One of the main pillars of the Princess Guides program is community service. Osage had the privilege of being part of team preparing and packing food for children from over seventy countries by volunteering for Feed My Starving Children. In true Osage fashion there was a competition to fill as many MannaPacks as possible. The girls were dancing and having a great time all while being a part of a great cause. The night concluded with a group prayer over a pallet of food we had filled that night. One amazing accomplishment from the evening was we packed enough food to feed fifty-two children for a year.

The spring campout for Osage was held at Camp Benson and what looked to be a rainout turned out to be a great weekend for dads and daughters alike. Saturday morning started out on a high note with
Osage finding the Star and was quickly followed by an amazing time on the zip line. Chief, Lil'
Tackhammer then organized a tribe/group hike to the grotto and rope bridge. All this would only bring
us to 1pm with so much more planned for Saturday. One would think we would all be wiped out from
the hike, but everyone was pumped to tackle the obstacle course with army crawl, swim fins, beers bee, and caber toss stations to name a few. The kicker was being taped to your daughter(s) to try and
complete the course with the best time. The spring fire ceremony is always a bittersweet with some
dads and daughters graduating and others starting their journey with the program. Post fire ceremony
camp dinner is never one to be missed with Osage. Al Pastor Tacos, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Italian
Sausages, Bratwurst, and Chilaquiles were a few of the items served Friday and Saturday. Safe to say no one leaves hungry. As always Sunday comes much to fast, but not without another set of amazing
memories for all involved.

​Zuni Tribe hosted a bowling event at Beverly Lanes in Arlington Heights.
Dads and daughters all had a blast!

One major attraction for the girls is horseback riding.  Tecumseh has amazing supervised trail rides for all ages!  Climbing walls and obstacle courses on the campus are a great way to test your skills! Tecumseh has a private lake with canoes, paddle boats, and fishing!
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MOUNT PROSPECT ICE ARENA – The Mighty Tetons hosted their annual family skate in early March at the Mount Prospect Ice Arena. This was the second consecutive year the event was held at this location. Attendance was above average with over 250 Big Water members, family and friends lacing up their skates. Parents who did not want to skate watched the action from bleachers, while others enjoyed pizza and a beverage upstairs at the Bricks Wood Fired Pizza Café, which overlooks the ice rink.

Nation leader David Roe was in attendance and led a game of “musical chairs” on the ice. Similar to the regular game, music was played over the ice rink speakers while skaters ventured around the rink. When the music stopped, skaters had to skate to one of the 8 locations along the sides of the rink. A number was drawn, and if you were standing in that group, you had to skate to the center of the rink to watch the remaining rounds.

The remainder of the two hour session was spent skating with parents and friends. The federation sandpainter was on hand (that’s me writing about myself in third person) and captured some of the fun on the ice. I witnessed Dad’s pushing their kids on the ice, Parent’s holding hands with their children, and even some of the kids forming a line with everyone hanging on to the skater in front of them. One common theme among many of the skaters was a smile on their face. Whether it was skating with your friends, with you dad or mom, or participating in the Musical Ice Chairs game – much fun was had by all.

​More photos of this year’s event can be seen by clicking on any of the photos.

ROLLING MEADOWS -- The 2016-17 winter has been nonexistent this year in the Chicagoland area. The “Record Breaking Snow Drought” has caused many nations to cancel their annual cardboard sled race. However, one winter event was unaffected by the warm weather outside - the Teton Family Skate.

Tribal Chief Mike Clarke reserved the ice rink at the Nelson Sports Complex in Rolling Meadows for Big Water members and their families. Just under one hundred people strapped on the ice skates for this annual event. Skaters of all levels had fun skating around the rink while listening to music from the ice rink speakers.

Patches for the event were sold by the Tetons during registration. In addition, if you could find Mr. Clarke anytime during the hour and forty-five minute event and tell him your name and tribe, you received an additional free ice skating patch. It was noted that the majority of attendees waited until Mr. Clarke stopped skating to get their additional patch.

Despite snow being a rare occurrence outdoors, the princesses did just fine with ice snow found inside.

MOUNT PROSPECT -- Big Waters Federation began the 2016-17 program year by marching in the Mount Prospect 4th of July parade.  This year’s theme was “Mount Prospect’s Birthday Countdown,” which will lead up to the Centennial Celebration in 2017. ​