Respecting Sovereignty, Practicing Solidarity
A travel diary of Marquette’s 2025 Indigenous Solidarity Immersion
One doesn’t need to travel far to experience cultural immersion. This is especially true in Wisconsin, where there are 12 American Indian Nations.
In spring ’25, we officially launched an immersion experience for Marquette students to visit the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians in Northern Wisconsin.
We had discussed the idea of such a program for a few years with Dr. Jacqueline Schram, who at the time was Marquette’s Director of Public Affairs and Special Assistant for Native American Affairs. She helped refine our focus on three important items: purpose, partnership, and timing.
Borrowing language from Marquette’s land and water acknowledgement, we determined the program should recognize and honor Indigenous histories, knowledge, and cultural traditions — and be grounded in a spirit of inquiry, kinship, and reconciliation.
Schram then invited who she envisioned as an ideal partner into the conversation — distinguished alumnae Jo Ann Schedler (Nurs ‘82).
Schedler, a Stockbridge-Munsee tribal elder, shared a fond interest in hosting our group. With her support, we presented a letter to the Tribal Council asking for permission to collaborate with and visit the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.
When our agreed upon dates in Mid-April arrived, our delegation of 14 students, faculty, and staff headed north from Marquette’s campus, excited for what the coming days would entail.
Day 1:
Wisconsin Indian Educators Association (WIEA) Conference
Our program conveniently aligned with the annual WIEA Conference, which took place in Menominee Nation. We attended the opening ceremony and morning keynotes here before continuing on to the Stockbridge Munsee reservation.
Ron Corn Jr., the conference’s opening keynote and Director of Revitalization at Menomini yoU, provided a powerful testimony of the importance of language’s relationship with identity and healing. Trisha Moquino, co-creator of the Indigenous Montessori Institute, shared about her work facilitating wholeness through what she calls culturally sustaining pedagogy.
A few of our delegation participants — faculty and students with Marquette’s Indigeneity Lab — presented on their research at a breakout session. Their projects ranged from re-introducing Wild Rice to the Menomonee River Valley, archiving the history and legacy of Catholic Boarding Schools, and developing a map of sites with significant Indigenous ties in the Milwaukee area.
Meeting with Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council Members
Our first activity on the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation took place at the tribal headquarters, where Jo Ann was waiting to introduce us to members of the Tribal Council.
Vice President Willie Miller shared about tribal sovereignty, explaining how each tribal nation has its own elections, elected officials, judges, courts, law enforcement, and municipal services. Each tribe maintains a government to government relationship with the United States based on treaties dating back centuries.
Council Member Terrie Terrio spoke about recent developments they have pursued for the reservation including installing their own cell towers and fiber optic cables (which the tribe owns), paving new roads, building a waste water treatment plant, upgrading their health and wellness facilities, and providing housing for tribal members.
They also shared that the North Star Mohican Casino Resort (where we stayed for the trip) is one of the tribe’s most important revenue generation enterprises.
Near the end of our conversation, one student expressed awe at everything the council has accomplished. She elaborated that the unrelenting focus on doing what is best for the tribe and members was the most pragmatic and functional example of government she’d ever seen or heard of.
Vice President Miller elaborated that they still have lots of debates and disagreements, but he is most proud of the fact that everyone wants to do what they think is best for the tribe — and is ultimately willing to have these conversations and work together.
Arvid Miller Library and Museum
Our next stop was the Arvid Miller Library and Museum. Here we learned more about the history of the Stockbridge-Munsee. Our orientation at the museum included the below oral history video produced by PBS Wisconsin.
Aurora Schmit, Collections & Special Projects Coordinator, showed us the current exhibits, including one focused on the history of block printing as a traditional art form. We also viewed artifacts, some dating back centuries, and some of which had been repatriated from other museums.
Everyone took advantage of the gift shop’s collection of books, jewelry, and artwork. Many of the designs depicted the “Many Trails” emblem, a symbol which represents the tribe’s history.
Mohican Veterans Lodge and Memorial
Our final site visit of the day was the Mohican Veterans Lodge, where we held a group reflection after learning about the history of the memorial and lodge.
In just one day, we’d already learned a lot — much of which challenged popular notions of Indigeneity. For example, we learned that Indigenous people are not monolithic. Each tribe has it’s own distinct history, culture, and government. And even within each tribe, there will always be a variety of personalities, politics, and dispositions.
