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- By Dr. Nichole Keway Biber
This guest opinion was adapted from a speech given by Dr. Nichole Keway Biber (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol at the No Kings rally in Lansing, Michigan on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
Guest Opinion. Aaniin, boozhoo inawemaaganag. Nichole ndizhnikaaz. Nkwejong indoojibaa. Waganakising Odawa Anishinaabekwe n’daaw. Mishiike Dodem n’daaw. Waabananang n’daaw.
Nkwejong, here where the rivers meet, let us acknowledge this place as one where the Anishinaabe people—the Three Fires Confederacy of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodewadomi—have traveled, lived, and stewarded across many generations. We are here in the Great Lakes state of Michigan, at the heart of this continent we know as Turtle Island.
Let us also acknowledge and recognize the good way we all gather together today: in fellowship, in unity, and with firm commitment to peaceful protest at this critical time of blatant violations of our constitutional and human rights. The best parts of the U.S. Constitution outline the potential for a society committed to free expression and equal treatment. Let us acknowledge that those aspirational aspects were inspired by our brother Algonquian nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, whose longhouse traditions of egalitarian decision-making maintained the Six Nation Confederacy—whose scale so impressed the newcomers to Turtle Island.
However, despite being viewed through eyes accustomed to private ownership and colonial expansion, the power of the Iroquois Confederacy was not about scale or vastness. Rather, the foundation of that expansive unity was provided by the Great Peace of the Iroquois—a very intentional commitment to peace, made emblematic by the literal burying of weaponry over which a tree was planted. This tree served as a living reminder, a contract, and a symbol—centering that conscious decision to pursue life unencumbered by the strife born of greed and the desire to conquer or subjugate.
As remains true to this day among all who exist as one among many, we are always already unified by our equal dependence upon the waters and fruits of the living earth. We can reject and bury the trappings of division, hate, and greed to instead choose a way forward that relies upon humble dialogue, intentional compassion, and our shared reliance upon Earth’s abundance. These principles can guide “We the People” toward justice, tranquility, and liberty for ourselves and our posterity—posterity meaning all future generations.
Let us acknowledge this commitment to peace among Anishinaabe people as well, a choice exemplified by the drum—Odeweweigan, that which makes the sound of a heartbeat. There are diverse teachings about how the drum came to be so central to Anishinaabe ceremonies, gatherings, and the revitalization of our lifeways. What these stories share in common is the heartbreak of violence, war, factions, and loss—the agonizing experience of those not knowing where one would sleep that night, or who would survive the night; without the security of food available or stored away; without the priceless treasure of feeling simple joy at the sights and sounds of birds nesting, babies laughing, and people singing.
The extractive, destructive abuses of the few—those driven by hubris, ego, and self-serving greed—do violence to the many. They exploit the many who desire only to live lives of dignity, health, and belonging within intact communities. True leaders confirm: no petty quest for power is worth more than peace. So the drum was given as a covenant and reminder of that truth. The sound ripples out, just as the center of our feelings as human beings ripples out from our hearts. It is our collective responsibility and great privilege as human beings to make the intentional, conscious choice to offer goodwill, humor, understanding, and love.
As we collectively face the threat of silenced voices, purposeful division, blatant tyranny, and armed intimidation, let us acknowledge what funds and drives the overreach of this federal regime that wants to play at being king. It’s the same old story: the greed of the few. A twisted, psychopathic quest for power. The destruction of land, water, and wildlife as oil billionaires continue shackling us to their cancerous poisons, and tech billionaires back them up by feeding us AI slop with data centers that pave over lands and steal our water and jobs.
A military-industrial complex wedded to for-profit prisons is dead set on using us as fodder for their machine one way or another. The made-up big finance gamesmanship—the self-proclaimed winner-take-all madness festering at the rotten core of dehumanizing consumerism. All of these insults and outrages bank on our division, alienation, and desperation.
But take a look at us today—gathered here and throughout the world, having a good time. We are choosing unity and dedication to the promise of peace at the Indigenous heart of the Constitution, within this drum, and made possible and real when we choose to extract ourselves from the destructive machine built by greed. We are not expendable cogs for ruinous schemes.
We can use our minds, creativity, and hands to joyously choose restoration of the waters, soils, and more-than-human species. These tasks are necessary to our collective human liberation. Every single action aimed at uplifting and strengthening secure, healthy communities that you encounter on this beautiful day relies upon, and can be guided and measured by, the great work of an Earth restored. We can pursue our days supporting life for the many, not profit for the few.
When we choose this path of peace, they can’t stop us.
In closing, I humbly ask that this autumn—sometime even in the next week—everyone please plant literal seeds of native wildflowers and native grasses on whatever size circle of land you can. Leave those seeds sleeping beneath leaves and hoped-for snow. So when springtime awakens to new growth, that restored bit of life can be a living symbol of our conscious choice to live lives dedicated to peace and healing.
Kchi miigwech—much gratitude to the organizers for giving me the opportunity to speak these words, to all of you for being here, and to everyone here in spirit. I’d like to offer this song, called Maandaa Giizhiigak, to honor the power that begins when We the People gather in solidarity.
Maandaa Giizhiigak (This Day That Starts)
Yaaa way yaa weyo weyo weyo
Yaaa way yaa weyo weyo weyoooo
Mii noongwa maanda maadseg — This day that starts
Wey weya hey wey weyo
Noongwa maanda giizhiigak maamwidooying — This is the day that we all come together
Weya heyo
Weya wey haa wey
Weya weya ho aweyo weya heyo
Dr. Nichole Keway Biber is a tribal citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. She serves on the Anishinaabek Caucus in Michigan, where she leads the Wolf/Wildlife Preservation Team.
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