi national anthem at this time.
[01:01:45.750]So if you would give us your attention
[01:01:48.270]and your reverence for just a moment, please.
[01:02:00.402]Real quickly, real quickly,
[01:02:02.850]I just wanna say thank you again
[01:02:04.170]to our Jiwere-Nut'achi singers
[01:02:06.360]that made their way over here for us.
[01:02:08.730]We all know that that takes a lot to travel up here
[01:02:11.880]and we're very grateful that they took it upon themselves
[01:02:14.820]to come up here and help us out.
[01:02:18.577](audience applauding) (drum bangs)
[01:02:22.189](singers singing in Indigenous language)
[01:02:53.678](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:03:24.688](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:03:54.302](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:04:24.626](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:04:54.717](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:05:24.522](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:05:58.152](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:06:24.854](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:06:47.295](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:07:08.335]This time we're gonna ask our dancers
[01:07:10.170]to come out if they would.
[01:07:19.124]If we could have everybody take a little step back here,
[01:07:20.730]so we have room for the dancers.
[01:07:24.411](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:07:31.202]Maybe we could even move the tables back a little bit.
[01:07:39.708](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:08:08.742](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:08:38.986](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:09:08.786](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:09:39.558](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:09:54.202](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:10:05.640]Thank you so much for the dancers who came today.
[01:10:08.460]There were a couple of powwow princesses there as well.
[01:10:11.580]We have our local Lincoln Indian Club princess,
[01:10:14.790]please forgive me if I mispronounce this, but Nalani.
[01:10:17.546]Yes.
[01:10:18.379]Okay. Thank you so much for joining us.
[01:10:19.590]And I saw that Lena Black was here as well,
[01:10:22.710]who's also a princess.
[01:10:23.850]So thank you so much to the dancers
[01:10:25.590]and to the singers for that.
[01:10:27.250](audience applauding)
[01:10:28.447]Sure appreciate that.
[01:10:29.280]Blanket dance.
[01:10:30.655]Blanket dance.
[01:10:32.187]Okay, you wanna.
[01:10:35.250]All right, if you'll just, next we want to have,
[01:10:37.650]we're gonna ask them to do a blanket dance.
[01:10:39.870]This is a way for us to show our gratitude for them
[01:10:42.180]to be able to make their way up here.
[01:10:44.460]And we all know that this drum speaks to all of our spirits.
[01:10:48.540]And so, it's good to show our gratitude
[01:10:51.210]and hear this blanket dances for that purpose.
[01:10:54.000]And I'll turn it over to Don Patterson,
[01:10:55.920]one of our elders here real quickly.
[01:11:00.690]We're gonna sing this final song here.
[01:11:04.260]And when I explain it to you a little bit.
[01:11:08.391]In our Tribe back home,
[01:11:10.860]we had in traditional times many great warriors.
[01:11:15.840]And of course in these modern times,
[01:11:17.640]many great men and women
[01:11:20.730]serving in the modern military services.
[01:11:24.522]And we always honor them with these very special songs.
[01:11:27.540]And sometimes we simply call these songs, war dance songs.
[01:11:33.061]They don't really pertain to war as such,
[01:11:38.100]but they honor the individuals as warriors.
[01:11:42.420]And this particular song, the words in this,
[01:11:46.020]addresses all of the Otoe-Missouria, the Jiwere-Nut'achi.
[01:11:50.460]And you can hear the words in the song it says,
[01:11:53.490]Jiwere-Nut'achi, stand up and dance.
[01:11:58.650]It's a beautiful day.
[01:12:02.610]And so, we're gonna sing this song
[01:12:05.130]and we're going to pretend that every single one of you
[01:12:09.011]are Jiwere-Nut'achi.
[01:12:11.070]So, get up and dance, it's a beautiful day.
[01:12:19.358]Okay, so it's, you know,
[01:12:21.105]it costs a lot of money to travel up here.
