By: Mrs. Nayback O & B Staff Advisor
Photos by Maggie Beauchaine
On May 3, a Manistique tribal drumming circle traveled with a grandfather drum to honor Munising High School. An assembly was held to receive a tribal flag.
The new flag features a medicine wheel, which symbolizes many different things, including the different stages of a person’s life. The color white signifies the elders (north), the red (south) is for young adulthood and adolescence, black signifies a change or the in between in life (west), and the yellow (sun or east) is for birth and childhood–all of which circle the center of a turtle the blue is for adulthood and parents. These colors also represent seasons, a joining of tribes around the United States, and the main four elements of earth, wind, air, and fire.
The native celebration is also to increase spiritual health, mental health, and physical health for the school. The high school gym will now proudly display the flag, which will stay on the gym wall to enrich and to welcome members of Munising using the morality, respect, and knowledge of the Native Americans.
The local youth council, which consists of 10 members, donated the flag to Munising High School, courtesy of the Sault tribe that funded the purchase. Munising wishes to formally recognize and celebrate the Anishinaabe as integral to our school culture. President Elizabeth Wing explained some of the intricacies of the flag during the assembly.