Jijak Foundation pow wow, open house is July 11-12

The Gun Lake Tribe of Pottawatomi Indians and the Jijak Foundation will be hosts for the Sweet Grass Moon Pow-Wow, a cultural celebration of Pottawatomi traditions, Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, at the Jijak Camp on 20th Street in Hopkins Township.

Gates will open both days at 9 a.m. and events will take place from 1 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The general public and news media are welcome and the event is free of charge.

The Gun Lake Tribe’s non-profit cultural program, the Jijak Foundation, will have the first official pow-wow since the tribe became federally re-acknowledged.  The Jijak Camp is a newly renovated campus located one mile south of Hopkins.

“This is a Jijak Camp ‘open house’ for the public,” said Tribe spokesman James Nye.

Recently constructed amenities include an open-air dance arena; traditional sugarhouse for maple syrup production; gardens with rare Native American crops; and other resources at the regional education center.

Events over the two days will include: cultural ceremonies; sobriety walks; pow-wow grand entries; honoring veterans, elders and youth; drum and dance contests; canoe and horseshoe competitions. Native American vendors from across the Great Lakes region will offer native foods, arts and jewelry. More information is available at www.jijak.org or by calling Lisa Barrett (269) 509-1909; Kevin Finney (616) 644-3822.