We hope you are doing well and staying warm.

As we continue to experience frigid temperatures, please take care of yourself, Elders and pets.

Ojibwe tribes are stocking community food pantries across the Ceded Territory following a string of successful elk hunts in northern Wisconsin. Over a season that stretched from September 2021 to year’s end, licensed Ojibwe hunters harvested four bull elk from the wilds of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

“A lot of work has gone into restoring elk, a native species driven to extinction during the settlement era,” said Michael J Isham Jr, Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission executive administrator. “A healthy elk population, pre-hunt ceremonies, harvest opportunities—it all helps bring balance to the environment and solidifies our connection to the natural world.”

The hunts, conducted in the state’s Clam Lake Elk Range, brought together not only tag-holding hunters but entire families. A harvest camp near the shores of Chippewa Lake served as a hub for both hunters and their helpers. Tribal community members young and old contributed everything from traditional knowledge to the muscle-power required to haul quarter sections of elk from the vast public woodlands.

In Ojibwe ceremonial hunting, the animal, the bull elk, gives itself to the hunter if all the appropriate protocols have been followed. Prayer, drum songs, and tobacco offerings are important elements to the hunt. As the elk, or omashkooz, season unfolded last September, the first two animals harvested were spike bulls, taken following ceremonies at the harvest camp. Later in the season, Ojibwe hunters tagged another spike and a 3x3 raghorn bull—all from the Clam Lake area.

After participating in the first two elk seasons along with state-licensed hunters, Ojibwe tribes did not fill their omashkooz quota in 2020. While the Wisconsin Elk Advisory Committee—comprised of interagency biologists—recommended a safe harvest total of six bulls that year, the Natural Resources Board unilaterally bumped the quota 66% to 10 elk to be shared evenly by state and Ojibwe hunters. Concerned at the Board’s disregard of the science behind the Elk Committee’s recommendation, Ojibwe leaders decided to forego the season, in effect leaving its share of the elk quota on-the-hoof. It’s a management prerogative GLIFWC tribes have also used during state wolf hunting seasons.

“Using the best available science is a critical part of our decision-making process,” said John D. Johnson, Chairman of the Lac du Flambeau Band as well as the Voigt Intertribal Task Force. “The health of the resource comes first. Always remember that.”

The Mashup Lab Virtual Business Incubator for Indigenous Entrepreneurs was co-designed in partnership with Indigenous leaders from Unama’ki College and the Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies at Cape Breton University.

Unama’ki College has been the vibrant heartbeat of Indigenous education at Cape Breton University for more than 40 years, offering an environment that embraces the knowledge, wisdom, and traditions of the Mi’kmaq.

From faculty and staff that speak Mi’kmaw to academic courses delivered in Mi’kmaw communities, Unama’ki College has many offerings for Indigenous learners. With research opportunities, engaging programs, and a strong community, Indigenous students come to Unama’ki College to build rewarding futures and careers paths. 

The Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies was established to focus on researching on what drives success in Aboriginal business and the enhancement of the entrepreneurship and business curriculum that is contextually relevant for Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Since its establishment, the Chair has completed a variety of pure and applied research projects including the publication of a textbook (Indigenous Business: Principles and Practices), development of business cases studies highlighting Indigenous entrepreneurs, as well as the administration of research related projects and events supporting Unama’ki College’s ongoing Indigenization efforts.

The collaborative, co-learning approach taken by Mashup Lab and Unama’ki College leveraged the expertise and knowledge of each organization and two distinct worldviews, combining traditional business best-practices with Indigenous ways of knowing in the spirit of an Etuaptmumk - Two-Eyed Seeing approach.

While much of the foundational process reflects current business best-practices, every aspect of the curriculum and facilitation of the Mashup Lab Virtual Business Incubator for Indigenous Entrepreneurs has been designed to make the idea of entrepreneurship and exploring the viability of a business idea more approachable and contextually relevant for the Indigenous entrepreneurs participating in the program.

An important element of this design is a co-facilitation approach: the program is facilitated by two experienced facilitators; one being an experienced Indigenous entrepreneur, and the other an expert in traditional main-stream entrepreneurship/startup best practices.

