Keewaydinoquay Peschel
Encyclopedia
Keewaydinoquay Pakawakuk Peschel was a scholar, ethnobotanist, herbalist
, medicine woman, teacher and author. She was an Anishinaabeg Elder of the Crane Clan. She was born in Michigan around 1919 and spent time on Garden Island
, a traditional Anishinaabeg homeland.
She apprenticed with the noted Anishinaabeg medicine woman Nodjimahkwe from the age of 9 and worked for many years as a medicine woman, at a time when her people had little access to conventional medical care and when conventional medical care failed to cure them, healing more than several patients deemed to be terminally ill. At the age of 57 she decided to study anthropology, realizing that people would listen to her more if she had a degree. She received a Master of Education Degree from Wayne State University
, and had finished all course work for a Ph.D. in ethnobotany at the University of Michigan
. She won the Teacher of the Year Award in Michigan in 1975, however her name is not listed on the Michigan Department of Education's list of past recipients, due to the list's incomplete nature. She taught classes in ethnobotany as well as philosophy of the Great Lakes American Indians at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee where she was a professor in the 1980s, and lectured at many herbal conferences. She was consulted for many prestigious books, including several on Great Lakes indigenous plant use.
She lived in Ann Arbor
, Milwaukee
, Leland
, and most notably at her heart's home, Miniss Kitigan—Garden Island
.
- She was the author of several books on herbs, Native American medicine and rare legends for children and adults. Keewaydinoquay founded the Miniss Kitigan Drum, a non-profit organization supporting the preservation and evolution of Great Lakes Native American traditions. Many referred to Keewaydinoquay lovingly as Nookomis (Grandmother). The group has ties with established and recognized tribes in the area.
She was the subject of a fair amount of controversy, much of it stemming from her willingness to teach those of other than native backgrounds. She said to critics that the time was late, and that people of good hearts and like minds needed to work together to offset the users and those that were actively hurting the earth. Some other elders at the time affirmed the wisdom of this, and later many who had earlier criticized her came to appreciate the wisdom of these teachings and proclaim them themselves.
She died on July 21, 1999 and was honored with a traditional Midewiwin
ceremony on Garden Island. In March 2002, the Holy Hill Trust of Leland received a $11,520 Public Humanities Development grant for The Lifestory of Keewaydinoquay, Woman Between Worlds. The project includes researching the journals, work, letters, audio tapes, and oral teaching of Keewaydinoquay. The goal is to create a volume that shares a view of her working life as a teacher, including her photos, drawing, and poetry. The project will create a biography of Keewaydinoquay and offer a lecture series in the region.. The first volume titled Keewaydinoquay, Stories from My Youth has already been published, and a second (focusing on her adult life) is being written.
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
, medicine woman, teacher and author. She was an Anishinaabeg Elder of the Crane Clan. She was born in Michigan around 1919 and spent time on Garden Island
Garden Island (Michigan)
Garden Island is an uninhabited 4,990 acre island located in the Beaver Island archipelago in northern Lake Michigan. It is almost wholly owned by the U.S. state of Michigan and is overseen by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as part of the Beaver Island State Wildlife Research Area....
, a traditional Anishinaabeg homeland.
Biography
She was born in a fishing boat en route to the hospital from the Manitou Islands, which capsized shortly thereafter, and her survival was interpreted by some as miraculous. Her childhood name, meaning "Walks with Bears," derived from a story told in which she was left on a blanket as her parents gathered blueberries and was walking away with bears, eating blueberries off the bushes, when her parents returned. Her adult name Giiwedinokwe, recorded as "Keewaydinoquay," meaning "Woman of the Northwest Wind," came to her during her vision quest.She apprenticed with the noted Anishinaabeg medicine woman Nodjimahkwe from the age of 9 and worked for many years as a medicine woman, at a time when her people had little access to conventional medical care and when conventional medical care failed to cure them, healing more than several patients deemed to be terminally ill. At the age of 57 she decided to study anthropology, realizing that people would listen to her more if she had a degree. She received a Master of Education Degree from Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, and had finished all course work for a Ph.D. in ethnobotany at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. She won the Teacher of the Year Award in Michigan in 1975, however her name is not listed on the Michigan Department of Education's list of past recipients, due to the list's incomplete nature. She taught classes in ethnobotany as well as philosophy of the Great Lakes American Indians at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee where she was a professor in the 1980s, and lectured at many herbal conferences. She was consulted for many prestigious books, including several on Great Lakes indigenous plant use.
