Over 200 community members, from babies to elders, took part in the traditional Anishinaabe spring feast at AICHO on March 20, 2024. In Anishinaabe tradition, sacred items need to be feasted at least twice a year: once in spring and once in fall. This is an act of acknowledging and honoring the spirits, relatives, ancestors, and other community members and the help received from them. Feasting connects Indigenous people to their own culture, their communities and their spirits.
Miigwech to our Traditional Healing Grant via Minnesota Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Division for funding these cultural experiences for the community. Lastly, miigwech to Ivy Vainio, AICHO’s Arts and Culture Coordinator, for being the lead organizer and for all of AICHO staff and Gimaajii relatives for assisting tonight. The community came to support 22 Indigenous, BIPOC, and LGBTQ2S+ vendors and 2 musicians at AICHO’s love-themed market Zaagi’idiwn Tour 2024 on January 27, 2024 in the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center. This pop-up market event was intended to make Valentine's Day gift shopping less stressful and more meaningful. Community members were able to connect with diverse entrepreneurs while live music was performed by James Harvin and Laura Hugo. On stage, AICHO had live musical performances by James Harvin and Laura Hugo. In addition, AICHO staff invited the community to participate in a traditional Ojibwe round dance song led by AICHO staff member Brian Stillday Jr. and two of his sons. The musical performances and the round dance were well recieved. Community members were also encouraged to take photos with the free photo booth complete with props to use and volunteer photographers. A huge miigwech to our AICHO staff for making this event possible. It was a great event jam-packed full of love, laughter, and life! AICHO Food Sovereignty Director attends 2023 Intertribal Agriculture Council Annual Conference12/26/2023
AICHO’s Food Sovereignty Director, Kayla Jackson attended the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) Conference this December representing AICHO. IAC was founded in 1987 to pursue and promote the conservation, development, and use of our agricultural resources for the betterment of our people. IAC serves as the nation’s leading voice on Native agricultural policies and programs that revitalize and advance Native food systems and economic development throughout Indian Country. IAC’s programmatic offerings include the following: Legal and policy development, USDA technical assistance, Natural resources management, Domestic and international marketing support, Regenerative financing assistance, and Native youth in food and agriculture leadership development. This three day conference was full of networking and learning about new resources and opportunities AICHO can benefit from. The panels, sessions and discussions were essential and influential on the development of AICHO’s future projects and establishments.
AICHO offers COVID vaccine clinics onsite and can provide a one-time-per-person $100 VISA gift card (while funding lasts). Some important changes to the vaccine clinics:
Must register to secure appointment
Thank you Minnesota Department of Health for the continued support and partnership to keep our State as healthy as possible. Please check out our Facebook page for upcoming clinics! Meet our COVID team: Paula Morton, COVID Coordinator, Brian Stillday, Jr., COVID Resource Outreach, and Reanelle Houle, COVID Testing Outreach AICHO Executive Director LeAnn Littlewolf received the Minnesota Housing Partnership Outstanding Advocate Award and was recognized along with statewide housing advocate champions, including Governor Walz, key legislators including Representative Liish Kozlowski, and long-time housing champion Henry Banks, Duluth School Board member. LeAnn has worked in building a response to housing needs since 2000, working directly with youth on the streets living in housing crisis, as a Tribal housing organizer, and policy advocate. She has served on different statewide and local policy groups throughout the years. This past year, LeAnn joined the political committee for the Our Future Starts At Home, a campaign to ensure dedicated housing funding secured through a constitutional amendment. On receiving the award, LeAnn had this to say: “It is an honor to stand in a field of advocates in Minnesota who work their hearts out to move policies and resources to create housing in Minnesota. We are building a Minnesota that speaks through our actions that we will not rest until everyone has a home.”
The Ordean Foundation celebrated their 90th Anniversary with a generous gift of $90,000 to support the expansion of the Dabinoo’igan Shelter, which provides emergency shelter, safety, and resources to survivors of violence. Ordean President Don Ness spoke at the press conference on December 19th sharing their celebration by acknowledging the vision of Albert and Louis Ordean, who spent their lives investing in Duluth and built a legacy of care for all community members. In the pursuit of their mission, the Ordean Foundation has been a steadfast and true partner with many great Duluth community organizations. AICHO is so honored to work in partnership with the Ordean Foundation, who has invested significantly and ongoing in the Gimaajii Mino Bimaadizimin program and the Children’s Program. This unexpected gift will support the construction costs of the expanded shelter, increasing the number of beds from 10 to 23, doubling the current capacity. Miigwech to Ordean President Don Ness and staff team, the Ordean Board of Directors (past and present), and the past AICHO community leaders, who worked to create and sustain the Dabinoo’igan Shelter throughout the past 25 years. Miigwech to Cedar Creek Drum for the flag song and traveling song! First photo by Brian Barber. Remaining photos by Ivy Vainio.
