Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony

THANKSGIVING

The Gratitude Principle and a four-day Indigenous Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony suggested outline follows. Remember, this is a personal ceremony so feel free to add or subtract elements. Watch and endeavor to cultivate awareness of every little thing and remember that gratitude mindfulness is a proven and worthy tool by which to live and thrive. If you do not have a cultural song to sing, and many of us do not, just be willing to step out and 'raise a voice'. Your song will come. And it will be YOURS. This is how ceremony has always been kept fresh, personal and healthy. Do not be afraid or hesitate too long to step into this new spirit space, sacred beings that we are. AHO!

The indigenous Thanksgiving ceremony is a harvest and seasonally oriented honoring of the ancestors spanning four days ... which may be selected at your choice ... but should be concurrent.

The four days of activities are:

Prepare by the 'fanning off' of the selected grounds, yourself and any/all participants.

Day 1: invitational feasting and offering plate

Day 2: you may compose an original song or bring forward an honoring song

 ... with drum ... this may be a solitary activity

Day 3: dance and drum to honor the ancestors ... again, may be solitary

Day 4: feasting, offering plate and prayers of gratitude for all of beingness

Autumn Star Knowledge

GAA BIBOON KED 

Winter Wisdom Teachings 

Ahau and Bozho nikanek, 
We enter the fourth quarter of the Medicine Wheel on a resonant completion chord of our Nishnabé Creation Story and the seasonal Star Map … it is by these original gifts, teachings and certain things that we do find our WAY. BIBOON This season of Biboon brings the gathering and harvesting season, which invites us to celebrate the harvest and the preceding year’s labors and gifts with remembrance, gratitude and honoring words. This season seats but one of the times within which we may individually or collectively consider setting aside four days of ceremony ... for we would remember that if one can take one’s life into four days of dedicated, personal ceremony, we can change it. How? For moving into a dedicated structure of this kind. These days can and will lead us, through feasting, speaking, dance and song, onto a renewed path connecting us with the mind of Giche Manidoo and the original dream of life that opened a vital chord for us to travel to this Sacred Land.

BIBOON 
This season of Biboon brings the gathering and harvesting season, which invites us to celebrate the harvest and the preceding year’s labors and gifts with remembrance, gratitude and honoring words. This season seats but one of the times within which we may individually or collectively consider setting aside four days of ceremony ... for we would remember that if one can take one’s life into four days of dedicated, personal ceremony, we can change it. How? For moving into a dedicated structure of this kind. These days can and will lead us, through feasting, speaking, dance and song, onto a renewed path connecting us with the mind of Giche Manidoo and the original dream of life that opened a vital chord for us to travel to this Sacred Land.

The Original Thanksgiving
The honoring memories and words are fused with the hearts, minds, bodies and Spirits of Sekmekwe, Gizes and all of the other Powers, Directions, Colors: the elemental helpers of the noden (wind beings), mine (water beings), sen (rock beings), shkodé (fire beings) and the skebyak (green beings). The ones that fly, swim, crawl and walk as well as those sentient and insentient beings of which do not or cannot know or name. These ones that came into original agreement with the sacred emissaries of Jijak (the crane), Maak (the loon), to receive and support those of us making a petition to Giche Manidoo for a place to live.

To read entire article: Autumn Star Knowledge (starts on pg. 12)

Watering The Vision Quest Season of Autumn-Dgwaget🍁

Bozho and Greetings, Dreamers and Vision Questers,

In four days one's life can be changed through a personal, dedicated Vision Quest Ceremony.

Water was one of the first elements that the Creator 'breathed life' into what would become the first, most beautiful and enduring of Mother Earth's gifts, followed by light and fire. These gifts became the cultural foundations of many creation stories and the framework of the medicine wheel. Earth, air, fire and water emanating from an enduringly vital center point ... with which we are all invited to discover and perhaps to occupy ... a point which some would view as a 'sacred flowering tree'.

As in so many internal 'creation stories', there may be an unpredictable combination of past, present and future ... gently known as the 'eternal present'. These elements may appear in the personal gardens we then plant, tend, water, weed and harvest as 'farmers of our lives'. A good vision quest can have a long life. Perhaps as long as the four seasons it takes our mother earth to cycle through ... then again as short as 24 hours or ... four days.

We are the 'vision quest farmers' of our lives. We water the inner gardens and fields with our sacred blood, sweat and tears. Ahh.

