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July 10th, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: 
Dr. Ryan Winn
715-799-6226, ext. 3070
rwinn@menominee.edu

New Menominee Pageant to Debut Before Powwow Weekend

KESHENA, WI – 

For the first time in nearly fifty years, a new Menominee Pageant will be staged at Keshena's Woodland Bowl. At 9:00 PM on Wednesday, July 30th, 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 Dr. Ryan Winn continues as the pageant director, but this year he also led the adaptation of the script. With support from the Green Bay Packer 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 youth 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. 

The College of Menominee Nation is an accredited baccalaureate-level institution offering classes on its Keshena campus and in metropolitan Green Bay. In-person and online courses at CMN are infused with Native American culture. Enrollment is open to all.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Dr. Ryan Winn at 715-799-6226, ext.  3070, or by email at rwinn@menominee.edu.

About the College of Menominee Nation:
The College of Menominee Nation is a tribal Land Grant college, chartered by the Menominee people. The College's main campus is in Keshena, Wisconsin, with a second located in metropolitan Green Bay, not far from the tribal lands of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. More information about CMN can be found at www.menominee.edu 

The College of Menominee Nation is pleased to announce that it has entered into a contract extension with Dr. Christopher Caldwell, who will continue to serve as our College’s President through 2030. The College’s Chairman of the Board, along with the President’s Cabinet, were present at the signing of Dr. Caldwell’s contract this morning to usher in the next chapter of the College’s story.

CMN Board Chairman Gary Frechette, in speaking to the extension, said, “We have always envisioned Dr. Christopher Caldwell as the face of CMN. We deeply admire his leadership style, and the Board worked diligently to secure a contract that would enable him to stay. I wish it could be for 20 years, but we’ll settle for five. We have the right person to lead CMN into its next chapter.”

Dr. Caldwell’s academic journey began here at CMN with an Associate Degree in Sustainable Development, and the College is honored that he has chosen to continue his work here after earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources from UW-Madison and a Master’s in Environmental Science and Policy from UW-Green Bay, and completing his Ph.D. in Environment and Resources through the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Caldwell is the third president of CMN and has led the College since February 2020, serving first as Interim President before being officially installed by the Board of Directors in June 2021. Before becoming President, he served as the Director of the Sustainable Development Institute at CMN for seven years. Dr. Caldwell served in management and administrative roles within tribal sustainable forestry and natural resource management for over 20 years before CMN.

The College of Menominee Nation looks forward to the next five years. 

About Dr. Christopher M. Caldwell, Ph.D.:

Dr. Christopher M. Caldwell is a dedicated scholar with a strong background in Indigenous sustainability is rooted in the Menominee sustainable forestry experience. His professional career spanned time with Menominee Tribal Enterprises, USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the College. During his time as Director of CMN SDI, he began his doctoral program at UW Madison. In February 2020, the CMN Board of Directors asked him to step in as interim President. He and his team navigated the College through the pandemic, supporting the campus community as well as surrounding Tribal nations and rural communities.

His focus has been prioritizing the CMN charter obligations to preserve, protect, and advance the Menominee way of life, and learning is learning by doing. This strategy builds on high-quality academics and administration, which allows students to pursue their individual goals while supporting the broader interests of the Menominee people while supporting other Tribal nations and rural communities. 

Dr. Caldwell’s dissertation, titled Indigenous Sustainability Thinking: A Menominee Perspective, focused on Indigenous approaches to research, language revitalization, and sustainability. The majority of this work is built from his experiences on the Menominee reservation, and as part of the CMN Sustainable Development Institute (SDI).

About the College of Menominee Nation:

The College of Menominee Nation is a tribal Land Grant college, chartered by the Menominee people. The College's main campus is in Keshena, Wisconsin, with a second located in metropolitan Green Bay, not far from the tribal lands of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. More information about CMN can be found at www.menominee.edu