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We observe Native American Heritage Month in November to recognize the achievements and contributions of Native Americans. We celebrate the remarkable diversity of American Indian peoples while remembering and honoring our veterans who have sacrificed so much to defend our Nation.

It is also a time to educate others with pride, that Indigenous peoples are the holders of unique languages, knowledge systems, and beliefs, and possess invaluable knowledge of practices for the sustainable management of our natural resources.

Additionally, Indigenous and Native communities have shown resilience, perseverance, and strength amid challenges like displacement and cultural suppression. We certainly must celebrate our successes, our heritage, and our culture, as well as who we are as a people.

We should, likewise, take a moment to recall the obstacles we have overcome. Our ancestors’ courage and strength were tested as they faced countless obstacles and overcame unimaginable challenges; they deserve to be honored.

Below is one such fact that was intended to separate us from who we are. Our ancestors’ courage and resilience were tested as they faced countless obstacles and overcame unimaginable challenges. While very costly, we persevered and “we are still here…”

Come together as our Tribal family for an important event on Zoom on November 7.

For Eeyamquittoowauconnuck (Brothertown) Day, 2025, Brothertown Indian Nation and Calumet and Cross Heritage Society are proud to announce that Dr. Courtney Gerzetich, Brothertown’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) and a member of the Calumet and Cross Board, will be offering a presentation on interviewing tribal elders. 

The workshop will begin at 6 pm CT/7 pm ET/5 pm MT/4 pm PT on November 7th and will cover equipment set-up, interview questions, and tips for preserving and sharing your interviews.

For additional information you can see more details of the presentation here….

Take advantage of the upcoming holiday season to sit down with your family members and ask them to share their memories with you. Everyone’s stories are essential, and we can all contribute to the collection and preservation of our tribal history by speaking with and interviewing our relatives and, with their permission, sharing a copy for the tribe’s archives.

How to attend: Zoom—link with sign-on instructions and passcode are available by contacting CalumetAndCross@gmail.com or webmaster@brothertownindians.org

Relevance to our Tribe: our history and shared memories are essential to our heritage.  Going back to the 1980s, when this project first began, it was a vital key to our shared Tribal knowledge of our family stories and memories. This includes both our struggles and our celebrations, which can’t be lost to our future generations.

What is Eeyamquittoowauconnuck (Brothertown) Day?

This day, by proclamation by the Brothertown Tribal Council, we celebrate not only our Tribal heritage, but the decades of trials that our Ancestors endured (from New England, to New York, Indiana, and on to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, etc.), and still endure to this day.

It is a testament that we, as a tribal family, “are still here!  240 years later (Nov 7, 1785), following these words “We now proceeded to form into a Body Politick -We named our town by the name of Brotherton, in Indian—Eeyamquittoowauconnuck” (Occom 1785)

All Brothertown, each of whom proudly recognizes themselves as the “Brothertown Indian Nation”, with both our Tribal friends and our Tribal cousins, come together to celebrate Community, with one voice—as a single tribe. Whether in Fond du Lac, greater Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Pacific Northwest, and a multitude of other locations – we are Brothertown and stand proudly together.

By Trevor Hook  Wisconsin Public Radio, October 6, 2025

Intertribal Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization Project seeks to merge mainstream, Indigenous methods to preserve wild rice

To view the entire article, and to listen to the podcast – Click here…

For Jessica Skeesuck, vice chair of the Brothertown Indian Nation, restoring wild rice goes beyond just helping the environment.

“It is an important food from a nutritional value perspective, but also from a very important cultural perspective for many tribes, including Brothertown Indian Nation,” Skeesuck told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

Skeesuck and Jessie Conaway, an outdoor educator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are co-leads on the Intertribal Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization Project. 

For three years, Skeesuck, Conaway and other collaborators have worked to reseed wild rice across the lake by combining mainstream science and Indigenous reseeding methods. This can mean reseeding via “broadcasting” — throwing rice directly into the water — or by mixing wild rice with nearby clay and sediment to create “mud balls” to then place into the water.

To view the entire article, and to listen to the podcast – Click here…

“My great hope is that we will continue to have improved collaborative relationships … so that the quality of the water and the quality of the sediment is improved,” Skeesuck said. “In this day and age, we know that water is a scarcity. We have some really high quality water in the area. If we are able to do that in a good way, then the rice will survive and we will be able to take care of our people and our animal relatives that depend on it.”

Special Occasion:  Celebrating Brothertown Indian Nation Bingo’s 20th anniversary!

Dawn Kraintz was presented with the Joseph Johnson award while her husband, Dan Kraintz, was awarded the Thomas Dean Award for their efforts going above and beyond, over the past 20 years, in support of Brothertown Indian Nation through the operation of Brothertown Bingo.

We also introduced two new members to the tribe via our cradle roll! They, along with many family members, travelled all the way from Canada. There was a presentation by Brothertown Tom Smith on the trail markers our ingenious ancestors used. Finally, for our younger generations, storytelling with BIN Storyteller Shelli Dekker (click here for a snippet of her telling of “Robin Squash”). 