Harvest is both a new beginning and renewal. This or any season's seed harvest carries both an ancient provenance and an unpredictable performance for which we must be prepared, for the vision quest is a mystery tour with we see or must be prepared to see 'something that is not yet known'. The Seeds of new life for the plant beings also follow their original instructions and move with 'choice as a sacred choice'.

We pray for our walks to be fused with bravery, courage, forgiveness, loyalty, love and endurance ... for these walks and powers to be with us ... on each, every and all of these, our most sacred and precious life journeys ... nourished by these teachings of the Seven Grandfathers which have guided, encouraged and taught us the 'good ways' to live, from a long time back ... now and forever more, all ways, all days ... Creator, Grandmother, Grandfather and all of the others, named and unnamed, known and unknown ... we offer gratitude for all of the gifts. Chi migwech, wewene chi migwech. Thank you.

AHO!
Bama mine,
Dawn Woman
Citizen Potawatomi Nation

AN INTROSPECTION AND MEDICINE COOKIE ......from the DIRECTION of the WEST

From Common Sense Homesteading: Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies w/Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

Autumn harvest greetings, All,

Nokomis debegekgises, greetings Grandmother Autumn Moon,

Thinking of you all as each of us meet and move into the season of return and  the moons of falling leaves which bring us so much beauty and strength from the Marriage of Our Mother Earth and Our Father Sky Sun, our elemental parents....the first, most beautiful and enduring of gifts from the Creator God.

We Thank you for your beauty....and your Song...Shewendagzewin odo Pi...A Blessing has been visited on us here.

This recipe was passed to me, with thanks to Pazhe, and I would like to pass it on.

I've 'tinkered' with it quite a bit and re-sent this recipe with findings. The recipe was found to be very accommodating of sugar and wheat substitutions. When the cookies have cooled completely, place them in tins or baggies, refrigerate and the next day the flavors and cherries will have developed and deepened. Shopping for the ingredients, cooking, cooIing, and mashing a sweet pumpkin in prep for a double batch was a lot of work but these cookies go fast! Making these cookies is an act of devotion for it calls for most of a day in and out of the kitchen. But then, some of the baked pumpkin is available to serve with supper...clean and roast the seeds...compost the peelings and egg shells.

The oats, cherries and pumpkin make it a very substantial and nourishing cookie. The sugar rush can be softened if granulated maple sugar is used. I did not but DID cut the sugar amount down by 1/3 and substituted coconut flour for one half of the flour. Buckwheat flour could be used to completely eliminate wheat, if desired. Cardamom may be an unfamiliar spice for some of us but worthy of inclusion.

A sweet metaphor for 'making our days' and celebrating the sharing our 'breaths of life' together.
Offered In the Spirit of Light and Love Forever,
Dawn Woman

Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony

THANKSGIVING

The Gratitude Principle and a four-day Indigenous Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony suggested outline follows. Remember, this is a personal ceremony so feel free to add or subtract elements. Watch and endeavor to cultivate awareness of every little thing and remember that gratitude mindfulness is a proven and worthy tool by which to live and thrive. If you do not have a cultural song to sing, and many of us do not, just be willing to step out and 'raise a voice'. Your song will come. And it will be YOURS. This is how ceremony has always been kept fresh, personal and healthy. Do not be afraid or hesitate too long to step into this new spirit space, sacred beings that we are. AHO!

The indigenous Thanksgiving ceremony is a harvest and seasonally oriented honoring of the ancestors spanning four days ... which may be selected at your choice ... but should be concurrent.

The four days of activities are:

Prepare by the 'fanning off' of the selected grounds, yourself and any/all participants.

Day 1: invitational feasting and offering plate

Day 2: you may compose an original song or bring forward an honoring song

 ... with drum ... this may be a solitary activity

Day 3: dance and drum to honor the ancestors ... again, may be solitary

Day 4: feasting, offering plate and prayers of gratitude for all of beingness

Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony

THANKSGIVING

The Gratitude Principle and a four-day Indigenous Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony suggested outline follows. Remember, this is a personal ceremony so feel free to add or subtract elements. Watch and endeavor to cultivate awareness of every little thing and remember that gratitude mindfulness is a proven and worthy tool by which to live and thrive. If you do not have a cultural song to sing, and many of us do not, just be willing to step out and 'raise a voice'. Your song will come. And it will be YOURS. This is how ceremony has always been kept fresh, personal and healthy. Do not be afraid or hesitate too long to step into this new spirit space, sacred beings that we are. AHO!

