AIFC: Wakanyeja Kin Wakan Pi (Our Children Are Sacred) - Women & Mother's Support Group
2024-06-05 12:00 - 13:30, 2024-06-12 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Chicago) | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
Beginning Wednesday, December 7, 2022, from noon to 1:30 PM, mothers-to-be, or mothers with children up to 13 months are invited to join Wakanyeja Kin Wakan Pi (Our Children Are Sacred)’s Women and Mother’s Support Group, facilitated by AIFC’s Mother and Women’s Outreach Specialist, Chenoa Stout. This is a weekly support group that will cover topics such as parent education on infant safety and health, nutrition and prenatal education, and connection to resources.
Please contact Chenoa Stout at Chenoa.Stout@aifcmn.org, or (651) 504-2298, if you or someone you may know would like to be a part of this group!

Voter & Registration Education Workshop
2024-06-06 17:30 - 19:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
Join us for an empowering workshop dedicated to educating and engaging relatives in the essential voter registration process. Whether you’re a first-time voter or looking to update your voter information, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to participate fully in the democratic process.
A light meal will be served. Transportation is available.
The first 15 registrants will receive a $20 gift card!
Contact Gavin Sordelet at Gavin.Sordelet@aifcmn.org or (651) 272-2751 to register today!

[Virtual Event] AIFC: Khunsi Onikan - Wellbriety/Medicine Wheel 12 Steps Meeting
2024-06-06 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-06-13 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-06-20 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-06-27 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-04 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-11 19:00 - 20:00
Open to anyone wanting to work on recovery from any addiction.
Every Thursday at 7 pm CST, AIFC’s Khunsi Onikan program will sponsor a culturally based recovery support Wellbriety/Medicine Wheel 12-step meeting for the community; anyone wanting to work on recovery from any addictions is welcome to attend.
No need to register in advance.
Click here to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89255163167?pwd=[REDACTED]

AIFC: Waaban Ogimaawag (Tomorrow's Leaders) - Elder Teachings with Maria Morin McCoy
2024-06-08 10:00 - 12:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States

[CANCELED] AIFC: Ombi'ayaa Anishinaabe-Ininiiwug (Rise Up Original Men) - Men's Smudge and Support Group
2024-06-10 18:00 - 20:00 | Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, 788 East 7th Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Join American Indian Family Center’s Father & Men’s Outreach Specialist, Nate Bordeaux, for an in-person Men’s Smudge and Support Group.
It will be a potluck, so please bring a dish to share if you can!
Don’t miss this chance to gather with other American Indian men to explore your identity, participate in your culture, and support each other.
Questions? Contact Nate Bordeaux at Nate.Bordeaux@aifcmn.org or (651) 505-6820.

[Virtual Event] AIFC: Khunsi Onikan - Well-Anon (Native American Al-Anon) Meeting
2024-06-11 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-06-18 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-06-25 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-02 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-09 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-16 19:00 - 20:00
Open to anyone wanting to learn to have healthy boundaries and healthy relationships with the other addicts/alcoholics in their lives.
Join us every Tuesday at 7 PM CST for help and hope.
Suppose you have a loved one dealing with addiction. In that case, our Khunsi Onikan Program sponsors these weekly Native American culturally-based, one-hour meetings to help you establish healthy boundaries and relationships.
Join the meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89255163167?pwd=[REDACTED]

AIFC: Annual Spring Feast
2024-06-14 17:00 - 19:00 | Phalen Picnic Shelter, 1610 Phalen Drive, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States

AIFC: Ombi'ayaa Anishinaabe-Ininiiwug (Rise Up Original Men) - Men's Smudge and Support Group
2024-06-17 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-01 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-15 18:00 - 20:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States

AIFC: Waaban Ogimaawag (Tomorrow's Leaders) - Gabe-Nibwaakaa: Entrepreneurship
2024-06-18 16:00 - 18:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States

AIFC: Waaban Ogimaawag (Tomorrow's Leaders) - Full Moon Ceremony + Summer Solstice
2024-06-20 18:30 | Belwin Conservancy Savanna Center, 795 Indian Trail South, Afton, MN, 55001, United States
AIFC invites you to join us for a Full Moon Ceremony + Summer Solstice Celebration on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at 6:30PM.Who: Relatives who receive their menstrual (moon) cycles, or have reached menopause; the ceremony is inclusive to Two-Spirit and trans relatives as well!Where: Belwin Conservancy Savanna Center, 795 Indian Trail S, Afton, MN 55001Please bring a long skirt, copper cup, small bowl, spoon (extras provided as supplies last), hair bundle*, a watecha bowl (Tupperware, etc.) to take home leftovers, and a dish to share if you are able.*Hair Bundle (optional): Hair bundles are not required to participate but may be offered during the ceremony if desired. To make your own, start collecting loose strands from your brush, shower, or clothes!We are honored to have you join us during this special time as we hold a ceremony for Grandmother Moon!For more information, contact Pam Gokey at Pam.Gokey@aifcmn.org, or (651) 504-2944.: Jessica Gokey (IG: @j_leigh_gokey)

AIFC: Ombi'ayaa Anishinaabe-Ininiiwug (Rise Up Original Men) - Men's Smudge and Support Group
2024-06-24 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-07-08 18:00 - 20:00 | Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, 788 East 7th Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States

AIFC: Traditional Cedar Healing Ceremony
2024-06-26 16:00 - 20:00 | Cherokee Regional Park, 700 Cherokee Heights Blvd., Saint Paul, MN, 55107, United States
The American Indian Family Center (AIFC) invites you to a Traditional Cedar Healing Ceremony on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, from 4-8PM.

