BEMIDJI — People from near and far gathered on Lake Bemidji for an Anishinaabe snow snake games tournament on Saturday – but this sport isn’t just a competitive game for Indigenous nations, it also holds a lot of cultural value.
For the past week, elders and community members were hard at work carving, scraping and sanding wood into snow snakes inside Rail River Folk School as they prepared to teach the next generation all about the story behind this winter game.
An organizer of the event and co-director of the Native American nonprofit organization Manidoo Ogitigaan, Kaitlyn Grenier, mentioned that Robert Shimek, Red Lake Nation elder and snow snake teacher for over 30 years, shared the story behind the snow snakes with the participants on Friday evening and even helped them create their own snakes to be launched into Saturday’s competition.
“This is our second annual intertribal snow snake gathering here on Lake Bemidji and we’ve got people here of all ages and different reservations — even some from Michigan and Canada,” Grenier said. “(Shimek) was telling us last night at Rail River Folk School about this traditional Ojibwe snow snake game and the legend behind it of how we got our snow snakes.”
Several types of snow snake events were on display on the Lake Bemidji waterfront near Paul Bunyan Park, along with prizes, food and activities for all ages. Friday featured an area school invitational snow snake tournament and later that evening, Ojibwe storytellers gathered at Rail River Folk School to share the history. Participants then brought their snow snakes in for a ceremonial blessing.
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“This is all about community, coming together and sharing with one another. We feasted our snow snakes (on Friday) and we put out a spirit dish so we could honor all of these winter spirits,” Grenier said. “It’s about taking care of one another, taking care of the Earth and taking care of our medicines.”
Saturday played host to an open competition tournament where participants put their snow snakes to the ultimate test to see who could push their snake the farthest distance along a smooth trough made of snow. Also on display at the event was a game where attendees attempt to slide their snow snake through a rolling hoop, along with campfires to keep warm.
“We wanted to welcome everyone who wanted to come,” Grenier said. “So even though it's the Indigenous Winter Games we want to welcome everyone who wants to come and check it out or try to play.”
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