The indigenous Thanksgiving ceremony is a harvest and seasonally oriented honoring of the ancestors spanning four days ... which may be selected at your choice ... but should be concurrent.

The four days of activities are:

Prepare by the 'fanning off' of the selected grounds, yourself and any/all participants.

Day 1: invitational feasting and offering plate

Day 2: you may compose an original song or bring forward an honoring song

 ... with drum ... this may be a solitary activity

Day 3: dance and drum to honor the ancestors ... again, may be solitary

Day 4: feasting, offering plate and prayers of gratitude for all of beingness

Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony

THANKSGIVING

The Gratitude Principle and a four-day Indigenous Ancestral Thanksgiving Ceremony suggested outline follows. Remember, this is a personal ceremony so feel free to add or subtract elements. Watch and endeavor to cultivate awareness of every little thing and remember that gratitude mindfulness is a proven and worthy tool by which to live and thrive. If you do not have a cultural song to sing, and many of us do not, just be willing to step out and 'raise a voice'. Your song will come. And it will be YOURS. This is how ceremony has always been kept fresh, personal and healthy. Do not be afraid or hesitate too long to step into this new spirit space, sacred beings that we are. AHO!

The indigenous Thanksgiving ceremony is a harvest and seasonally oriented honoring of the ancestors spanning four days ... which may be selected at your choice ... but should be concurrent.

The four days of activities are:

Prepare by the 'fanning off' of the selected grounds, yourself and any/all participants.

Day 1: invitational feasting and offering plate

Day 2: you may compose an original song or bring forward an honoring song

 ... with drum ... this may be a solitary activity

Day 3: dance and drum to honor the ancestors ... again, may be solitary

Day 4: feasting, offering plate and prayers of gratitude for all of beingness

Excerpts from 'Spirit Talk': Spirit Plate

The Spirit plate makes out recognition and gratitude visible to the beings who are making a gift of their seed history, and when properly addressed they can become actively involved in an ongoing life path through other agents, namely ourselves. Their seed histories, with cultural family trees grounded in the natural world that make contributions of inestimable value and tensile strength to the DNA of any bonding entity, are at least as hugely long and venerable as ours.

Most of these connections and contributions are beyond our ken, but heartfelt gestures of gratitude and respect for these living things are ours to express through remembering our connections to the best of our abilities—where and when they lived and grew, who harvested them, how they were handled and for what purpose and by whom. The questions are always, what do we have to do that these things will live?

The Spirit plate is prepared by selecting very small and representative pieces of each feast food on the table ... mindfully collected with the left, offering hand, taken outside, and offered with a prayer of recognition and gratitude ... I like to raise the plate and turn it to the seven directions, lastly approaching the Mother Earth four times before lowering the plate to the earth ... Shewen dagzewin! A blessing is visited upon us this day!

Meaningful Teachings of the Drum

Let us sit beside our inner fires, warm ourselves and listen to the heartbeat 

and song of Sekmekwe - Heart Beat of the Mother Earth.

-- Dawn Woman

Meaningful Teachings of the Drum

As First Nation’s People, we have always been told that the first drum beat we hear, is when we are inside our mother. That drumbeat we hear is known as the heart of our mom. In cultures all over the world, there is known to be a drum that is significant to them.

Drums have always been a part of human life since the beginning and have great importance in First Nation culture. There are many stories as to how the drum came to be but for now, we will focus on just a few for today.

Drum Teachings with Howard Walker:

Cree Elder Howard Walker Speaks About The Drum.

Potawatomi Autumn Vocabulary

Potawatomi Autumn Vocabulary:

Autumn = dgwaget

Basket = gokbenagen

Black = mkede

Blessing = bgosendagwzewen

Corn = ndamen (mdom-in)

Feast = wewesnakewin

Gourd = shishigwIn

Many = dso

Moon = tpukises

Pumpkin = wapkon

Squash = kwesmen (kwes-men)

Water = mbish

West = we’jbkeshmok (where the sun goes down)

Potawatomi Sacred Plants Vocabulary:

Cedar = kishki

Sage = wabshkebyek

Sweetgrass = wishkpemishkos

Tobacco = se’ma

 

Tulsa Hall of Fame / October 6, 2025

Minisa Crumbo Halsey and Jim Halsey (center) are inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame on October 6, 2025.