She lived in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, Leland
Leland, Michigan
Leland is an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was the county seat of Leelanau County from 1883 to 2008, when a new government center was completed in Suttons Bay Township, closer to the county's geographic center....
, and most notably at her heart's home, Miniss Kitigan—Garden Island
Garden Island (Michigan)
Garden Island is an uninhabited 4,990 acre island located in the Beaver Island archipelago in northern Lake Michigan. It is almost wholly owned by the U.S. state of Michigan and is overseen by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as part of the Beaver Island State Wildlife Research Area....
.
- She was the author of several books on herbs, Native American medicine and rare legends for children and adults. Keewaydinoquay founded the Miniss Kitigan Drum, a non-profit organization supporting the preservation and evolution of Great Lakes Native American traditions. Many referred to Keewaydinoquay lovingly as Nookomis (Grandmother). The group has ties with established and recognized tribes in the area.
She was the subject of a fair amount of controversy, much of it stemming from her willingness to teach those of other than native backgrounds. She said to critics that the time was late, and that people of good hearts and like minds needed to work together to offset the users and those that were actively hurting the earth. Some other elders at the time affirmed the wisdom of this, and later many who had earlier criticized her came to appreciate the wisdom of these teachings and proclaim them themselves.
She died on July 21, 1999 and was honored with a traditional Midewiwin
Midewiwin
The Midewiwin or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of the aboriginal groups of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called Midew and the practices of Midewiwin referred to as Mide...
ceremony on Garden Island. In March 2002, the Holy Hill Trust of Leland received a $11,520 Public Humanities Development grant for The Lifestory of Keewaydinoquay, Woman Between Worlds. The project includes researching the journals, work, letters, audio tapes, and oral teaching of Keewaydinoquay. The goal is to create a volume that shares a view of her working life as a teacher, including her photos, drawing, and poetry. The project will create a biography of Keewaydinoquay and offer a lecture series in the region.. The first volume titled Keewaydinoquay, Stories from My Youth has already been published, and a second (focusing on her adult life) is being written.
Publications
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay M. (1987) "Dear Grandfathers," excerpt from Truth Is Stranger
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay M. (1998) Puhpohwee for the People: a narrative account of some uses of fungi among the Ahnishinaabeg
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay M. (1979) "Directions We Know: Walk in Honor" in Miniss Kitigan Drum, Garden Island, MI
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay. (1978) Jawendamowin Nah: Happiness in the Half-World?/My Reverend Grandfather Challenges Coprinus Atramentarius. Botanical Museum of Harvard University.
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay. "The Legend of Miskwedo." Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 11(1-2):29-31, January-June 1979.
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay M. (2006) Stories from my Youth. University of Michigan Press
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay "Nkomis" (1977) Mukwah Miskomin or KinnickKinnick "Gift of Bear". Miniss Kitigan Drum, Garden Island, MI
- Peschel, Keewaydinoquay "Nkomis" (1978) Min: Anishinabag Ogimaawi-minan / Blueberry: First Fruit of the People. Miniss Kitigan Drum, Garden Island, MI
See also
- HerbalismHerbalismHerbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
- PharmacognosyPharmacognosyPharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well...
- BotanyBotanyBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
- EthnobotanyEthnobotanyEthnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
- AnishinaabeAnishinaabeAnishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
g - Medicine woman
- Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
- OjibwaOjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...