MARQUETTE — A Tejon Indian Tribe flag has joined other Native American flags at the Whitman Commons at Northern Michigan University after being dedicated on Friday.

The dedication was part of Soup ‘n’ Smudge, which April Lindala, a professor of Native American studies at NMU, said is a “welcome back event” for students and employees as the academic year gets underway.

“We have a gathering where we want to make sure we take time to reconnect, visit, meet new people, reconnect with people who are returning,” Lindala said.

This year, however, included a special activity.

Joseph Calderon, an NMU student and a member of the Tejon Indian Tribe, encouraged the tribe to donate its flag to be hung in the Whitman Commons, she said.

“It’s something very special for not only for the student but for us to have kind of a sense of belonging,” Lindala said. “That flag is symbolizing that he is connected to this space and connected to that tribe.”

The event is called Soup ‘n’ Smudge, she noted, because two soups were shared on Friday: bison stew and cream of sweet potato wild leek soup as part of the Decolonizing Diet Project at NMU.

That project involves the use of traditional foods to improve the health of Native Americans.

“The ‘smudge’ is a ceremonial practice to start things off in a good way,” Lindala said. “It is, if you will, a cleansing purification ceremony that we do.”

Calderon said he is majoring in Native American studies with a music minor. The Tejon Indian Tribe, he said, is based in Southern California.

So, the addition of the flag to the Whitman Commons could broaden its geographical appeal.

“It’s going to be nice to actually have a West Coast entity in the gallery of the local tribes,” Calderon said.

For example, those local flags include that of the Hannahville Indian Community as well as the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Calderon pointed out that he had been “displaced” from his tribe, not knowing that he was indigenous. At age 50, he found his “family.”

“I had not any clue on how to relate to them,” he said. “Northern has helped me bridge that gap.”

The Tejon flag, Calderon said, has many features, including an eagle feather and an opening in the barbed wire to symbolize the tribe is moving onward and upward.

“I think it’s a well-designed flag,” he said.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.

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