An organization that provides cultural programming for young Indigenous people in the Lansing area is launching a new event series.
The Indigenous Youth Empowerment Program (IYEP) has been running in Lansing for more than a decade and has included after-school programming and a summer day camp. Now, the group is partnering with the Allen Neighborhood Center to allow organizers to use the center’s kitchens to educate young people about traditional food practices.
The series is called Nkwejong Landscapes: Indigenous Stories of People and Place. Nkwejong is an Anishinaabemowin word that means “where the rivers meet" and has been used to describe the Lansing area.
"It's just sort of another way of highlighting the ways all these different community spaces come together and meet and talk and be in community with one another," said IYEP co-director Estrella Torrez.
Torrez says the first few events after a kick-off will be centered around wild rice.
"We're hoping to focus it on harvesting and some teachings around that as well as cooking," she said.
The series begins with a potluck on July 30 and will then run monthly. Torrez says IYEP plans hear from community members about additional topics they'd like to see covered through the events which could include other foods and Indigenous arts.