[01:12:23.556]We offer them a place to stay and we offer them some food.
[01:12:28.766]But if you would like to donate at this time
[01:12:30.630]to the drum group, please do so.
[01:12:32.960](drum banging)
[01:12:35.900](singers singing in Indigenous language)
[01:12:42.750]You can put donations on the blanket there as well.
[01:12:49.746](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:13:19.930](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:13:49.539](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:13:58.830]I'd invite you to join in dancing as well if you'd like to.
[01:14:02.640]Please feel free to join in dancing.
[01:14:19.658](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:14:49.387](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:15:26.719](audience applauding)
[01:15:48.450]Thank you again to the Otoe-Missouria drum group
[01:15:51.436]for making time to come up here and be part of this.
[01:15:54.083](audience applauding)
[01:15:59.840]And thank you all for your generosity as well.
[01:16:03.053]So at this time,
[01:16:03.886]we're gonna have a closing prayer by Addie Tohee again,
[01:16:05.910]and sure appreciate her coming
[01:16:07.860]and being a part of this as well, so thank you.
[01:16:24.360]Again, I'd like to thank everybody
[01:16:27.210]for everything that you've done for my people
[01:16:30.640]and everybody that has anything to do with the programming.
[01:16:36.422]And Cory and Christina
[01:16:40.285]and even our little princess over there.
[01:16:42.660]She's always around representing our Tribe.
[01:16:47.557]And I'd like to thank my grandchildren for-
[01:16:50.111](audience applauding)
[01:16:54.390]I'd like to thank my grandchildren for wanting to know
[01:16:57.240]and learn more about our people and being here with us.
[01:17:02.637]Quit making faces. (laughs) (audience laughing)
[01:17:05.803]Someone have to get after you. (laughs)
[01:17:07.756](audience laughing)
[01:17:09.561]And I'd like to thank the singers.
[01:17:11.730]They're always ready to, you know,
[01:17:15.450]people call upon them all the time
[01:17:17.187]and they never refuse and they're always ready to sing.
[01:17:21.987]And that drum and the songs,
[01:17:24.450]that's really put a lot of spirit into you.
[01:17:27.510]It's a good feeling.
[01:17:29.130]And I like to thank the,
[01:17:31.740]also the people who prepared the meals.
[01:17:34.770]That's very important.
[01:17:41.023]And be safe going home and pray for our little families too,
[01:17:43.860]you know, and pray for one another
[01:17:45.600]and be kind to one another and love each other.
[01:17:48.900]That's the biggest thing that anybody can,
[01:17:51.300]a gift that anybody could give is love and prayers.
[01:17:55.200]So, I'd like to pray right now.
[01:17:57.180]Heavenly Father, I come to you thanking you so much
[01:18:00.480]for this day and bringing us up here safely.
[01:18:03.450]And each and every one of us,
[01:18:05.430]Lord, take us home and back to our home.
[01:18:09.919]And that every everything there and everyone be safe
[01:18:12.390]and everybody is in good manner.
[01:18:16.980]And bless all the people that's in mourning,
[01:18:19.260]like I said before, and sick,
[01:18:22.495]and bless all the people here and our land here.
[01:18:26.100]Maybe one day we'll be back up here,
[01:18:28.290]and maybe not this generation,
[01:18:31.080]but maybe my grandchildren's generation
[01:18:33.150]that they'll get to bring their children up here
[01:18:34.830]and walk this where we once were at one time.
[01:18:38.880]Lord, I thank you for everything again.
[01:18:42.006]I give you all the praise and glory.
[01:18:43.740]And I just wanna ask that you put your hand on me,
[01:18:50.520]that I'll get to live a long life and come back next year
[01:18:57.918]and things will be really great.
[01:18:59.940]You know, it's always great to be back here,
[01:19:03.129]but I'd just like to see more people come and enjoy this
[01:19:05.460]and see that we're still here.
