The Beaumier UP Heritage Center of Northern Michigan University announced that Marquette’s traditional woodcarver Russell Dees and NMU’s Native American Student Association are the two winners of the Upper Peninsula Folklore Award in 2021.

The award will be presented at the beginning of the concert of Metis violinist Jamie Fox at 7:30 pm on November 18th (Thursday). For more information about this event, please visit www.nmu.edu/beaumier.

Dees was born in the Hannaville Indian community and grew up in McFarlane, Michigan. He attended Northern Michigan College in the early 1960s, served in the military, and then returned to the North in the 1970s. He graduated from industrial education and wood processing, and taught in the school for several years. Diss became a contractor for Marquette and eventually served as the director of the construction industry at the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Throughout his life, Diss practiced his love of woodcarving, which he attributed to his Anishinaabe roots: "Our country's first woodcarvers," he said. He became a well-respected carver of hunting lures, tambourines and kitchen utensils. He now specializes in carving wooden spoons and holds seminars with budding carvers. He divides his time between Marquette and Arizona.

The former Anishinaabe club was established in NMU in the fall of 1992. The club hosted cultural activities such as beading and dream catchers, and in 1993 took over the hosting responsibilities of the annual "learn to walk together" traditional Pow Wow. In 1996, students from other tribal countries asked the organization to change its name to be more inclusive. The group agreed and formally became the Native American Student Association (NASA) in the fall of 1996.

"LTWT" Pow Wow is now in its 27th year and is usually held in the winter semester. pow wow has multiple drums, dancers and suppliers in one or two days. NASA held this event in various locations. It is now held in the Armory.

In 2001, NASA started its annual aboriginal food tasting meeting. It is held during the Native American Tradition Month in November and serves as a fundraiser for LTWT Pow Wow. The menu represents historical and modern Native American food. In recent years, it has adopted recipes from the Decolonization Diet Project (DDP), which includes indigenous foods from the Great Lakes region. NASA prepared a sumptuous meal for an average of 300-400 people.

Every October, NASA holds a one-day commemorative event on Indigenous Peoples Day, which includes gatherings in the center of the campus, drumming, singing, and lectures at the Firesite of the Native American Research Center, as well as evening lectures.

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