[gentle music] - Rainer Posselt: I knew I always wanted to be a healer, but I don't think I knew what path it was gonna be. I started wanting to be a doctor, then it was a nurse practitioner, but then it just really clicked that talking can be my medicine. Words are my medicine. Konamanthe, ndineeweethe Rainer. Niya Mã'eekaneew, Mã'eekaneewe Seekwaneewik nom. Niya aachumookees. So, my name is Rainer. I am Stockbridge-Munsee. I'm from here on the reservation, and I'm a therapist. Psychology and counseling is very Western, and if you have a deeply rooted Indigenous identity, you know who you are. You can kind of blend both of them. And that helps meet Native patients where they're at. Western therapy pushes people towards choice and individualism. I moved to Milwaukee when I was 18. I feel like I can be myself in Milwaukee. Me and my friend joke that we're Rez City Indians because we grew up on the rez and moved to the city. I have room to grow into who I wanna be without maybe a community expectation or a family expectation. It speaks more to individual growth than collective growth. Working on the rez and still having a home in Milwaukee is the best of both worlds. There is beauty in being connected to blood and also having room to be yourself in the city. For collectivist communities like Native communities, it's like, "How can I have volition, autonomy within the contexts of, like, a family or a community?" And a lot of the times, it's compromise. Like, it's "How can I help my family, my community, and get my own needs met?" So, I run an art therapy group. It's a nonverbal way to process emotion, so it's creating kind of like a physical safety to calm the limbic system. Not much needs to be said. It's amazing how some healing can happen without any words, you know? Sometimes, healing is this creating or being in community, talking. Well studies show that any time you incorporate activities that encourage cultural identity growth, that it has good outcomes for patients. Potato stamps are a traditional Mohican art. When we would make baskets, we'd often decorate them with potatoes and use dyes from different roots and plants. It kind of teaches us that there's beauty in imperfections, 'cause it's not always gonna come out the way you want it to. Does that make it any less valuable? I don't think so, you know. And there's lessons in that. And, you know, also lessons in failure, and sometimes, you gotta start over. My family, there's a lot of wisdom and knowledge on plants. I take pride in incorporating Indigenous practices such as smudging or herbal medicine into my practice. A plant has a spirit, so any time we're using a plant, we're asking to give its spirit to us. Medicines that we burned, we're taking that energy, and it helps heal. Sweetgrass, it's a feminine energy. It reminds us of our mothers, of our grandmas. It's sweet, it's springtime. And sometimes, when a patient is, they're bringing in a lot of grief, it can just clear that out of the room. Remind them that life is still sweet, you know? Spring will come. In a lot of the creation stories, like, cedar was the first tree, right? So, cedar is a very powerful medicine. It has a lot of, like, physical benefits, but it also helps us get rid of grief and also helps us deal with fear too. I think in my own community, my dream is that it will become less stigmatized and people will be more open to seeking help when they need it. And that's why therapists, that's why we do what we do is to help. So, if I'm able to include, like, traditional art forms or things connected to history, I think it's a form of radical healing, of building identity, of being proud of who you are, knowing who you are. 'Cause someone once told me, "If you know who you are, what can stop you?" [singing in Ojibwe] ["Prayer Loop Song" by Supaman] - Keller Paap: We knew that the number of existing elders who spoke Ojibwe fluently, who were raised with Ojibwe as a first language, were vastly diminishing. So, we knew we had to do something quick. And so, that's why we started "Waadookodaading." [speaking Ojibwe] - Brooke Ammann: Waadookodaading, it's a place where our language lives, where the Ojibwe language lives. 
- [speaking Ojibwe] ["Prayer Loop Song" by Supaman] - Keller: Language-- I think with any cultural practice, it has a specific vocabulary and teachings that are associated with each activity in that practice. So, for instance, all the words about boiling sap, the way that it boils, have specific terms that describe it very, very accurately and allow you to develop a deep comprehension of the activity and why you do it and how you do it. 
- [speaking Ojibwe] [children singing in Ojibwe] - Keller: I always say it's an educational experience for students, but it's a community movement. We're facing some really unique challenges right now. 
- Brooke: We have a lot of statistics that are against us. We have a lot of issues with abuse and suicide, that show us as not being the most healthy of communities. And I always think of it, not just in terms of our culture surviving, but really, our people surviving. 
- [speaking Ojibwe] - Keller: I didn't learn to speak Ojibwe as a child, but when I started studying it as an adult in college, I quickly realized how much knowledge and capacity there is in a language to know who you are, where you come from, how to see the world in that unique way. 