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is accepting proposals from artists or teams of artists for consideration for an outdoor public art or artistic memorial marker that recognizes and honors the Native Americans from the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Potawatomi and Ojibwe Tribes who are buried beneath the campus.

The artwork will be located in an area of intersection between academic and administrative buildings on the campus grounds.

The SCC Education Department is seeking the Community’s thoughts on the possibility for training and education in designated fields where Community Members will receive certification upon completion.

We will be partnering with Astrea, who is also partnered with Microsoft, to acquire prospective remote employees. The SCC Education Department will provide the materials and space needed for successful learning.

About gener8tor: gener8tor, in partnership with Microsoft and Employ Milwaukee, will be hosting free skills-training programs for job seekers looking to build skills and confidence for in-demand jobs and earn the certificates of completion (in the form of LinkedIn Badges) needed in today’s digital economy. 80% of participants complete gener8tor’s program, and 70% get immediate job placement!

What is 4-H? 4-H is delivered by Cooperative Extension, a community of more than 100 public universities across the nation that provides experiences where young people learn by doing.

For more than 100 years, 4-H has welcomed young people of all beliefs and backgrounds, giving kids a voice to express who they are and how they make their lives and communities better.

Through life-changing 4-H programs, nearly six million kids and teens have taken on critical societal issues, such as addressing community health inequities, engaging in civil discourse and advocating for equity and inclusion for all.

The Indigenous Futures Survey (IFS) is an opportunity to raise our voices and to share our experiences, issues and priorities that are important to our families and communities, and how we will strengthen the sovereign role of our Tribal governments.

We invite the Sokaogon Chippewa Community to make your voices heard by taking the survey.

Miigwitch,

Tori McGeshick

Forest County Public Health officials have confirmed 450 persons have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since January 1, 2022 - with either a PCR or antigen test.

County health officials and local partners are contacting individuals who test positive as staff is able. There is currently 1 hospitalized individual, 4 deaths related to COVID-19, and 1 death pending confirmation by the Medical Examiner. This is just a snapshot of the numbers as they are continuously changing throughout the day.

Due to the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System being backlogged, we've had many positive test results pouring in from test dates dating back a week ago.

With new and shortened isolation and quarantine guidance in place, our staff is unable to track which cases are currently "active" for a variety of reasons - cases come from three jurisdictions (Forest County, Sokaogon Chippewa Community, and Forest County Potawatomi Community), test results come in days after individuals are tested, and contacting every positive case in the county may not be feasible for 'real-time' data.

The Forest County Health Department strongly discourages our community members from attending large gatherings at this time, as every county in the state is experiencing CRITICALLY HIGH disease activity. If you are unable to avoid large gatherings, it is recommended that individuals wear a mask and practice social distancing.

The SCC ICS COVID-19 Pandemic Team has identified 24 additional positive cases since January 20th among Tribal Members, Employees of the Tribe and Members of the Mole Lake Community.

Nearly 60% of positive cases since September have been identified in the past 24 days. While preliminary information suggests most cases may develop only mild symptoms, there are still many others that are at high risk for severe illness.

Due to the unprecedented amount of active cases, there has been a surge of hospitalizations in our North Central region of Wisconsin. Fortunately, the state of Wisconsin as a whole is just starting to see a decrease in hospitalizations over the last few days.

The best way to protect yourself and your family against COVID-19 infection continues to include: washing your hands regularly, wearing a face mask in public, and getting vaccinated if you are able and haven't already done so.

In Ojibwe culture, winter is storytelling season. The Wisconsin Historical Society is celebrating by featuring Ojibwe storytellers in a four-part virtual series every Tuesday evening from January 25th to February 15th. Click on the image for more information and to register.

For information on Sokaogon Finance, Inc. (SFI) positions, please email Gloria Toyebo.

View the application here.

For more information, please visit the Casino's website or contact Kimberlee Soldier, Human Resource Manager of the Mole Lake Casino Lodge & Conference Center, at 715-478-7549.

The weekly e-newsletter is sent every Thursday morning, excluding holidays.