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Each quarter, the Wisconsin Family Connections Center (WIFCC) — a program operated by the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families and the Journeys Program at Catholic Charities—Diocese of La Crosse — publishes a newsletter written specifically for caregivers of Native American children and youth. The goal is simple: help caregivers build stronger, more informed connections between the children in their care and those children’s family, tribal, and cultural roots.
This fall’s issue turns the spotlight on the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Gaa-Miskwaabikaang), located on the Bayfield Peninsula along Lake Superior. It’s a rich, detailed portrait: the clan system and the responsibilities each clan carries, life-stage ceremonies like naming ceremonies and vision quests, the Seven Grandfather Teachings that guide how children are raised, and the seasonal rhythms — maple sugaring, wild ricing, ice fishing — that shape community life throughout the year. Readers also get a close look at Mazinibaganjigan, or birch bark biting, a rare traditional art form that Red Cliff is one of the few communities still actively practicing, with video features of Red Cliff artists demonstrating the technique.
Alongside the cultural portrait, the newsletter offers grounded, practical guidance: an explanation of the protections ICWA (the Indian Child Welfare Act) and WICWA (the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act) provide for Native children in care, guidance on honoring hair traditions and sacred medicines, and a reminder that extended family — aunts, uncles, grandparents, clan relatives — are a natural and important part of a Native child’s support system.
Caregivers will also find a newly added resource library title, Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption, a recently recorded training on kinship care through a motherhood-is-sacred lens, an upcoming live webinar on Native Nations of Wisconsin (October 21), and a save-the-date for the Red Cliff Band’s own Red Cliff Days Celebration, September 18–19 in Red Cliff, WI.
This is only a glimpse — the full newsletter goes much deeper into each of these topics. Read the full Fall 2026 newsletter here → https://conta.cc/46qhhtJ.
Looking for more year-round support? The WIFCC maintains a dedicated resource hub for caregivers of Native American children, with tip sheets, recorded trainings, powwow calendars, and past newsletter issues.
Miigwech (thank you) to the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa for generously sharing their history, culture, and community with WIFCC families.
Empowering Families One Connection at a Time.