Autumn Star Knowledge

GAA BIBOON KED 

Winter Wisdom Teachings 

Ahau and Bozho nikanek, 
We enter the fourth quarter of the Medicine Wheel on a resonant completion chord of our Nishnabé Creation Story and the seasonal Star Map … it is by these original gifts, teachings and certain things that we do find our WAY. BIBOON This season of Biboon brings the gathering and harvesting season, which invites us to celebrate the harvest and the preceding year’s labors and gifts with remembrance, gratitude and honoring words. This season seats but one of the times within which we may individually or collectively consider setting aside four days of ceremony ... for we would remember that if one can take one’s life into four days of dedicated, personal ceremony, we can change it. How? For moving into a dedicated structure of this kind. These days can and will lead us, through feasting, speaking, dance and song, onto a renewed path connecting us with the mind of Giche Manidoo and the original dream of life that opened a vital chord for us to travel to this Sacred Land.

BIBOON 
This season of Biboon brings the gathering and harvesting season, which invites us to celebrate the harvest and the preceding year’s labors and gifts with remembrance, gratitude and honoring words. This season seats but one of the times within which we may individually or collectively consider setting aside four days of ceremony ... for we would remember that if one can take one’s life into four days of dedicated, personal ceremony, we can change it. How? For moving into a dedicated structure of this kind. These days can and will lead us, through feasting, speaking, dance and song, onto a renewed path connecting us with the mind of Giche Manidoo and the original dream of life that opened a vital chord for us to travel to this Sacred Land.

The Original Thanksgiving
The honoring memories and words are fused with the hearts, minds, bodies and Spirits of Sekmekwe, Gizes and all of the other Powers, Directions, Colors: the elemental helpers of the noden (wind beings), mine (water beings), sen (rock beings), shkodé (fire beings) and the skebyak (green beings). The ones that fly, swim, crawl and walk as well as those sentient and insentient beings of which do not or cannot know or name. These ones that came into original agreement with the sacred emissaries of Jijak (the crane), Maak (the loon), to receive and support those of us making a petition to Giche Manidoo for a place to live.

To read entire article: Autumn Star Knowledge (starts on pg. 12)

Watering The Vision Quest Season of Autumn-Dgwaget🍁

Bozho and Greetings, Dreamers and Vision Questers,

In four days one's life can be changed through a personal, dedicated Vision Quest Ceremony.

Water was one of the first elements that the Creator 'breathed life' into what would become the first, most beautiful and enduring of Mother Earth's gifts, followed by light and fire. These gifts became the cultural foundations of many creation stories and the framework of the medicine wheel. Earth, air, fire and water emanating from an enduringly vital center point ... with which we are all invited to discover and perhaps to occupy ... a point which some would view as a 'sacred flowering tree'.

As in so many internal 'creation stories', there may be an unpredictable combination of past, present and future ... gently known as the 'eternal present'. These elements may appear in the personal gardens we then plant, tend, water, weed and harvest as 'farmers of our lives'. A good vision quest can have a long life. Perhaps as long as the four seasons it takes our mother earth to cycle through ... then again as short as 24 hours or ... four days.

We are the 'vision quest farmers' of our lives. We water the inner gardens and fields with our sacred blood, sweat and tears. Ahh.

Harvest is both a new beginning and renewal. This or any season's seed harvest carries both an ancient provenance and an unpredictable performance for which we must be prepared, for the vision quest is a mystery tour with we see or must be prepared to see 'something that is not yet known'. The Seeds of new life for the plant beings also follow their original instructions and move with 'choice as a sacred choice'.

We pray for our walks to be fused with bravery, courage, forgiveness, loyalty, love and endurance ... for these walks and powers to be with us ... on each, every and all of these, our most sacred and precious life journeys ... nourished by these teachings of the Seven Grandfathers which have guided, encouraged and taught us the 'good ways' to live, from a long time back ... now and forever more, all ways, all days ... Creator, Grandmother, Grandfather and all of the others, named and unnamed, known and unknown ... we offer gratitude for all of the gifts. Chi migwech, wewene chi migwech. Thank you.

AHO!
Bama mine,
Dawn Woman
Citizen Potawatomi Nation