- [speaking Ojibwe] - Keller: It's certainly academically rigorous. It's not just a culture program. It's not just a language program. [speaking Ojibwe] Ultimately, it's prepping them and building an intellectual framework that they'll be able to apply to and adapt to. No matter where they are in the world, that will help them. And I think they're prepared with knowledge and ability that they feel proud of, that they feel connected to their ancestry in a deeper way. They have a much broader and deeper understanding of Ojibwe perspective in relation to the local community, the local environment, and the world. [vocable singing] - Chris McGeshick: So, the Creator put these gifts on Earth for us. And we too are one of those gifts. These are all lives that are being provided to us so that we can continue to live. But in order to do that, and to do it the right way, we have to provide an offering to the Creator and to the fish itself. Everybody's putting out their tobacco. It's called asemaa in our language. And they offer this aseema and they pray to the Creator, and they pray to that being, that life that's about to give itself up. You can now harvest and you can feel good about it. The Creator respects that. The animals respect that. The life expects that. Subsistence harvest is really, truly that. It's so that you can survive. It's part of our culture, it's part of our ceremonies, it's part of our daily life. We're looking to pass on those cultures, those teachings, those methods of harvest. With the tribe, what we did was we put together all of the harvesters, and we gave them the opportunity to provide what their knowledge was to share with the community members. We're gonna be running some unattended lines, some jig fishing, and we'll also be doing some tip-ups, and we'll be spearing through the ice as well. And some of the kids are gonna be working tonight on making their own decoys for spearing through the ice. That's what we're gonna focus on, as well as having really good food. In this camp is nothing but fun. Their first harvest, it's spectacular. You see the smiles on these kids' faces and these parents' faces when their kid's hugging this fish and carrying it around and getting all slimy and wet. Once that happens, the individuals seem to get hooked on the practice and they come back out, and they'll do it from year to year. Those kids that were there in 2014 are now adults, and they're coming out and they're teaching what they learn. We're highly adaptive. You know, if something comes out, we're gonna try it and we're gonna utilize it. If there's a new harvest method, we're gonna try to encompass those within our camp. We really wanna get 'em hooked on fishing. And so, here at this camp, we're also gonna infuse a little bit of that new technology and bring the electronics out on the ice so that they can work with it. We want our family members and our youngsters to learn how to take care of themselves. Whatever we provide, when you're provided this equipment and you're provided this knowledge, you utilize it so that you can survive in the event you need to. I think it's important to thank our relatives and our ancestors for preserving and protecting these rights for us and for the future generations. We have that responsibility. They had that responsibility. They endured what they had to endure to preserve the right for us to go out there and harvest. And the subsistence harvest is just the next opportunity for that next generation. The tribe is investing in itself. The tribe is investing in its future. You can sit there and you can think sometimes and visualize seven generations. That first generation had the responsibility to preserve and protect what that last generation that you see is now able to enjoy. [gentle music] - Dylan Jennings: Sometimes, it gets hard to balance these two worlds. There's different responsibilities that I hold at school. There's different responsibilities that I hold for the Powwow Trail. I'm a junior at UW-Madison. I come from the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. ["Electric Pow Wow Drum" by A Tribe Called Red] [vocable singing] - Announcer: All right, don't go away gentlemen. 
- Dylan: A powwow is a social gathering. This is like our way of bringing our whole Native community together. 
- Announcer: Okay, I believe we are ready for our first round entry. So, we are gonna ask those of you that are able to please rise, remove the covers off your head, to pay respects not only just to our Stars and Stripes, but to the original flag of this continent, our Eagle Staffs. 
- Dylan: The veterans play a huge role because they went to battle for us. They went to battle for our people, and they always have. Powwows are used as a means to educate people. That's why they're so open to the public and everything. A lot of people classify Native Americans as you know, "Oh, they're all Indians." Well, no, you know. We're all from different nations that are all really, really different. We all have different languages. We all have different ways of life. And we're completely different. Just from being on the Powwow Trail, you get to learn so much about different Native nations. When I was just a little guy, I'd watch those men's traditional dancers, and they always had a big impression on me, you know? And I always saw them as you know, like, almost like the protectors of the powwow. [vocable singing] It's almost like I'm hunting, especially when you do the sneak up. You're out there looking for your prey or for your Waawaashkeshi, we call it. That's our word for deer. I started singing with Midnite Express a few years ago. Those people on that drum are my family. [vocable singing] Sometimes, like when it's not a contest song, I'll get to look out there and see all those feathers out there, moving and bobbing with the beat, people just jamming out, and that's a great feeling. [drumming and vocable singing] ["Electric Pow Wow Drum" by A Tribe Called Red] When you're dancing, you're dancing for the ones that can't dance anymore. That's what they say. You dance hard so the ones that are watching that can't dance or the ones that aren't able to make it to the powwow can feel those feelings from here. I really try to encourage younger-- I call them little brothers on the Powwow Trail. That's another reason I dance and sing, is to help motivate these young ones to carry on our traditions. I really feel that I was put here on this earth to help pass things on. I want to see these traditions, these ways, passed down 'til I'm gone, and on. 
