Women’s Wellness Gathering to address healing and growth

The annual Ziigwan Women’s Wellness Gathering will be held Monday and Tuesday, May 21 and 22, at the Cloquet Forestry Center.

The opening pipe ceremony with Rose Marie DeBungie, Red Lake elder, will include the Four Grandmothers sharing healing medicines with the women attending. Presentations will follow on topics geared towards women’s healing and growth. DeBungie will be one of the featured speakers, sharing her story of how she was raised and teachings she learned growing up in Ponemah on the Red Lake Reservation.

Guadalupe Lopez (Leech Lake) of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC) will speak about “Trafficking on the Rez,” sharing stories and insights gained while interviewing Native women for the “Garden of Truth: The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota” report. Eileen Hudon, a White Earth elder and internationally-known longtime advocate and activist, will co-present with Lopez, giving her perspective and sharing wisdom on women’s abuse issues from her extensive life experience.

Vanessa Northrup (Fond du Lac) will share her perspective as a Fond du Lac Police Officer, speaking on “Girls, Gangs, and Drugs.”

Nikki Crowe (Fond du Lac), 13 Moons coordinator, will share her knowledge of plants and their traditional uses on a nature walk and her perspective on “Forgiveness.”

Women attending will participate in a traditional craft activity, making little drums and sharing stories with each other on May 21 in the afternoon. Monday concludes with a Talking Circle at 6 p.m.

The Gathering opens on Tuesday, May 22, with a pipe ceremony by Roxanne Peterson, and concludes with a closing ceremony featuring the OshkiiGiizhik Singers. A Sweat Lodge with Anna Wait will be held after closing Tuesday.

For further information or questions, call Marcia Kitto at 218-878-3782.

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