We also had many questions. What are the requirements to be enrolled as a tribal member? How many people still speak the Mohican and Munsee language? Why do people choose to live on the reservation? Why would they choose to leave the reservation for the city? What churches and religious denominations are on the reservation? Jo Ann graciously answered each question, always noting significant historical events, how things have changed over time, and even the opinions of those who have a different perspective than her.
At the heart of our observations and Jo Ann’s explanations, a central theme emerged — the importance of community.
Hungry after a full day of activity, we then drove into Shawano for dinner at Stubborn Brothers, a restaurant and brewery owned by two Marquette alumni. Here we were joined by Jo Ann’s husband, Jon, whose assistance and conversation throughout our visit added yet another meaningful layer to the experience.
Hand Drum Social
After dinner, some of the students attended an evening Hand Drum Social event at Menominee Indian High School in collaboration with the WIEA conference. They enjoyed connecting with other attendees and were proud to have learned some drum beats and dances.
Day 2:
Eunice Stick Gathering Place
We started the day by joining elders in the community for breakfast at Eunice Stick Gathering Place. After eating, we sat down for a conversation with some of the staff.
Ray Creapeau, Elderly Services Manager, shared that breakfast is served here Monday through Friday for elders, whether they live at the facility or elsewhere on the reservation. He elaborated that the meal program ensures elders get a nutritious meal, as well as time to socialize with others.
While we enjoyed escaping the busyness of campus and the city to the landscape and beauty of the reservation, those who live on the reservation pointed out that living in rural areas — especially with mobility challenges — can become isolating very quick, so it’s important to maintain connection with others.
Bill Terrio, current Emergency Preparedness Manager and former Elderly Services Manager, shared about programs he oversaw in that role in that role including meal deliveries and in-home visits for elders who no longer drive or choose not to participate in the community breakfast. He also stressed the emphasis on ensuring elders get hot meals and socialization.
Stockbridge-Munsee Health & Wellness Center
Our next stop was the Stockbridge-Munsee Health & Wellness Center, which Jo Ann played a large role in developing during the time she served on the Tribal Council and as Health Director.
This facility houses virtually any medical services or resources individuals would need — primary care, dental services, behavioral counselling, physical therapy, radiology and lab services, a pharmacy, and public health programs — all under one roof.
Jo Ann also arranged for us to meet with fellow Marquette alumnus, Ranier Posselt (H Sci ‘16), who grew up on the reservation and is now a staff psychotherapist at the Health & Wellness Center. Rainer shared about his experiences studying and working in counselling psychology.
One of the themes he touched on was the challenge of maintaining a practice that authentically honors traditional practices. This is made all the more difficult, he said, by coursework and certifications that rely heavily on western medicine.
An example he shared with us is that despite being advised that it is inappropriate to joke and laugh with clients when discussing trauma, he nonetheless recognizes how central humor is to Indigenous culture, as well as the ways it helps his native clients talk about and process difficult experiences.
Ella Besaw Center
We then made our way across the parking lot to tour the newly opened Ella Besaw Center, a Community Based Residence Facility (CBRF). This facility serves elders who require a higher level of medical attention and care. Here, residents may be semi-ambulatory, require daily medical care, or benefit from specialized attention for such conditions as memory loss.
Gina Philbrick, Administrator of the Ella Besaw Center, showed us around the state-of-the-art facilities and shared how they emphasize Stockbridge Munsee cultural practices and lifeways through programing and interactions.
Keek-Oche / From the Earth Tribal Farm
After lunch, we ventured to Keek-Oche / From the Earth Tribal Farm. When we arrived, Jo Ann shared a document from the tribe’s strategic planning process a few years prior. Highlighted as the second most important priority for the tribe’s long-term survival was establishing food sovereignty. She explained that this was what led to creating the tribal farm.
Here we met with Marie Duits and Chris Rosenthal, who run the farm. They showed us their seed bank, hot houses, mounds, and bee hives. They shared how most of what they do starts as an experiment, relying on practices tribal members have shared with them, using details uncovered from historical accounts, and that they adapt based on their own interactions with the land and environment.
They explained that the farm operates on a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, distributing shares of the harvest to people who live on the reservation.
Some of their favorite days are when educational programs bring community members together to plant, tend to, or harvest the crops. This, they said, has helped to revive and continue some of the tribe’s traditional practices and ceremonies.
