American Indian Family Center

[Virtual Event] AIFC: Khunsi Onikan - Well-Anon (Native American Al-Anon) Meeting
2022-12-27 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-20 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-13 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-06 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-11-29 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago)
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]

[Virtual Event] AIFC: Khunsi Onikan - Wellbriety/Medicine Wheel 12 Steps Meeting
2022-12-22 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-15 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-08 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-01 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]

[Virtual Event] Native American Community Clinic (NACC) - Winter Storytelling
2022-12-22 18:00 - 20:00

AIFC & IHB: A Cultural Response to Suicidal Ideation
2022-12-21 19:00 - 20:00
“American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are at higher risk of dying by suicide compared with other Americans. In 2019, non-Hispanic AI/AN people had a suicide rate 60% greater than the general population.” – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Join us for a presentation by D. Richard Wright (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), LADC and catechetical, a Spiritual Leader from the Indian Health Board, and Sharyl Whitehawk (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians), ADC-III/LADC, a Treatment Counselor from the American Indian Family Center on a cultural response to suicidal ideation.

To attend, please click on the following Zoom link: https://bit.ly/3Vbp0Uv.

AIFC - Ombi'ayaa Anishinaabe-Ininiiwug (Rise Up Original Men) - Imnizaska Family Drum
2022-12-21 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-14 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-12-07 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-11-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, 788 East 7th Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Ombi’ayaa Anishinaabe-Ininiiwug (Rise Up Original Men) invites the men’s support and smudge group participants and their families interested in learning and sharing to share a meal and practice learning songs.
Location may vary, call (651) 560-9700 for the exact location.
Elders Lodge or Indigenous Roots – 788 E. 7th St. Saint Paul, MN
This drum group has been created to bring families together to learn and share the drum.
It is a beautiful and vital component of the American Indian/Native American/Indigenous culture.

AIFC: Wakanyeja Kin Wakan Pi (Our Children Are Sacred) - Women & Mother's Support Group
2022-12-21 12:00 - 13:30, 2022-12-14 12:00 - 13:30, 2022-12-07 12:00 - 13:30 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC) – East, 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!

Native American Community Clinic (NACC) - Dreamcatcher Workshop
2022-12-20 12:00 - 16:00 | Native Amercian Community Clinic (NACC), 1213 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 55404, United States

MIWRC - Women’s Conversations: Walking with our Ancestors
2022-12-14 17:00 - 19:30 | Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC), 2300 15th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, United States
MIWRC is hosting, Women’s Conversations: Walking with our Ancestors
Wednesday, December 14th from 5-7:30 PM
Community Room at MIWRC- 2300 15th Ave. South
A meal will be provided!
Contact: Erin Dixon at edixon@miwrc.org, or (612)-512-9476.

AIFC – [Hybrid Event] Men’s Smudge & Support Group
2022-12-12 18:00 - 20:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC) – East, 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
Join American Indian Family Center’s Father & Men’s Outreach Specialist, Rich Antell, for a hybrid Men’s Smudge and Support Group.
It will be a potluck at the American Indian Family Center, 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.
If you plan on joining the Men’s Smudge and Support Group virtually via Zoom, please register here: https://bit.ly/3LuWlWK

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) - Waniyetu Art Market at Hoċokata Ti
2022-12-10 10:00 - 18:00, 2022-12-09 10:00 - 18:00, 2022-12-08 10:00 - 18:00 | Hoċokata Ti, 2300 Tiwahe Circle, Shakopee, MN, 55372, United States
Join Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) this week, December 8-10, 2022, at the annual Waniyetu Art Market at Hoċokata Ti. The event will be held in the Place of Gathering 10AM-6PM and feature handcrafted items from over 30 Native and local artisans and vendors. Here’s just a sampling of what you’ll find at the market: beadwork, paintings, pottery, home décor, star quilts, and more!
Learn more: bit.ly/3OTBRcD

Red Lake Nation College - MPLS - Community Beading & Sewing
2022-12-10 10:00 - 14:00 | Red Lake Nation College – Minneapolis Site, 900 South 3rd Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55415, United States

AIFC - Women's Sweat
2022-12-09 17:00 | Belwin Conservancy, 1553 Stagecoach Trail South, Afton, MN, 55001, United States
Please plan to be there at 5 PM so we can enter the lodge right 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, along with a loose-fitting shirt, a change of clothes for after, a towel, drinking water, and a dish to share later (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 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 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 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.

MIWRC - 2022 Native Holiday Bazaar
2022-12-09 10:00 - 15:00 | Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC), 2300 15th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, United States

AIFC - Full Moon Ceremony
2022-12-07 17:30 | Belwin Conservancy Savanna Center, 795 Indian Trail South, Afton, MN, 55001, United States
We invite you to join us in-person Wednesday, December 7, 2022, for a Full Moon Ceremony, Traditional Games, and Potluck!
Date and Time: Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at 5:30 PM
Who: Relatives who receive their menstrual cycles or have reached menopause
Location: Belwin Conservancy Creative Center, 795 Indian Trail S. Afton 55001
Traditional Teaching: Traditional Bowl Game, Bagese. Teacher – Sharyl Whitehawk
Please Bring: Long skirt, copper cup, small bowl, spoon, hair bundle*… extras provided as supplies last
Potluck: Please bring a dish or beverage to share with the group! And bring your own dish, utensil, and cup.
Note: bring a container (watecha) to take home leftovers 😊
Hair Bundle (optional): *Hair bundles are not required to participate but may be offered during ceremony if desired. To make your own, start collecting loose strands from your brush, shower, or clothes!
If you have tested positive for COVID or are feeling unwell, please wait until a future Full Moon Ceremony to attend 😊
For more information, please email Pam Gokey at Pam.Gokey@aifcmn.org, or call/text Pam at 651.504.2944.
We are honored to have you join us during this special time as we hold a ceremony for Nokomis Giizis (Grandmother Moon)!

U of MN Circle of Indigenous Nations (COIN) - Holiday Ornament Beading Workshop
2022-12-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Circle of Indigenous Nations (COIN), 322 Appleby Hall, 128 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States

AIFC - Men's Smudge & Support Group
2022-12-05 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, Rich Antell, for an in-person Men’s Smudge and Support Group.
It will be a potluck at Indigenous Roots in Saint Paul, MN, 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.