AICHO honored with a visit from Lt. Governor and Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioner12/26/2023
For AICHO's first in-person event of the Indigenous Writer Series, Thomas (Tom) Peacock (Fond du Lac Ojibwe tribal member) and Elizabeth (Betsy) Albert-Peacock (Red Cliff Ojibwe tribal member) of Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing. Tom and Betsy read passages from their books, shared about their writing processes and influences, working with Indigenous illustrators, and Tom shared a beautiful excerpt from his new book in progress. The event ended with a book signing and sale. The community came out to support these Indigenous writers with us. The session was moderated by Dr. Jill Doerfler (White Earth Ojibwe direct descendant), Department Director of UMD Department of American Indian Studies who co-hosted the event. Miigwech to McKnight Foundation for funding AICHO’s Indigenous Writers Series. Onigaaminsing, Duluth, was the location of this year’s Minnesota Council of Nonprofits annual conference on September 20 – 21 at the DECC. It was an honor to serve on the planning committee with several other dedicated individuals who are working throughout the state of Minnesota to create better systems and partnerships “to meet the increasing information needs of nonprofits” and work on common issues that concern everyone. I have been to countless conferences in my thirty year career. In the first twenty years, there was never really any meaningful inclusion of Native or BIPOC representation at any of the non-diverse themed conferences that I attended which means there were no diverse inclusion or representation considered in the planning of those conferences. In the past 10 years, organizations and conference planning committees are doing a better job at making everyone who attends their events feel valued and included. It’s important to have a diverse planning committee, diverse representation in the speakers and activity leads with any project that is meant for the community. Diverse speakers bring rich histories and lived experiences, unseen and seen connections, and values that everyone can learn from and be inspired by. As a planning committee member, I helped to ensure a strong Anishinaabeg participation, representation and presence at the conference. I worked closely with the Courtney Gerber, and the planning committee, to invite Fond du Lac Ojibwe elder and tribal member Ricky DeFoe to provide a cultural Anishinaabeg ceremony to open the conference in a good way, Co-Director of John Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health Melissa Walls (Bois Forte Ojibwe descendant) who gave the keynote on the first day, AICHO Executive Director LeAnn Littlewolf (Leech Lake Ojibwe tribal member) presented on a workshop panel, musician Briand Morrison (Grand Portage Ojibwe tribal member) to provide free-style jazz guitar music during opening day’s evening session, and artist Moira Villiard (Fond du Lac Ojibwe direct descendant) who provided a tour of the Chief Buffalo Mural Project and designed the conference’s beautiful logo that symbolized the conference’s theme of “Making Waves & Breaking Barriers.” For people who know me well, they know that I don’t like speaking in public. Even so, I made the decision to open the conference on the first day as Ricky and Melissa were part of the opening program. There were over 600 people in attendance. I walked up to the podium on the stage and began my welcome in my Ojibwe language (with translation) with a formal introduction of who I am. I shared about AICHO’s mission and all of our amazing programs, and I then got to share how important one of my cultural heroes, Ricky DeFoe, is to me and to everyone. People don’t always get to hear what people mean to the community. It’s nice and healing when it happens. I invited Ricky to come up to the stage and share his ceremony. His ceremony preceded Melissa Walls’ keynote entitled, “Indigenous Health & Well-Being: Lessons for Partnerships and Equity.” Everything flowed smoothly together like ripples of water for that opening session and I was, and still am, proud that I was fortunate enough to be a part of it. Many people came up to all three of us after the opening to thank us for our words and work within the Indigenous and greater community. It was one of the most uplifting moments of my life. Miigwech to Minnesota Council of Nonprofits for this opportunity and for a strong racial and gender inclusion and representation before and during this state-wide conference. My hats off to you all.
Ivy Vainio Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant AICHO’s Arts and Culture Coordinator Community leaders Frances Saukko (Red Lake Nation tribal member) and Joel Boshey (Bois Forte Nation tribal member) shared the importance of having connections to culture and community in recovery. Joel shared about his personal path to recovery (5 years of sobriety).
This was a beautiful session. AICHO is thankful for Frances and Joel for the good work that they do in our community and being in service to our people and all people in recovery no matter if it's one day or 30+ years. Joel and Frances organize Duluth's Sobriety Feasts which happen the last Friday of every month at the Central Hillside Community Center from 6 pm - 8 pm. These gatherings are open to everyone regardless of "color of your skin, religious beliefs, etc." This session was part of AICHO's Expanding Indigenous Health Equity Indigenous Speaker Series. Funded by St. Louis County (Minnesota) Public Health. |
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