Many Trails Park
Next, we met up with Misty Cook at Many Trails Park. Misty is a trained medicine woman and author of Medicine Generations: Natural Native American Medicines Traditional to the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans Tribe.
Along the banks of the gently flowing Red River, she walked us through the process of harvesting and preparing medicines with assistance from her son. We began with each of us sprinkling a pinch of tobacco, a traditional offering, to the Earth. She then showed us a few medicines.
Shavings from the whips of red willow trees can be boiled into a tea wash. Grinding the bark from a tag alder tree into a tea can be used for a liver cleanse. Consumption root, which treats inflammation and infections, grows in alcoves along the river. Cedar leaves can help with inflammation. These medicines — and many more — grow at different times of the year, deep in the woods and on other properties throughout the reservation.
Misty shared that when others need a medicine from her, they traditionally offer a gift in exchange. This, she explained, is how she learned the medicines have been passed down to her all the way from her great-great-great grandmother “Granny Gardner” to her cousin and teacher, Dave Besaw.
In keeping with this tradition, she is now passing the knowledge down to her children, in addition to offering classes to others in the community. We are extremely grateful to her for sharing this knowledge and experience with us.
Powwow grounds
After saying goodbye to Misty, we voyaged deeper into Many Trails Park to the powwow grounds.
Jo Ann helped us imagine what it is like during a pow wow. The tables we sat at would be reserved for elders. Others would bring folding chairs and fill the terraced bowl. An announcer would introduce the drummers and dancers, each wearing colorful regalia. Vendors would line the road, selling fry bread, sweet corn, and other goodies.
We proceeded to reflect on the day’s activities. We admired the years of effort that went into developing such an impressive portfolio of health, wellness, and health equity programs. We discussed rematriation — a term coined by Indigenous women that signifies the restoration of relationships between Indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands, waters, and territories, emphasizing the importance of reclaiming sacred feminine power and traditional knowledge. And we discussed how Indigenous approaches to government, care, and preservation have informed our own ambitions to impact social change.
Jo Ann’s description of the powwow put us in the mood for dinner, which we enjoyed at another tribal establishment, the Pine Hills Golf Course Supper Club.
Day 3:
Lutheran Indian Mission School
Our final day started with a visit to the grounds of the former Lutheran Indian Mission School. This was a somber site to visit as we discussed some of the dark history of Indian Boarding Schools being a technique of forced assimilation.
Here, Dr. Sam Majhor shared about research she has done in Marquette’s holdings of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions archives in Raynor Memorial Library.
We also met with two community members, Bob Little, who was long ago a student at the mission school, and Cindy Jungenberg, who is a current member of the church’s congregation. From Bob’s recollections and stories other former students have shared, this wasn’t known to be a site of significant abuse and rather was an institution mostly respected within the community.
Red Springs Cemetery
Along the drive to our next location, we briefly stopped at Red Springs Cemetery. Here, Jo Ann shared about the history of these burial grounds and showed us a monument that she helped put in place for Stockbridge Munsee veterans.
Tree Planting & Closing Reflection
Our program concluded with a visit to Jo Ann and Jon Schedler’s cabin on Beaulieu Lake. Here we took some time to decompress, enjoyed a hearty lunch, and engaged in a ceremony to conclude the program.
Our ceremony consisted of planting and dedicating two trees on their property. One was in honor of Marquette’s late president, Dr. Michael Lovell, the other was in honor of Fawzia Hanna Batti, M.D., the late mother of Marquette’s Associate Vice President of Public Affairs, Rana Altenburg.
We also shared our deep gratitude and appreciation to Jo Ann and Jon for planning, hosting, and guiding us through this wonderful experience.
Many of the students shared how profoundly this experience impacted them. Some shared that this sparked an interest in learning more about the tribe’s history. Some shared that it will impact how they teach about Native Americans in their future classrooms. Some wanted to come back to volunteer at the farm, or at the Health and Wellness Center. Some shared that the experience provided them with hope and inspiration to continue in their efforts working for peace and justice.
In just two and a half days, we developed a profound sense of community and connection with the Stockbridge Munsee.
We are deeply grateful to Jo Ann, Jon, everyone we met with, and the entire Stockbridge-Munsee community. This unforgettable experience was made all the more special by the trust and openness displayed through the time, knowledge, and conversation that they shared with us.
As we each move forward with our studies and careers— in education, public history, health professions, environmental justice, and community organizing — we carry with us a commitment to practice solidarity with Indigenous communities.
