BALL CLUB — The Mii-gwitch Mahnomen Days Traditional Powwow, hosted Friday through Sunday, July 17-19, saw hundreds turn out for the multiple days of grand entries, contest specials and more in the Ball Club community.
For one family, it was also a space for healing some of their grief.
The body of 37-year-old Rikki Skog was discovered a couple of blocks away from the powwow grounds Thursday, July 16.
Two of Skog's eight siblings — Kahla Wilson and Kristi Contreras — spoke to KAXE at the powwow about the suspicious death of their sister and of the community's response.
Wilson described a state of disbelief when she received the news of her sister. She said that just that morning, she had cut most of her own waist-length hair.
"When I looked in the mirror, my first thought was, 'I need Rikki to fix my hair, I have to go out in public,'" Wilson said. "She took care of my hair for anything: my wedding, my sisters' weddings, my son's wedding. She did my hair for everything. I braided my hair and I cut it off. And my hair will be cremated with her, because it's Rikki's hair."
Skog leaves behind three daughters, the youngest of the two presently in the care of their uncle.
Contreras said she doesn’t understand how Skog ended up where she was, and that somebody must know something. She described her sister as a wonderful woman who could make anybody laugh.
"She would bring everybody else up, no matter what situation we were in," Contreras said. "She would bring the laughter, she would bring the light into the room.”
Before a healing song Saturday, a spiritual adviser said in the old days, the powwow would have been canceled in the wake of such a tragedy. But since Skog has not yet returned home from the law enforcement-ordered autopsy, her funeral services are currently on hold.
Many dancers and community members joined the family in the arena to offer comfort, and others in the stands contributed cash to support Skog's family.
Wilson said it meant so much to feel their support.
"It's the best place," she said of Ball Club, one of the eastern-most communities on the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe reservation.
"You feel welcomed and supported, and just because bad things happen sometimes doesn't mean it's a bad place, or that everybody's bad. Bad things happen everywhere. Not just here," Wilson added.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Skog's death, which is being treated as suspicious.
Anyone who may have seen Ms. Skog on or after July 15, or who has information that may assist investigators, is asked to contact the Itasca County Sheriff's Office at 218-326-3477.
A GoFundMe for Skog's family has been established and has already raised nearly $5,500 as of Monday afternoon.
"She loved her daughters more than anything and spent many years fighting drug addiction so she could be sober for her girls," the online fundraiser states.
"We want to honor her memory and celebrate her life with an Ojibwe ceremony, reflecting her heritage and the love she had for her family."
Continuing years of tradition
Mii-gwitch Mahnomen Days is a 63-year-old continuous tradition.
The powwow arena, just north of the under-construction Ball Club Community Center, has a pavilion in the center, with an emcee stand positioned among the spectator stands. Contest drums are positioned around the arena, with the ceremony drum placed in the center.
Mariah Linse and Nashel Bebeau are both members of the Ball Club Local Indian Council, which also acts as the Ball Club branch of the Leech Lake Powwow Committee. The pair said they have been involved with organizing Mii-Gwitch Mahnomen Days for the last seven years.
"Generally, every [Local Indian Council] can appoint a powwow committee, but we just take it on ourselves," Linse said. "We just do everything. We get everything under control. We hire our security, get our arena directors, our emcees, our spiritual adviser. A lot of work goes into this."
There are 11 Local Indian Councils, or LICs, recognized by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. These local units are organized by the local communities and provide facilities for community events, services like medical clinics or early education, and programming.
Linse said it's important for the community to get together in this way, surrounded by tradition and by each other, especially when tragedy strikes.
"That's what we know, and that's what we do in our culture and our ways," she said of the healing song for Wilson, Contreras and the rest of Skog's family. "Another reminder to our family and our loved ones that we have to do things in the best and right way that we can."
The powwow's name, Mii-gwitch Mahnomen, is all about giving thanks ahead of another wild rice harvest.
"Come August, you'll see all of our community members take part in that, all the way from little bitty kids to elders," Bebeau said.
During the many specials and contests as part of Saturday's evening events, attendees heard speeches in Ojibwe and English from boys and girls vying to be the next Mii-gwitch Mahnomen Days princess or brave.
Current Mii-gwitch Mahnomen Days princess, 11-year-old Bailey Williams, said she loved the opportunity to represent her community.
"I serve elders, I do competitions, I dance, and I'm pretty sure that's all," she said of her royal duties.
She's about to start school in Grand Rapids but has no plans to put away her moccasins when her reign is over.
"I'm planning to just keep on dancing for the rest of my life," she said.
Also at the powwow grounds was a medical services tent, courtesy of Leech Lake Health and Safety, a subsidiary of the band's gaming operation.
Kyle Kohlhoff is an emergency medical technician with the organization. He said with barriers to access healthcare for many Leech Lake Band members, he is glad to be able to offer free services to the community.
"Today we handed out close to, I think, 24 cases of water and 200 pounds of ice to prevent any heat emergencies," Kohlhoff said Saturday evening. "We do have a lot of community members come up to us with old injuries and ask us to look at them."
Kohlhoff said he wishes more people would come see the powwows for themselves.
"I know there's sometimes some thoughts that people don't think they're welcome and stuff like that, and that's the complete opposite," he said. "I would like to see more people come into the powwows, especially the ones up here and, showing out and giving [support] to the communities."
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Contributed/White Oak Casino / Ryan WhiteBryan v. Itasca County paved the way for the modern tribal gaming industry. The monument recognizes Leech Lake Band member Helen Bryan and her husband, Russell Bryan. -
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Contributed/Minnesota DNRThe annual art contest highlights the stamps’ revenue generation, supporting fisheries management, habitat and stocking efforts in Minnesota lakes.