The food was superb, as usual, and our family of vendors, along with everyone who shared stories and memories at this Tribal family event, made the day complete.

Congratulations to our newest members and to Dawn and Dan!

Mark your calendars to attend Homecoming —3rd Saturday of October 2026!  

A special snippet of Brothertown Indian Nation Storyteller Shelli Dekker telling the ending of the story of the Robin Squash… (Apologies about the audio, it was a beautiful day, but windy as you can hear).

The Pacific Northwest gathering was held on August 23, 2025, at Milo McIver State Park in Estacada, Oregon.

Despite the crushing heat that day, this official Brothertown Indian Nation gathering was attended by upwards of 60 people, including three tribal Council members (Vice Chair, Jessica Ryan; Secretary Melissa Kavonius, and Dawn Kraintz). The day’s events included a potluck lunch, games and activities, and an enrollment ceremony where eleven children were welcomed into the tribe.

View and enjoy the PNW Gathering by clicking here…..

Be sure to view all the new Galleries of events recently added at the end of the post, below…

View the gallery and join our Brothertown Family from the Pacific Northwest as they celebrate extended community, shared bond, and our mutual heritage. Over 40 photographs of the day’s activities and our cousins are available for you to view and share. As you see, it was quite a day!

If you’d like to be put on the list to be notified of future PNW gatherings, please reach out to SethElsen@gmail.com. If you plan to present children to the Tribe at a future event, please get in touch with the Brothertown office at (920) 907-0624 or BrothertownOffice@brothertownindians.org with any questions.

Other new events of the Brothertown Indian Nation have been recently added, and most were included in the New Fall 2025 BIN Newsletter, which was just released and sent out.

Enrollled Members can sign up to recieve the quarterly BIN Newsleter here...

The New Galleries of recently added BIN Events are now live on the website include:

• 8th annual Neenah-Menasha Intertribal Powwow, Sept. 13, 2025
• Pacific Northwest Gathering August 23, 2025
• Brothertown Indian Cultural Camp July 16-19, 2025
• 2025 74^th Annual Appleton Flag Day Parade – Brothertown Veterans July 16, 2025
• The Brothertown Veterans’ 1^st brat fry event was a huge success! July 14, 2025
• Minnesota Gathering 2025 – Brothertown Indian Nation, April 26, 2025
• Powwow 2025, Brothertown Indian Nation – huge crowds and featuring 5 Drums, April 10, 2025
• Unveiling of a historical marker for the Dick Cemetery – October 19, 2024
• To name a few… Currently, there are a total of 35 Galleries going back to 2014, and more are being added…View all here…

As of today, Thursday late afternoon, Jessica and the Wild Rice Team is in the process of finishing up their volunteer activities, but there is more happening:

• Saturday, September 13th is the 8th Annual Neenah-Menasha Intertribal Powwow. Please show up to the event to support the Brothertown, see our veterans in the Grand Entry, hear Austin Hammond, the Manasha Mayor (former Brothertown Indian and former council member) speak, and enjoy the Brothertown family coming together, interacting, and celebrating the powwow together.
  • Volunteers needed! This is the Tribe’s first time as a food vendor. Please reach out to Dawn beforehand or show up and lend a helping hand. The food booth setup is at 12:30 to prepare for the 2:00 pm opening with the Grand Entry.
• Sunday, September 14th, is also a full day of Brothertown activities:
  • o The Brothertown Indian Nation Council Meeting is on Sunday, September 14th, and begins at 8:30 am CST. Location: The Brothertown Indian Cultural Center
  • Beginning at 10:00 am CST, following the Council meeting, the Council and Brothertown members will meet at Lot 7 to bless the land. Everyone is welcome to attend.
  • Beginning at Noon: Lunch at the Cultural Center to thank those folks who donated the log for the dugout canoe and for those who engineered the log’s pickup and delivery to the Cultural Center in time for the Culture Camp. Everyone is invited to show our Tribes gratitude

What a week with plenty of things to engage with our tribal family!

Information for this month’s Council meeting:

The September Brothertown Indian Nation Council meeting will be held at the Cultural Center of the Brothertown Indian Nation.

All Brothertown members planning on attending via Zoom must register to receive an email with all the Zoom sign-in details. Click this link to request access and be put on the list of reminders from the Brothertown Office.

Following initial registration of enrolled members will receive an ongoing reminder email on the Thursday before each Council meeting.

*Vice-Chair Jessica Ryan will confirm members on Zoom before entering the Council meeting

The August Brothertown Indian Nation Council meeting will be held at the Brothertown Community Center, not the previously published Cultural center.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and look forward to seeing you there!

