BEMIDJI — Despite sporadic rotations of overcast skies with rain and sunny skies with a breeze, dancers kept their ears to the drum at the 19th Annual Niimi’idiwin, or "dance" in Ojibwe.
Taking place throughout Thursday afternoon in a field just west of Sanford Bemidji Medical Center, the event — formerly the Sanford Healing Powwow — has long brought together area tribal members as part of a collaboration between Sanford Health, Cass Lake and Red Lake Indian Health Services.
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“We’re here to celebrate each other, but especially our healers that have been involved in the healing here at Sanford and on the reservations that surround us,” Peer Recovery Specialist Joe Beaudreau said.
A grand entry honoring Indigenous veterans kicked off the afternoon before several rounds of competitive dances brought healing to everyone in attendance.
“We all need healing whether it be physical, spiritual or mental,” Leech Lake Tribal Chairman Faron Jackson Sr. said, “so it’s a good thing what’s happening here today.”
Jackson recognized not only the healers in attendance but all other tribal members who came from near and far during the opening ceremony.
“A lot of our tribal members from northern Minnesota are treated at Sanford,” Jackson added. “The healers take good care of our people and it’s important they get the rightful recognition.”
Coinciding with the theme, Master of Ceremonies Darrell Kingbird noted the sacred nature of cedar trees laid near the perimeter of the grass where the dancers would complete jingle, grass, traditional and potato dances — where two dancers have to hold a potato between their foreheads while doing dance moves and try to be the last to drop their potato.
“Cedar is a protection to our spirituality, to our manidoo,” Kingbird said. “When we gather like this in a traditional manner of powwow, we put our trees out. What these trees do is give us good protection in our area of the circle. It keeps out the bad thoughts, bad things, the bad way of speak. When we put these trees up, people will see that this sacred tree is here to protect us.”
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After a few hours of dancing and attendees milling about booths from local organizations, the day concluded with a feast of Red Lake walleye and Leech Lake wild rice.
Building relationships
A common thread weaved throughout all of Thursday’s festivities was the spirit of collaboration.
“Today’s gathering was really an opportunity to connect with one another, and it’s a testament of collaboration at the heart of our community,” said Karla Eischens, President and CEO of Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota. “We have a lot of partners that work together to put this on and bring everybody together.”
Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince recognized the city's relationship with surrounding tribal nations beyond the events on Thursday.
“It’s really great to be able to share this, and a little rain is not a big deal,” Prince said lightheartedly as rain pelted down around him. “I just want to say how thankful I am to all of our neighbors: the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Red Lake Nation, White Earth Nation. I can’t say enough about what great neighbors and partners they have been.”
Beaudreau has served on a powwow committee since 2016 and previously served as a native health advocate for Sanford Health.
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“That’s very unique because it’s one of the only advocacy programs that I know of in the state of Minnesota,” Beaudreau mentioned, “so it’s very good because we’re looking at the people we serve and making sure they’re getting the best care they can.”
He further emphasized his commitment to collaboration that has been built upon since the Sanford Healing Powwow debuted in 2001.
“The main thing was to build a relationship with Sanford Health, bridging communications and bridging a relationship between Sanford and the Native communities,” Beaudreau added. “Being together in a space like this, we may be of different walks, different nations, different communities. But we all have a common desire, especially with events like this, to come together and build relationships.”
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