Keewaydinoquay Pakawakuk Peschel (1919 – July 21,1999) was a scholar,
ethnobotanist
Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...
,
herbalist
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...
,
medicine woman
A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...
, teacher and author. She claimed she was an
Anishinaabeg
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
Elder of the
Crane Clan. She was born in Michigan around 1919 and spent time on
Garden Island, a traditional Anishinaabeg homeland.
Biography
According to her biography, Keewaydinoquay was born in a fishing boat en route to the hospital from the Manitou Islands, which capsized shortly thereafter, and her survival was interpreted as miraculous. Her childhood name, meaning "Walks with Bears", derived from an incident where as a toddler she was left on a blanket as her parents gathered blueberries, returning to see her standing by bears, eating blueberries off the bushes. Her adult name Giiwedinokwe, recorded as "Keewaydinoquay", means "Woman of the North
est Wind and came from her vision quest.
She claimed 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 (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
, and had finished all course work for a Ph.D. in ethnobotany at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. She was awarded the Michigan Conservation Teacher of the Year in 1975 for her "Outstanding Work in the Field of Conservation". She taught classes in ethnobotany as well as philosophy of the Great Lakes American Indians at
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...
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
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
,
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
Leland, and most notably at her heart's home, Garden Island. She was the author of numerous 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 controversy, much of it stemming from her willingness to teach those of other than native backgrounds. She started doing this at a time when native people had just secured their abilities to openly practice traditional ceremonial rites and religious observances. Kee said it "broke her heart" that she could find no Native peoples interested in learning about their own culture, and she offered her teachings to non-natives as the only way of preserving her heritage. 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 was awarded a Michigan Humanities Council grant to develop a book tentatively titled "The LifeStory of Keewaydinoquay". A book covering her childhood was published by the
University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including L ...
in 2006 and was named one of the Notable Books of Michigan in 2007. The final title of this first book is "Keewaydinoquay, Stories From My Youth". The second book telling about her adult life was supported by another grant from the Michigan Humanities Council. It was published in 2013 by Trafford Publishing, edited by WeTahn Lee Boisvert, and is titled "Cedar Songs".
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
*
Herbalism
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern reme ...
*
Pharmacognosy
*
Botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
*
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...
*
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
g
*
Medicine woman
A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...
*
Native American
*
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
References
* Bloom, Cindy. ''Nakomis Keewaydinoquay Peschel Woman of the Northwest Wind''
* https://web.archive.org/web/20091026005033/http://geocities.com/soarring/wings/Wings18/Article04.htm
* Giblin, Nan J. "Keewaydinoquay, Woman-of-the-Northwest-Wind: The Life and Philosophy of a Native American Teacher" in ''Counseling & Values'', April 1998, Vol. 42
* 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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peschel, Keewaydinoquay
1919 births
1999 deaths
Herbalists
Native American writers
University of Michigan alumni
Wayne State University alumni
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty
Ethnobotanists
Indigenous American traditional healers
20th-century American botanists
Native American people from Michigan