Daphne Lemke – Fond du Lac Reporter
July 11,2025

Read the entire article here: https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2025/07/11/brothertown-indian-nation-in-wisconsin-marks-samson-occom-day-july-14/84535173007/

Here’s what that means: Samson Occom Day honors an early leader of the tribe, which dates to the 18th century on America’s East Coast. Samson Occom, a Mohegan statesman and preacher, played a key role in uniting people from several tribes in the 18th century, ultimately leading to the formation of the Brothertown Indian Nation.

FOND DU LAC – Did you know July 14 is a day to celebrate with the Brothertown Indian Nation? Samson Occom Day honors an early leader of the tribe, which dates to the 18th century on America’s East Coast.

Brothertown Indian Nation will celebrate with a special event at 7 p.m. July 14 over Zoom or phone, with featured speaker Jason LaVigne, Mohegan tribal historian and Tantaquidgeon Museum operations manager, and special guest David Freeburg, Mohegan archivist and librarian, who will share some of Occom’s original manuscripts.

The Brothertown community is composed of descendants of Mohegan, Eastern Pequot, Mashantucket Pequot, Niantic, Narragansett, Montauk and Tunxis peoples, all from the areas of New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many nations fled where they were living because of war, displacement and other pressures on the land, according to Phyllis Tousey, chair of the BIN Council.

Born in the Mohegan nation in Connecticut in 1723, Occom was a statesman and a preacher who bonded with many groups that had started to form amid displacement, according to Brothertown history. So, when he was trying to bring people together, he had people he could help reorganize into the Brothertown Indian Nation.

The article continues on the Fond du Lac Reporter, here: https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2025/07/11/brothertown-indian-nation-in-wisconsin-marks-samson-occom-day-july-14/84535173007/

Brothertown Indian Nation’s 6th Annual Samson Occom Day Celebration

Please join us via Zoom or phone on Monday, July 14th, at 7:00 p.m. CST
(8:00 p.m. EST, 6:00 p.m. MST, and 5:00 p.m. PST).

To learn more about the event and to request the Zoom information via email please view the Event posting here…

**(Unfortunately, space is limited on the Day of the event to 100 attendees. Please request the Zoom information details early. On the day of the event, we will admit take all people until we reach our space limit of 100 attendees.)

Everyone is invited, this is an open event: Brothertown members, family, and friends of the Brothertown Indian Nation including our Parent Tribes; the Mohegan Tribe, Pequot, Narragansett, Montauk an Nehantic Native Nation have received special invitations to attend to join our Tribal member to leant more about our common ancestor and moving force in early New England and through is vision of the Brothertown Movement, with the focus on survival of our heritage and traditions.

The Brothertown Tribe is so fortunate to have a Mohegan Historian and a Mohegan archivist presenting. This is a rare event and will be filled with History, knowledge, and introspection.

The presentation is planned to include the early years of Samson Occom in New England, touching on his travels to England, and concluding with our migration to Oneida, NY (and the Brothertown Movement), with plenty more in between

• Featuring distinguished speakers from the Mohegan Tribe, our parent tribe, and close cousins.
  • Jason LaVigne: Mohegan Tribal Historian and Tantaquidgeon Museum Operations Manager.
  • Special Guest: David Freeburg – Mohegan Archivist and Librarian, who will be sharing some of Occom’s original manuscripts.

The link to information on how to attend is abvailable here….

To read the entire article and video on Univsity of Wisconsin – Wisconsin Sea Grant website, Click here….

Over the last 200 plus years, increased populations, shoreline development, and dams have stripped much of Lake Winnebago of this treasured resource. But through research initially funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant, the Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization team aims to restore wild rice beds, bringing together tribal nations, researchers, and conservationists in a project that bridges history, science, and community collaboration.

The Intertribal Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization Project is a multi-year effort focused on reestablishing wild rice beds to harvestable levels. Co-led by the Brothertown Indian Nation and UW-Madison’s Dr. Jessie Conaway, the team seeks to answer critical questions: Where did the rice go? What conditions are needed to bring it back? And how can restoration efforts honor both traditional ecological knowledge and modern science?

For members of the Brothertown Indian Nation, whose ancestors were relocated to the eastern shores of Lake Winnebago in the 1800s, this work is deeply personal. “These waters are our responsibility,” says Vice Chair of the Brothertown Indian Nation Jessica Skeesuck, one of the project leaders. The restoration effort is not just about bringing back a plant – it’s about strengthening tribal nations, supporting wildlife, and fostering a healthier watershed for all fishers, hunters, harvesters, and Lake Winnebago communities.

Since receiving funding from Wisconsin Sea Grant in 2022, the team has had a number of successes. University students and agency partners have helped gather water quality data and monitor plant growth, creating a new baseline of wild rice data in the Lake Winnebago watershed. This data, as well as Indigenous knowledge, has helped the team begin reseeding portions of the watershed.

Community engagement has also grown, with more volunteers, tribal members, and local residents actively participating in restoration efforts. For the Brothertown Indian Nation, this work has been an opportunity for nation-building, strengthening connections to tribal conservation networks and providing the small nation with their first full-time staff members. 

Continue reading the extensive article here…