The Menominee community will play a role in the United States’ 250th anniversary celebration. “Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals” will host about 40 festivals around the country, with the July 29 production of the Menominee Pageant being the only event held in Wisconsin.
A revived tradition of the Menominee Nation, the annual production is a show of pantomime, live music and Native American dance that marks the beginning of Menominee Powwow week each summer. Since the pageant’s renaissance in 2016, the College of Menominee Nation has imagined the event as an opportunity to engage performers and storytellers across generations, bridging heritage with contemporary theater practices and highlighting culture bearers of all ages.
Menominee Pageants are a mixture of pantomime, live music and dance. This means that the show’s oration will be recorded, enhanced with sound effects and performed with the actors speaking their lines alongside the recorded track.
Joining existing sponsors, the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Menominee Powwow Committee, and Taproot Artists and Community Trust, this year’s Smithsonian collaboration enables CMN to purchase new lighting and technical equipment that will enhance the special effects, as well as a designated sound system that Menominee elders requested be placed at the top of the amphitheater.
This summer’s cast and crew have yet to be set, as auditions will be held on CMN’s Keshena campus from 5-7 p.m. June 8. Interested members should arrive at the campus atrium or contact director Ryan Winn through the college’s website or phone switchboard.
