A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Ceremony center is a dream come true for Fond du Lac
Drummers, drumkeepers and members of the ogichidaakwewag (the female members of Big Drum) gather for a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, Aug. 23, to celebrate the opening of a new ceremonial hall, Gimanidoowichigemin Gwaaba'iganing, built specifically for the Big Drum.
The Big Drum has a new home.
Friday morning, members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and guests gathered for the opening of a new ceremonial hall, Gimanidoowichigemin Gwaaba'iganing, in Sawyer. It was built specifically to house the Big Drum.
The drum is named Nimishomis, which translates to "my grandfather."
The hall is new, but the drum and the songs and ceremonies that surround it are very old.
Band member and Sawyer resident Vern Northrup said his great-great-grandfather "dreamt this drum that belongs here," Northrup said. "He dreamt six of them and there's only one left....
