A Shared Welcoming:
Members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Community, Powell House & Friends

Providing Welcome

In early September of this year, Powell House received a call. A group of over 50 Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican community members had recently decided to hold their first powwow in 200 years on their ancestral homelands. The caller, an active local volunteer with the Stockbridge-Munsee, shared that she had attended Powell House as a child. Powell House came to her mind as a potentially supportive and wonderful space for them to stay within their ancestral lands. Donations to the Homelands Powwow were barely trickling in and they were hoping local entities might help provide accommodations at significantly reduced cost. Could Powell House provide housing and meals for a large group in about a month?

The timing was short, but Spirit led Erin, the Interim Executive Director, to say yes and trust that the way would open to ensure Powell House could host the group at no charge to them.

On October 2-6, with support from many Friends, Powell House welcomed a multi-generational group of Stockbridge-Munsee people to stay, visit, eat well, play, relax and recover from the long journey and work of the powwow on their ancestral homeland.

Meeting a Challenge

When Erin agreed to host, she faced a layered challenge: Powell House was having to be fiscally careful in general; the group was not likely to have the funds to cover the cost of their stay; and was it even right to ask them to? Erin knew the Quaker community would want Powell House to help make this gathering happen in any way that we could. We have the perfect facility to extend such hospitality. She sent out a message inviting New York Yearly Meeting Friends into this opportunity, asking, “What does it mean, as a wider Quaker community, to extend hospitality and share responsibility for this moment?” 

Friends responded with love and generosity. Donations began coming in right away and then continued arriving in a gradual steady stream. 58 individual Friends, six monthly and regional meetings, and one yearly meeting committee generously contributed. Emails and notes from supporters expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be part of extending this radical hospitality.

A Homecoming and Shared Values

Guests arrived late on Thursday evening, October 2. Most had traveled together from their reservation in Wisconsin, where their ancestors had been forcefully relocated generations ago. Now they had come home to the Hudson Valley and to Powell House, a place on their original homelands.

Over the next few days, elders graciously shared stories with Friends and other volunteers, teaching them about the history and values of the Stockbridge-Munsee people. The tribe actively engages in practices of gratitude and communal care. For example, the food they grow on their reservation in Wisconsin isn’t sold, it’s given away freely in their community. The Stockbridge-Munsee’s love for and engagement with their community resonated deeply with the Quakers present.

Gratitude and a Welcoming Feast

On Friday evening, Powell House hosted a communal feast for the entire Stockbridge-Munsee gathering. 70 people attended, including 50-60 tribe members. Albany Meeting clerk and occasional Powell House chef Chris Koster volunteered with Albany Meeting members to orchestrate the dinner. To honor the community’s ties to the land, local produce, eggs, and meat were featured, some donated generously from local farms. Friends cooked & baked incredible dishes, helped set up and transport the ingredients and many other parts of the dinner, including cuttings of native plants that were made into bouquets for the tables. Volunteers were united by a common goal: to honor and welcome.

Before the meal, Friends gave thanks to the Stockbridge-Munsee community. Erin expressed gratitude for the health of the community gathered, for safe travel, and to the Spirit that had brought them here together. She expressed gratitude that our Powell House and Yearly Meeting community had this wonderful opportunity to welcome and host this group of the Stockbridge-Munsee community on their ancestors’ land. Liseli Haines and Buffy Curtis of Mohawk Valley Meeting gifted their elder with braided sweetgrass they had grown on the land they steward today. The welcome dinner displayed an abundance of food and generosity.

A Joyful Visit and Hope for a Return

A Monthly Meeting retreat was booked in Pitt Hall so Stockbridge-Munsee guests stayed in the Anna Curtis Center, home to Powell House’s youth program. The space was joyfully used, filled with ping-pong, singing, guitar and drumming, basketball just outside into the late night, and warm conversation. Meals were hearty and nourishing. Guests expressed heartfelt thanks, with one saying, “I just feel like we are home.” Another said, “It already feels like family here.” One teenager shared, “in a hotel, you don't have ping pong, or really good breakfasts, or nice ladies helping you when you need something.” The Stockbridge-Munsee honored Powell House by naming them one of the major sponsors of the powwow over the microphone and on a giant banner — a gift that surprised and moved Friends.

The powwow itself, a beautiful two day festival at the nearby Darrow School, was very successful, with more people attending than expected. Visit this article for photos. The event generated a lot of excitement among the Stockbridge-Munsee folks present. Photos and videos of the powwow and of Powell House were shared with friends and family back in Wisconsin. The group is already making plans to return next year with many more family and community members of all generations.

Quakers Helped Made it Happen

Reflecting on the event, Erin was in awe of what the wider Quaker community – not just Powell House, but many different meetings and individuals — was able to bring together to make the stay possible. Friends provided genuine welcome to many members of the Stockbridge-Munsee community at a profound multi-generational moment. This experience reminded us that our faith community is able to respond to a call from the Spirit with humility, respect, love and vitality.

Gordon is an elder who stayed at Powell House with three generations of his family after caravaning out together from Wisconsin. He shared with Friends that when he first stepped out into the center of the powwow circle to begin leading the community he felt the presence of all the generations. He expressed that the weight of the moment overcame him as he realized that he was the one, of all his ancestors and descendants, to bring his children and grandchildren to this healing moment after 200 years. He gave himself some time to be present and cry before he first welcomed the crowd.