The location is the Cherokee Regional Park, 700 Cherokee Heights Blvd., Saint Paul, MN (We’ll be at the small shelter next to the swing set).

The spiritual leader will be Pebaamibines (First Nation Anishinaabe, Fort Frances, Ontario), respectively.

Food will be served and feel free to bring a dish to pass if you are able.

Ladies are recommended to wear skirts, if possible.

Please bring either a lawn chair or a blanket to sit on.

We hope to see you there!

AIFC: Traditional Crafting Group
2024-07-11 10:00 - 14:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
Come on over to AIFC on Thursdays from 10AM – 2PM for our Traditional Crafting Group!
Feel free to bring crafts you’re already working on, or check out our supplies to start a craft.
This group is facilitated by AIFC’s Treatment Coordinator, experienced crafter, and beader, Sasina Samreth (White Earth Nation).

AIFC - Women's Sweat
2024-07-12 17:00 | Belwin Conservancy, 1553 Stagecoach Trail South, Afton, MN, 55001, United States
Please plan to arrive by 5 PM so we can enter the lodge at 6 PM.
A light meal will also be shared afterward. Please feel free to bring food to share, but it isn’t required.
Facilitated by Sharyl Whitehawk every first Friday of the month; please call to verify.

What to bring and wear: a loose-fitting dress, shorts/skirt for inside the lodge, a loose-fitting shirt, a change of clothes for after, a towel, drinking water, and a dish to share after sweat (optional). A modest T-shirt or top is also acceptable upon wearing a long skirt or shorts.
AIFC’s Women’s Sweats are regularly scheduled. If you are interested in attending a regularly scheduled sweat or have questions, please get in touch with Sharyl Whitehawk at (651) 505-6838, (719) 322-4447, or Sharyl.Whitehawk@aifcmn.org.
Miigwech!
Directions to the sweat lodge: Turn left into the drive, and then open the gate (it’s not locked but looks like it is) and drive through, staying to the right at 2 forks until you go up a small hill where the sweat lodge and a parking area is.
Sweat Lodge teachings: A sweat lodge is a tool for healing everything that a person wants healing for. It begins with a firepit where your intentions for the sweat are given with tobacco. The firepit represents the Creator, whereas the fire has the power of transformation. So, it holds the stones, heating them and getting them ready for healing work. The path to the lodge is a lifetime of unresolved issues that you carry with you. As you enter the Eastern doorway you announce yourself by Spirit Name and clan. If you do not have them, just use your English name. You sit where the person pouring assigns you.
In most cases, the women come in first, and then the men. The stones are brought in by a firekeeper who brings in the Grandfathers and Grandmothers (stones) with the person who is pouring guidance. The lodge’s people are reconnected to their first mother, the Earth. The sweat lodge and the firepit in the lodge are dome-shaped and represent the womb and have the power of rebirth. The stones once brought in become grandmothers and grandfathers who heard the intentions and will come in to help. The doorway is closed, and the four directions are honored and asked to assist. It can be hot when water is added to the grandmothers and grandfathers. Steam is the conductor of transformation. The steam pulls out the trapped issues or problems that the person is hanging onto and releases them so that healing can happen. The songs, prayers, and medicines shared in the lodge help people let go of their resistance.
The time in the sweat lodge varies as well as the number of stones used. It can be as short as an hour or up to 2 hours long. It can have 7 up to 42 stones. It can be done in any part of the day. A sweat lodge is a healing tool that has been passed down for generations and is changing with the times.
Artwork: “The Lodge” by Sharifah

AIFC & ADYC: Baaga'adowedaa! (Let's Play Lacrosse) Youth Camp
2024-07-17 12:00 - 16:00 | Belwin Conservancy, 1553 Stagecoach Trail South, Afton, MN, 55001, United States
Join Jerry Morgan (Leech Lake Ojibwe) for a two-day Youth camp all about learning the Creator’s game . . . Lacrosse! Jerry will share teachings, and stories, lead the Youth in some drills, and play a game.
Open to Youth ages 5-17 (grades K-12) and their families.
There will be an optional Youth sweat following day two.
For questions or transportation requests, contact:
Tyler Bouwens, ADYC, (612) 812-7041, Zack RedBear, ADYC, (651) 352-1354, -or- Nate Bordeaux, AIFC, (612) 567-3249

AIFC: Traditional Healing Ceremony & Grandmother Teaching with Patti Dupuis
2024-07-17 16:00 - 20:00 | Cherokee Regional Park, 700 Cherokee Heights Blvd., Saint Paul, MN, 55107, United States
Presenter: Patti Dupuis, Fond du Lac Elder and Spiritual Advisor

Date/Location/Time: Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 4:00PM-8:00PM

Cherokee Regional Park700 Cherokee Heights Blvd,Saint Paul, MN 55107

Patti Dupuis will be leading a Healing Ceremony regarding women and babies who have dealt with addiction, and how to work through the healing process for the babies.
