Dancing for Our Tribe: Potawatomi Tradition in the New Millennium

Sharon Hoogstraten, a descendant of Archange Ouilmette, Citizen Potawatomi, and photographer, will present her book, Dancing for Our Tribe: Potawatomi Tradition in the New Millennium. Following in the footsteps of not only her ancestors, but also Frank R. Grover, who presented a brief history of the Ouilmette Reservation to the Evanston Historical Society in 1908, Sharon will share the twelve-year adventure that culminated with this book. Dancing for Our Tribe focuses on regalia, and the cultural exploration of contemporary Potawatomi people. While reflecting deeply on the ancestors, these Native dancers are both preserving and evolving ceremonial garments echoing their own stories while inspiring the seven generations going forward. These are not ‘costumes’, and unlike street clothes, each dancer knows exactly where their clothing comes from and what it means. Every portrait is accompanied by a personal statement that references those inspirations, be it ancestral, clan, birth order, gift, or an important event in their lives.

Hoogstraten’s talk will focus on the journey, content and construction of the book…sprinkled with collected anecdotal stories of Indigenous peoples seldom mentioned on Presidents’ Day. Copies of Dancing for Our Tribe: Potawatomi Tradition in the New Millennium will be available for purchase at this event.