Indian Bowl for Future Generations
Our Mission is to sustain, strengthen and share the culture and performing arts of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe community. The new Waaswaaganing Indian Bowl Living Arts & Culture Center is a cornerstone of this mission.
For over 60 years, pow wows have been held on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Northern Wisconsin at a site overlooking Long Interlaken Lake. We celebrate our culture and traditions through dance and song, and we have welcomed visitors to join us in these celebrations. The pow wow grounds became known as “The Indian Bowl.”
In April 2012, the Tribe chartered a not-for-profit corporation called the Lac du Flambeau Cultural and Performing Arts Center, Inc. In November 2014, the Tribal Council officially changed the name to the Waaswaaganing Indian Bowl Living Arts & Culture Center.
In September 2014, the dilapidated facility was demolished, and a Ground Blessing Ceremony was held in November 2015.
Construction on the new Waaswaaganing Indian Bowl Living Arts & Culture Center began in July 2016.
We promote the Ojibwe seven teachings: honesty (gwayakendamowin), truth (debwewin), humility (agaasenimowin), love (zaagi’idiwin), wisdom (nibwaakaawin), courage (zoongide’ewin) and respect (manaatajigewin). The teachings have been passed down from generation to generation through stories and ceremonies.
Today, the oral traditions are shared by those who carry the knowledge of such things. We live so that life will be good for our children, and for seven generations of our descendants. The Indian Bowl will help ensure the preservation of our culture and traditions.
Board Continues Indian Bowl Tradition
The Board of the Waaswaaganing Indian Bowl Living Arts & Culture Center is comprised of 15 members.
Board Members include Lac du Flambeau Tribal Members and community members, making this a true community partnership.
The Board is dedicated to having a Center that serves Tribal Members, and welcomes visitors from around the world.
A Preserve America Community
In 2009, the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa Tribe was designated a Preserve America Community. Preserve America is a U.S. government program that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy the country’s cultural and natural heritage.
The program recognizes and designates communities that protect and celebrate their heritage, use their historic assets for economic development and community revitalization, and encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism programs.
Preserve America is a national initiative in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the US Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities; and the President’s Council on Environmental Quality.
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
The Lac du Flambeau Tribe has inhabited the Northwoods of Wisconsin since 1745, when Chief Kiishkemun (Sharpened Stone) led the Tribe to the area.
The Chief settled our Tribe where the Bear River begins, and along the western shoreline of Flambeau Lake.
The Tribe acquired the name Lac du Flambeau from its practice of harvesting fish at night by torchlight. The name Lac du Flambeau, or Lake of the Torches, refers to this practice and was given to the Band by the French traders and trappers who visited the area.
The art of fire hunting. Painting by Nick Hockings.
We call ourselves Waaswaaganing, which means Lake of Flames in Ojibwe.
The 1854 Treaty of La Pointe established a 100,000-acre reservation for the Lac du Flambeau Band. The Tribe was officially established on May 8, 1937, when Tribal Members ratified the Corporate Charter of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin.
In the early 1900s, the area became a tourist destination, especially for families from Wisconsin and the Chicago area. Since 1951, the Indian Bowl pow wow celebrations has been one of the premier Wisconsin tourist attractions.
Joe “Dingman” Kelty celebrates at a Lac du Flambeau evening pow wow in the 1960s. (Courtesy George W. Brown, Jr. Museum)
Georgine Brown
President
Georgine was raised at the Old Indian Village on the western shore of Flambeau Lake. She worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Lakes Agency. She joined the U.S. Navy in 1978 and served six years as radioman. After 24 years with the U.S. Postal Service, she retired as a Postmaster.
Georgine is an active member of the Chicog-Skye American Legion Post #374 and the Lac du Flambeau Veterans Association. She currently serves on the Lac du Flambeau Town Lakes Committee, and the Tribal Culture & Historic Preservation Committee. She is an enrolled member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Mildred ‘Tinker’ Schuman
Vice President
Tinker’s Native name is Migizikwe, Eagle Woman.
