Otoe-Missouria Day

SEPT. 19-21

Otoe-Missouria Day 2025

The fourth annual homecoming celebration to welcome the Otoe-Missouria back to their ancestral homelands will take place Sept. 19-21 in Lincoln and the surrounding area. This event is part of our Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors project, funded by the Mellon Foundation.

Hand game

Most events will take Place at the Crete Carrier Riverview Lodge at Mahoney State Park in between Lincoln and Omaha. The artist reception on Sept. 19 will take place at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln, Neb. The public events at Mahoney on Saturday start at 2 p.m. Otoe-Missouria events start at 9 a.m.

This event is free, but everyone should register. Accommodations will be provided for Otoe-Missouria tribal members on a first come-first serve basis.

Register

Otoe-Missouria Day 2022

Christina Goodson speaks during the first Otoe-Missouria Day in 2022

Otoe-Missouria Day sponsors and partners:
  • The Mellon Foundation
  • Otoe-Missouria Tribal Elders
  • Otoe-Missouria Tribal Council
  • LPS Trauma Warriors
  • UNITE
  • Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center
  • Gage County Historical Society
  • Lincoln Indian Center, Inc.
  • The Unitarian Church of Lincoln
  • Wachiska Audubon Society
  • Terra Foundation for American Art
  • Community Crops

Schedule

Friday, Sept. 19

2-4 p.m.: Indigenous garden drop in: See the new garden!

4 p.m.: Check in begins for cabins and lodge at Mahoney State Park

5-7 p.m.: Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land art exhibition of 25 Otoe-Missouria artists at the Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St., Lincoln, Neb. Light refreshments included. Public event, all are welcome.

Saturday, Sept. 20

Mahoney State Park, Crete Carrier Riverview Lodge, 28500 W Park Hwy, Ashland

Morning events for Otoe-Missouria tribal members: Native plant workshop, art workshops, and guided outdoor youth activity (Youth activities require one guardian present per group). Check back for schedule. 

12-1 p.m.: Tribal-member lunch with Chef Anthony Warrior

2-4 p.m.: Public events including hand game, elder's talking circle

5-8 p.m.: Dinner, proclamation, dance, and ceremony

Sunday, Sept. 21

Mahoney State Park, Crete Carrier Riverview Lodge, 28500 W Park Hwy, Ashland

Sunrise Ceremony for tribal members

9-11 a.m.: Brunch at Peter Kiewit Lodge

11 a.m.: Check out of accommodations 

FAQ

Where will tribal members be staying?
We have reserved family-style cabins at Mahoney State Park as well as hotel-style rooms in the Peter Kiewit Lodge for elders and/or individuals needing accessibility accommodations. Cabins sleep 2-6 people and have a kitchen. Lodge rooms are basically hotel rooms inside a large lodge building that has a restaurant. Both locations have ample parking. There is a grocery store and gas stations nearby in Ashland, Neb.

Where are the events?
Most of the events will take place in the Crete Carrier Riverview Lodge at Mahoney State Park. The art reception on Sept. 19 is at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln.

Parking
Park at the Que Place Parking Garage for the Sept. 19 exhibition reception, first hour is free.

Please contact Katie Nieland at the Center for Great Plains Studies at 402-472-3965 or knieland2@unl.edu. Additionally, you can contact Cory DeRoin at corylderoin@gmail.com