Menikanaehkem to build teaching lodge

The Menikanaehkem community plans to build a new teaching lodge in Gresham in June.

Construction of the lodge, including people of all ages, started on May 22 but was postponed.

“We hope to have all age brackets involved,” said Anahkwet “Guy” Reiter, the executive director of Menikanaehkem. “This lodge is for our community, so we have to have all of those age dynamics to be a part of building it, from the little kids all the way up to the grandma and grandpas.”

Menikanaehkem is a grassroots community organization based on the Menominee Reservation that Reiter said focuses on environmental justice, energy sovereignty, food sovereignty, a youth organization and a culture and language initiative.

Reiter said that the teaching lodge is reminiscent of lodges from thousands of years ago.

“It kind of breaks down into a medicine lodge,” he said.

He mentioned that the lodge that is being built isn’t used for ceremonies.

“This lodge is for teaching,” said Reiter. “The actual lodge itself tells a story and gives you a path forward, like how to live your life.”

Reiter believes that something like this is needed in the community. He alluded to the fact that the teaching lodge has been a part of his culture for many years.

“This is something that our people have done for thousands and thousands of years,” said Reiter. “The lodge itself is a teacher — when we get it together, we are hoping that the love, compassion, time and energy that we put into it, makes it come alive and gives it back to whoever stands inside of it.”

Reiter said when anyone comes in to visit the lodge, they will feel the love, compassion, time and energy.

“We are always trying to remind our relatives and volunteers to do it with a good mind and good energy,” said Reiter. “We tell them that if they get angry, to step out because we want to have good intentions.”

The Menikanaehkem community uses the lodge for various teaching activities every Thursday when it is up and running.

“We have some sort of teaching — sometimes it is cultural, sometimes it is more life skills like learning about taxes,” said Reiter. “We have games and perform songs in there and always have visitors.”

Reiter explained that the lodge will play an important role within the Menikanaehkem community.

“The thing about this is that it recognizes our own strengths as Indigenous people as well as recognizing our history,” said Reiter. “The lodge is utilizing our own strengths, our own beauty, and our own history to bring it into this contemporary world that we live in now.”

He also added that the lodge can bring people within the community together to build stronger bonds.

“We are bringing it into 2021, where it seems like everything is so divided and people can’t get along,” Reiter said. “In the contruction of this building, we come together as one people and try to do it in a way that is compassionate and caring for not only each other, but also for the Earth, the trees and the environment that we are in.”

Menikanaehkem aims to help their community by building housing as well as creating task forces like the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women).

He said that the teaching lodge is a cultural building, while the houses and other projects have a specific purpose.

“This lodge is more encompassing,” said Reiter.

Reiter mentioned that if people wanted to learn more about Menikanaehkem, what they do and who they are, they can visit, https://www.menomineerebuilders.org and find them on Facebook — @Menikanaehkem - Community Rebuilders.