Otoe-Missouria Day

Sept. 25-27, 2026

The fifth annual Otoe-Missouria Day in Nebraska will take place at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park on the Platte River. Join us for a weekend of ceremony, food, workshops, and community. Sign up for lodging is available on a first-come, first-served basis for Otoe-Missouria tribal members. We are currently at capacity, but signing up below will add you to a wait list. Those on the wait list will be contacted if a spot opens up, but you are welcome to book lodging elsewhere.

Lodging for Otoe-Missouria tribal members

Public (non Otoe-Missouria) registration

Schedule

The schedule is still in progress and may change before the event.

Friday, Sept. 25

Optional Lincoln, Neb., day-time events for Otoe-Missouria tribal members:

• Morning visits to the archives at the Nebraska State Historical Society and Nebraska History Museum
• Kihega Garden visit, Prairie Pines
• Indian Center mural visit, Lincoln Indian Center

4 p.m.: check-in at Mahoney State Park's Kiewit Lodge for Otoe-Missouria tribal member lodging (cabins and lodge rooms). Dinner on your own.

Time TBD: Food bingo in Jiwere-Nut'achi for tribal members

Saturday, Sept. 26

9-11:30 a.m.: Workshops and presentations for Otoe-Missouria tribal members (limited to 30 people each)

• Playwriting presentation with Anevay Greenwood, Native in America, Kiewit Lodge
• Native plant/medicaine workshop with Jeri Devitt and Marci Black, Kiewit Lodge. This workshop discusses plants native to North American that have been used for centuries by Indigenous people. Tribal members will learn plant identification, where they grow, medicinal benefits, usage as well how to process them into teas, syrups, salves and tinctures.
• Language, culture, and history workshop with Wosgą Wokigo (Christina Goodson, Elsie Whitehorn, Alvin Moore, Kelene Deer), Kiewit Lodge. This session will cover the origins and history of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe from Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska to the current location in Red Rock, Okla. It will also cover language and cultural loss and what efforts Jiwere-Nut’achi Wosgą Wokigo is undertaking to revitalize language and culture. 
• Art workshop with Tom Farris: Relief printing is the oldest form of printing, dating to around 255 BCE. The process has evolved to include stamps, woodblock prints and linocuts. In this class tribal members will have the opportunity to create your own ribbonwork pattern relief print. Kiewit Lodge.

9-11:30 a.m.: Workshop with Niko DeRoin for non-Natives, picnic shelter. Nichole (Niko) DeRoin Davidson is an enrolled member of the Otoe-Missouria tribe and a descendant of the Oklahoma Band Choctaw. This workshop is for non-Natives who want to learn more about powwow etiquette, protocols, and engaging respectfully with Native people. Please sign up for this on the Eventbrite page.

9-11:30 a.m.: Youth activities with Big Gumdrop Outdoors for tribal members

Noon: Social dance at the Activity Center Pavilion, bring your own chair. Guests can purchase food from the Chepa Kitchen food truck parked on site.

5 p.m.: Dinner catered by Chef Anthony Warrior, open to all registrants, Activity Center Pavilion

6:30-8:30 p.m.: Program at Activity Center Pavilion
Staged reading of Native in America by Anevay Greenwood with Elise Bear, Miwese Greenwood

Performance by Olivia Komahcheet 

Sunday, Sept. 27

6:30-9:30 a.m.: Sunrise gathering led by Miwese Greenwood, picnic shelter

11 a.m.: Deadline for checking out of lodging

Optional activities in Lincoln, Neb., for Otoe-Missouria tribal members:

• Kihega Garden visit, Prairie Pines
• Indian Center mural visit
• 11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Bennet Community Garden visit, Scott Stuckey’s corn plot

4 p.m.: Olivia Komahcheet at Lied Center, open to all, pay-what-you-can tickets. 
 

FAQ

Where are the events?
Most events will take place at the Activity Center Pavilion. Workshops will take place either at the Kiewit Lodge or a nearby picnic shelter.

What if I'm a tribal member but do NOT need lodging?
Let Dominique Ellis (see contact info below) know if you are attending and do not need lodging.

State park entry
You are required to display a state park pass while at Mahoney State Park. Day passes are $7 for Nebraska state residents and $14 for out of state.

Questions
Please contact Dominique Ellis at the Center for Great Plains Studies at 402-472-3964 or dellis25@unl.edu. Additionally, you can contact Cory DeRoin at corylderoin@gmail.com