Posoh, Paemapomeh netāēkāēm, Richard Oshkeshequoam eneq āēs-wīhseyan. I'm a born member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and a descendant of the LCO and Bad River band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. I am 41 years old and live in Shawano, WI with my partner Winona. Together we make a loving and warm home for our two girls, ages 13 and 11. I have spent my entire life in the homelands of my ancestors and have taken various paths to get to where I am today.

I first became a son, then a brother to many, and next a partner and father figure; and each hat that I wore taught me something invaluable. In entirety, I am a Menominee man, who crafted the gifts the Creator has given me into the culmination of the individual who writes this today. For over 20 years, I have worked in helping to unearth the breath of my people, the Menominee Language. I am thankful for my role in our community and for the ability to pass down some knowledge that I have been fortunate to learn. I live by the model that we were given gifts by the spirits and grandfathers, it was their duty, given to them by the creator, to help us as the least powerful of his creation. We have an obligation to the Creator and his spirits that these gifts continue far into the future.