For the first time in nearly 50 years, a new Menominee Pageant will be staged at Keshena’s Woodland Bowl.
At 9 p.m. July 30, the Menominee Pageant Players will produce an original show that builds upon a Menominee tradition. Titled “Short Stories from the Elders,” the show will offer a mixture of pantomime, live music and dance, continuing what has been an annual tradition for the Menominee Powwow week since 2016.
The script is an adaptation of the late Frances Weso Walker’s self-published book of the same name. Walker was a fourth-grade teacher at the Menominee Elementary School, and her text was produced in 1979 as part of the Wisconsin Native American Teacher Corps Reading Curriculum Project.
Walker adapted the stories captured in the Menominee community by linguist Leonard Bloomfield in 1928.
College of Menominee Nation faculty member Ryan Winn continues as the pageant director, but this year, he also led the adaptation of the script. With support from the Green Bay Packers Foundation, Winn and fellow Menominee Pageant Players Guild members Cedar Fernandez, Lloyd Frieson Jr., Karen Ann Hoffman, Brian Marquardt, Jeremiah Moses Jr., Bruce Wilber Jr. and Dawn Wilber created the show this past spring.
Set on the actual date it will be staged, the script imagines a family of Menominee storytellers gathering with guests to discuss the wisdom and humor embedded in their stories. As the storytellers recount tales such as “Muskrat’s Tail,” “The Great Race,” “The Raccoon and the Wolf” and “The Hunter,” as well as Walker’s original story, “Na’ma Kee sa,” the actors rise and act out what is being discussed.
As is the custom with recent shows, after intermission, the audience will be treated to music performed by Menominee youths on hand drums.
Confirmed performers and crew this year include Melinda Cook, Winona Elliot, Avari Fernandez, Cedar Fernandez, Ray Frechette, Scott Frechette, Alexis Frieson, Bryten Frieson, Lloyd Frieson Jr., Marvin Frieson, Richard Frieson Jr., Justin Eagle Gauthier, Daynell Grignon, Sabrina Hemken, Karen Ann Hoffman, Robert Leaman, Nathaniel Madsen, Brian Marquardt, Jeremiah Moses Jr., Brian Kowalkowski, Richard Oshkeshequoam, Dawn Wilber, Savannah White, Aiden Winn and Mason Winn.
The pageants also serve as an exhibition of dances, with the drum being provided by Wolf River Singers. As was the case in the past, all Native dancers are welcome to join the production, but should check in with the head dancers, Darrell and Patricia Delabreau, prior to the show. Actors interested in non-speaking villager roles to perform in the background should check in with stage manager Melinda Cook.
The production is made possible through a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board, and sponsorship from CMN, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and Menominee Tribal Education.
The Woodland Bowl venue is located on Fairgrounds Road in Keshena. The show runs around two hours, with an intermission during which food and beverages will be sold by local vendors. The pageant is perfect for all ages. Admission is free, but any donations received will be used to fund next summer’s production.
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