On Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Oct. 14), over 100 members of the Northern Illinois Conference and the surrounding area gathered at Starved Rock State Park to learn about native traditions and outlooks through word, sound, and food.    

To start off the event, Bill Buchholtz played the flute and Gerald Savage provided a welcome and blessing.

The NIC Anti-Racism Task Force chose the location because the park lies on the ancestral homelands of the Ho-Chunk, Kickapoo, Myaamia, Kaskaskia, Sauk, Fox, and Potawatomi tribes, among others.  The Midwest SOARRING Foundation 2024 Harvest Pow Wow took place the previous Saturday and Sunday at the DuPage County Fairgrounds.  

Flute music by Bill Buchholtz, a highly respected Indian flute player, started the event. His music served as a backdrop to the event and enhanced other speakers’ stories and talks.   

“We pray for new relationships of neighborliness that seek a common good for the land and its people and its relations,” stated Bishops Dan Schwerin and David Bard in a prayer they wrote that was read at the event. “Land is tied to our ancestors and our stories. Both must be honored as signs of reconciliation and peace.”  

Brian Ellis sang and played the drum during his engaging presentation

The crowd was engaged by the stories of Blackhawk (Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak), a Sauk leader and warrior, as told by Brian “Fox” Ellis. Ellis's storytelling was interwoven with humor, singing, and drumming. Through the stories he also taught the listeners some native words and songs.   

Taylor Thorton, a researcher with the University of Toronto, talked about her community-based research in the Nunavut Territory of Canada with the Inuinnauit people.    

Waita, or storytelling in the Ho-Chunk language, was provided by Gerald Savage (Ho-Chunk Ska Ga, as translated into White Winnebago). “I share who I am and why I am,” he said of his relating traditional stories and his family’s connection to the land. His grandparents, Ruth Mallory “Stands-On-A-Cloud” Sine and Sampson C. “Chief Walks-With-The-Wind" Sine, homesteaded at Starved Rock in 1935.    

Jody Roy shared about her work with urban natives.

Jody Roy, director of the St. Kateri Center in Chicago, described its “bridge of healing” for the natives living in urban areas. The center provides services and cultural healing in the Chicagoland area.    

Children's activities included reading passages from the First Nations Version New Testament and walking the grounds of the park. Leaders Andrew Holland and Leah Ostwald gave the youngsters journals and encouraged them to create art while exploring the park. Some created landscapes, rubbed leaves, and even used berries and sand in their creations. 

The ARTF helped participants prepare in advance through four expert-led learning sessions on history, kinship with the land, healing the urban erasure, and Indigenous sovereignty. (Watch recordings of these sessions here.)  

Participants enjoyed an indigenous meal of fry bread, soups, salad, and fruit. They also perused information and displays from native organizations and the LaSalle County Historical Society.  

Learn more about the event