- Hunter VanZile: It's very nerve-wracking at the start. We could all crash and we could all go through smoothly. But when they wave the green flag, all the pain, all the anxiety, nervous, everything just drops. My name's Hunter VanZile, and I drive a Pro Spec for Championship Off-road. This one is the Forest County Potawatomi Cup. We're all as a family, we're all communities coming together and enjoying the racetrack. That's Forest County Potawatomi. My dad let me race short-course karts about nine years ago. He supports me more than anything. It's just, he's my backbone. He's taught me everything he knows, and I've learned from that. We kind of had that bonded, two heads at it, and we knew what we needed to do to be involved in racing. He'll tell me, like, to do this. And then I'll say, "No, let me do this." And there's just, he knows a little bit more than I do, and I know a little bit more than him. We work our way through it. My first-ever race, my dad was my spotter. I had no idea what I was doing out there, but we got lucky and got a third. As soon as I got up on the podium, I knew, I was like, "All right, this is exactly what I wanna do the rest of my life is do this." Back then, was just, it was just a family thing. And now we have sponsors, the community, my family, friends, everyone's there with me now. After I won in Bark River, the tribe, Forest County Potawatomi and the whole community seen it. And that really exposed me out there. I got my name out there, and I was the first-ever Native American to do it. That caught a lot of people's attention. That's when I felt like the community was right with me the whole entire time. Yeah, I try to give back as much as I can. I would love to work with the tribe. I usually bring my truck up to the rec center to show the kids, like, what it's all about. Yeah, they always wanna get in and touch every button in there and just slam the gas is what they wanna do. Anyone is willing to help, if you ask. I might not know the guy, but if I ask, "Hey, can I get a hand with this on my shock setup?" I mean, they're willing to help. There's been times where I broke parts and I needed help. Yeah, there's always people that are willing to help us get there. I got a lot of friends that are supporting us. Sponsors is a big thing. I mean, Forest County Potawatomi has been there since I started. I have a lot of family supporting me, a lot of friends that will support me. I have my dad helping me, and my mom's there to cook and keep us fed and everything, and my sisters are there for the entertainment. Everyone, every single one of them keeps me happy. Even if I travel out far, Crandon's my hometown. This whole community is all there with me. [gentle music] [drumming] - Jessica House: I started playing ball when I was eight years old. I just had a really good passion to play basketball for Oneida Nation. Basketball is my life, and so is the culture. My name is Jessica House. I am a senior, and I play for the Lady Thunderhawks. To be a Lady Thunderhawk, you have to learn discipline. I mean, you're role models. You've got to think about how you're acting out in public. [singing and drumming] In order to play basketball at Oneida, you have to be in the culture. You have to participate. Not a lot of girls were raised into it, where I was. But they are starting to find their ways now. And some of them even come to Long House now. [singing and drumming] It's important because I think it helps know who they really are. 'Cause sometimes you get so caught up in the other world. There's other girls, like me and Tasha, we take separate classes out of school for an actual language class. Our teacher, Shalihókt, when he was younger, there was more of the elders around that spoke the language, whereas now we don't really hear it. 
- [speaking Oneida] Have you learned, have you learned it? 
- Jessica: Shalihókt teaches us words to say. Every time we go for a huddle, we go: - [speaking Oneida] Whoo! ["Native Puppy Love" by A Tribe Called Red] [all cheering] Yay! 
- We have 11 girls on this Lady T-hawk team. I am captain. I'm also the point guard, so I'm expected to keep the game going, keep everyone under control. Keep myself under control! Before, we had hardly any people in the stands. My sophomore year, the fans started to fill in. My parents only missed one game out of the three years I've been at Oneida. I think it's really cool when all the parents are there supporting their daughters. It gives us our energy. I don't know how the other girls see it, but there's no better feeling than when you play basketball. ["Native Puppy Love" by A Tribe Called Red]