S2E21: Renee Dillard (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians)

2022 Community Spirit Award Honoree Renee Dillards' (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians) rhythmic storytelling reminds us that the art of weaving is a thread that connects us to the Earth and each other. As a natural fiber weaver, Renee shares an intimate portrayal of her life's tapestry, woven with reverence for Mother Earth. Her narrative is a healing balm, rekindling a connection to heritage that transcends the atrocities of boarding school traumas. Through her eloquent words, we witness the revival of ancestral arts and the vital role women play in this cultural resurgence. As Renee's hands shape traditional cattail mats, she stitches together a community dedicated to their forebears' sustainable and prayerful practices, a poignant reminder of the resilience and continuity of Indigenous peoples.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is a way of life .
It's not a hobby.
I live a weaver's life, and sothat means I live by the seasons
, I live by the weather, and Ilive on a different time frame.
I'm following a differentcircle and not a clock.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
The Collectiv Spirit Podcast.
The Collectiv Spirit moves eachof us to stand up and make a
difference, to pass on ancestralknowledge and simply extend a
hand of generosity.
The Collectiv Spirit Podcastfeatures Native artists and
culture bearers who discuss thepower of Indigenous art and

(00:51):
culture.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
I am Thunderclan.
My name my taxpayer name isRenee Dillard.
My native name means Light AllAround and I come from the land
of the crooked tree, otherwiseknown as Little Travers Bay,
bands of Wadawa Indians inMichigan.
My art would best be explainedas sharing natural fiber weaving

(01:29):
Weaver.
There we go.
It all started with my folks.
I was a young girl my mom wasfinger weaving at the time,
which is yarn bouts, and myother sister did beadwork and my
other sister did ribbonapplique and I'd be in the

(01:50):
youngest.
They couldn't find what I wasgood at.
I spilled the beads and cut theleather wrong and I didn't find
anything that I was real goodat until my parents gave gifts
to the couple down the way inour community, paul and Vivian
Jackson and they came over andshowed us how to make baskets.

(02:11):
Now I'm weaving my own fiberthat I make out of plants and
bags and mats and all kinds ofthings.
So it's been a wonderful giftof discovery.
What I try to introduce to otherpeople as I share my art is the

(02:33):
relationship that I ended upfostering through my weaving
with our mother, the earth, andso because I had to go to her so
often to find the things that Ineeded.
We ended up with a much closerrelationship than I believe I
ever would have had before, andsince that realization came when

(02:54):
I was relatively young, I havebeen actively trying to share
that with other tribal people asthey're coming to heal from the
horrendous effects of theboarding school trauma, and many
of our people are looking for away to reconnect with their

(03:15):
ancestors, and the easiest wayfor me to help people is to show
what I have done by rekindlingand keeping my relationship with
Shkukmakwa, who we call ourearth mother.
I decided lately, in my olderyears, that the best thing to do

(03:43):
is spend my time helping othertribal people rediscover their
place in the world throughdecolonized art that our
ancestors also took part in, andI believe that the motions that
we make with our body as werecreate things that our

(04:04):
ancestors have done creates thatemotion of oneness with them,
and in fact I believe that theycome and visit me through my
heart.
Maybe I'll have an epiphanythat never came before.
I don't accredit my own brainfor that.

(04:25):
I just figure I'm rediscoveringsomething that someone on the
other side is helping me with,and maybe some people think
that's naive or foolish, but Iknow how I feel and I would like
to share that with other peoplebecause it's given me a
tremendous sense of confidenceand purpose.

(04:45):
There's very few people that aredoing that kind of pre-contact
art, like mats to put in oursacred spaces and get the
canopies and tarps off ourlodges and use the old-time
material that is sustainable.

(05:07):
I walk through this type oflife carefully and prayerfully.
I want to make sure that I'mdoing things in a sustainable
manner, because we only havethis one place and this one time
that I'm aware of, and so Iwant to do the best I can, and

(05:30):
I'm also doing it prayerfully,because I'm asking for help all
along the way.
This is a way of life.
It's not a hobby.
I live a weaver's life, and sothat means I live by the seasons
, I live by the weather and Ilive on a different time frame.
I'm following a differentcircle and not a clock Music

(06:03):
Although I've been recognized,it hasn't been until actually
since First Peoples Fund majorrecognition that the tribes, at
least here in Michigan, arecoming in droves to come learn
and to share.
So I found a beautiful way toincorporate our Anishinaabe, the

(06:28):
people, the good man, lordthat's what we call ourselves
here the three fires people andthey're coming forward and I'm
teaching them how to make boneneedles and supplying the rib
bones from elk and showing themhow to make cordage, and they
help us make cattail mats forour lodge and everybody goes

(06:53):
home with information and it'sthrough the women that this work
is happening.
But I have been teaching thesame thing for 40 years and it
hasn't been until just now thatall of those seeds seem to have
ripened and the women inparticular are coming forward.

(07:13):
Not to dismiss the men there,they're coming as well, but I
believe the women are comingforward to embrace our rightful
place, which is to take care ofour family and community, and we
do that by making a home andthe mats and the leavings.
So the challenge, I guess, waswaiting, waiting for someone to

(07:35):
come and help, where I reallyfeel like this information will
be passed to our grandchildrenthat have yet to be born, even
after I'm worm dirt.
So I feel like that's been abig accomplishment.
But that's only happened, alsoin part, thanks to First Peoples
Fund publicity.
It's been like I was justhiding over here in Potoske,

(07:58):
michigan, and now everybodyseems to know my name.
Those cattail mats, they're huge.
They're 15 feet long, aboutseven foot tall.
We ended up making them out ofinvasive narrowleaf cattail.
We normally have broadleafcattail but we've been able to

(08:18):
adjust because broadleaf justisn't available up here, so
we're learning about it.
But two years ago that projectstarted, the year after First
Peoples Fund, people came likethere were like dozens of people
in the water helping me harvestand then coming back and
helping me.
It was just notable and I'm likewell, let's work this out so

(08:44):
that we can make our sacredspaces decolonized.
These cat-tail mats we can putup and take down the last for
years and years and we don't doit anymore because it was never
meant to be a singular activityand now we have, you know, 20,

(09:05):
30 people.
This went on for five weeksthis year.
It started the first of Augustand it went until after the
first week in September.
I know of no other lodge beingused that is completely covered
with cat-tails and that's ourgoal.
So what happened is thePolkagans are starting their

(09:29):
cat-tail mats and our communitywill travel to them and help
them and then, when Bay Millsgets their group going, we'll go
and help them when they'recat-tail sowing.
I'm hoping that it willcontinue and we can show how our
people were united.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
The Collective Spirit podcast is produced by First
Peoples Fund, whose mission isto honor and support Indigenous
artists and culture bearersthrough grant-making initiatives
, culturally-rooted programming,and training and mentorship.
Learn more atFirstPeoplesFundorg.