August 05, 2008 –
A bus load of Prairie Band Potawatomi (PBP) left today for the 2008 Potawatomi Gathering being hosted by Walpole Island First Nations inWalpole Island, Canada. The reservation is situated near the Michigan/Ontario border outsideDetroit.
On board the bus is Tribal Chairman Steve Ortiz who is riding with more than forty other tribal elders who signed up for the trip last spring. The group will spend the night inBettendorf, Iowa and hopes to arrive in Walpole Island by early evening tomorrow. The Gathering will take place until Sunday about noon and shortly thereafter the PBP travelers will leave for home. They will stop for two nights in New Buffalo Mich. and Tama, Iowarespectively and are expected to arrive back in Mayetta on Tuesday, August 12 around 5 p.m.
Approximately 1,500 Potawatomi from the seven Potawatomi Bands scattered throughout the U.S. andCanada are expected to attend at the 13th Annual Potawatomi Gathering to be held at the WalpoleIsland First Nations Sports Complex Park. Inter-tribal government meetings and commemorative events between all the Potawatomi Bands are planned as well as cultural workshops, evening pow-wows and other age-specific activities and sports.
Presently, an Anishnaabeg Language Advisory Group Conference is being held at Walpole Island that ends tomorrow. The PBP Language Department staff is attending the conference along with other tribal members.