[01:19:10.617]We survived and we're still here and we wanna come back.
[01:19:13.710]Forgive me where I've fallen short.
[01:19:17.858]And in your son's Jesus name I pray. Amen.
[01:19:25.020]Was your last year?
[01:19:27.531]Okay.
[01:19:28.364]Thank you.
[01:19:29.197]You still got it? I do. (Addie chuckling)
[01:19:30.863]To put my feathers in it.
[01:19:32.048]Okay. Yeah.
[01:19:33.570]Thank you so much, Addie.
[01:19:36.390]Before we do our closing song here,
[01:19:39.900]I just wanted to thank everybody for coming today
[01:19:42.240]and being part of this celebration.
[01:19:44.250]This is something that we hope to do every September 21st,
[01:19:48.210]hopefully forever.
[01:19:50.741]But we're gonna have a 6:00 PM dinner tonight
[01:19:53.250]at the Lincoln Indian Center if you'd like to come.
[01:19:55.080]That's 1100 Military Road just up the road
[01:19:58.446]from the stadium there.
[01:19:59.279]That's open to everybody.
[01:20:00.112]We'll have a meal and a few presentations.
[01:20:04.317]And then tomorrow we're gonna take a walk.
[01:20:05.490]We're going to go on a walk
[01:20:07.440]on some natural prairie west of Lincoln here,
[01:20:11.557]and they'll get to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.
[01:20:13.350]And I know in past, you know, last year when we did that,
[01:20:16.140]it was a very powerful experience for everybody.
[01:20:19.987]And tomorrow we'll have some ceremonies for them as well.
[01:20:22.963]So, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
[01:20:24.540]I know this is an emotional thing for them
[01:20:27.690]and it's for all of us who are involved.
[01:20:30.858]So with that, we'd ask the Otoe-Missouria drum group
[01:20:32.280]to perform a closing song for us. Thank you.
[01:20:46.860]We're about to sing the closing song.
[01:20:49.440]And as I mentioned earlier,
[01:20:51.480]I want to kind of keep you informed,
[01:20:53.310]so that you'll understand the music
[01:20:56.340]and the song just a little bit better.
[01:20:58.740]This particular song we're going to sing
[01:21:00.900]is we were referred to it as a veteran song.
[01:21:06.030]There's a man in our Tribe, Jiwere-Nut'achi.
[01:21:12.068]who served in the military World War II.
[01:21:23.430]His English name was Loran Little Crow,
[01:21:28.560]but his Otoe name was Omasuji.
[01:21:32.760]And this song was made to honor his service.
[01:21:37.452]And very often in these contemporary times,
[01:21:40.830]we use this song as a closing song
[01:21:44.700]because it honors not only him,
[01:21:46.560]but all of the other veterans who served likewise
[01:21:50.310]in all of the wars and the campaigns all around the world.
[01:21:56.242]So this is our closing song,
[01:21:57.870]honoring elderly Otoe-Missouria veteran
[01:22:03.240]Loran Little Crow Omasuji.
[01:22:06.210]That's his Jiwere-Nut'achi name.
[01:22:09.420]You'll recognize it as you listen closely to the song.
[01:22:18.187]I would ask Joe Rousseau if he would
[01:22:19.819]to retire the colors at this time as well.
[01:22:33.835](drum bangs)
[01:22:38.983](singers singing in Indigenous language)
[01:23:09.524](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:23:39.647](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:24:09.564](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:24:33.051](singers continue singing in Indigenous language)
[01:24:53.610]Thank you, everyone.
[01:24:55.418]That's the conclusion of our program.
[01:24:56.251]Thank you again for coming out
[01:24:57.300]and I would invite you once more
[01:24:58.530]to the Indian Center tonight at six o'clock.
[01:25:01.658]So appreciate it, (speaks Indigenous language)
[01:25:04.083](audience applauding and cheering)

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Otoe-Missouria Day 2023

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