She is a spiritual helper and poet, author of Reborn in the Sun, and co-author of The Healing Blanket and Indenwemaganag, a poetry CD. Tinker attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education.
She is an enrolled member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, and has two children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Emerson Coy
Treasurer
Emerson has been Director of Planning for the Lac du Flambeau Tribe since 1990.
His work includes strategic planning, roads, buildings and infrastructure. He has received the Indian Health Service’s Green Champion Award and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Construction Award.
Emerson is vice president and treasurer of the Indian Bowl Board. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Youngstown State University, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Ashland Theological Seminary.
Roberta Gast
Secretary
Roberta is Secretary of the Indian Bowl Board.
She is on the Lac du Flambeau Town Lakes Committee, and has been involved in the Campanile Center for the Arts in Minocqua since its inception. In the 1960s, Roberta’s father was manager of the Indian Bowl.
Gregg Guthrie
Board Member
Gregg is a founder of the Lac du Flambeau Historical and Cultural Society.
He was instrumental in the opening of the Tribe’s George W. Brown, Jr. Museum, and is Curator Emeritus of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Gregg is a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Tina Kuckkahn-Miller
Board Member
Since 1996, Tina has served as the founding director of the “House of Welcome” Longhouse Education and Cultural Center at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Spanning a nearly 20-year history promoting indigenous arts and cultures, the Longhouse received a Governor’s Arts and Heritage Award in 2014.
Tina is an adjunct member of the faculty at Evergreen. She also serves on the Indigenous Program Council at the Banff Centre in Alberta. She has degrees in education and law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tina is an enrolled member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Sue Robertson
Board Member
Sue is a lifelong resident of the Lac du Flambeau community.
Sue and her family have owned and operated Dillman’s Bay Resort for over 90 years. Her father, Marvin Dillman, was very active in the Indian Bowl during the early years.
Betsy Behnke
Board Member
Betsy has been a part-time resident of Lac du Flambeau most of her life. As a former teacher in the Madison Metropolitan School District for 30 years, Betsy has a strong background in education. She was a Trustee for the Memorial Union Building Association, the two student unions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Betsy also served on the Board of Directors and is a volunteer at Camp Manito-wish YMCA in Boulder Junction.
Norm Wetzel
Board Member
Norm has been part of Lac du Flambeau since childhood. He currently serves on a number of local boards, including the Lac du Flambeau Waterways Walk Committee, the Lac du Flambeau Waters Alliance, the Vilas County Lakes and Rivers Association, the Crawling Lakes Association, Citizens for Education in Town Governance, and is a member of the League of Women Voters of the Northwoods. Norm has a doctorate in administration from Northern Illinois University, and served public education for 33 years in a variety of teaching and administrative positions.
Grant Callow
Board Member
Grant is a practicing lawyer whose connections to Lac du Flambeau go back 60 years. He provided volunteer legal research and advice to assist the efforts to help the Lac du Flambeau Tribe reacquire the sacred land of Strawberry Island. For over a decade he has been involved in local efforts to protect, preserve and promote the beauty and healthy ecosystem of the reservation, including efforts to eliminate or control harmful invasive species and prevent such species from being established.
John Johnson, Sr.
Advisory Board Member
Mr. Johnson is President of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Matt Gaulke
Advisory Board Member
Mr. Gaulke is Chairman of the Town of Lac du Flambeau.
Melissa Doud
Advisory Board Member
Melissa is a Tribal Member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and a life-long dancer.
Keidi Merton
Advisory Board Member
Keidi is the Director of the Madeline Island Museum.
Michelle Reed
Advisory Board Member
Michelle has coordinated the summer Powwows for the last several years, and is a life-long dancer.
Melinda Young
Advisory Board Member
Melinda is a Tribal Member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Carol Brown
Advisory Board Member
Carol is a Tribal Member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Charlotte Hockings
Advisory Board Member