Indigenous People’s Day Celebration

The sounds and movement of Potawatomi tradition return to downtown Goshen during the Indigenous People’s Celebration on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi anchors this year’s program, presented by the Community Relations Commission and Goshen First Fridays.

Madalene BigBear will guide the evening, with the Iron Bear Singers and Dancers bringing traditional song and dance to the First Fridays crowd.

The celebration runs from 6-8 p.m. and begins with a brief dedication recognizing a much older path through downtown Goshen.

Luke Gascho and Eileen Saner will dedicate a sign marking the Potawatomi-Miami Trail, or Bodéwadmi-Myaamia Trail. The route once stretched from Fort Wayne to Chicago.

For hundreds of years, Potawatomi and Miami people traveled the trail between the Maumee River and Lake Michigan. White settlers later followed the route into Elkhart County.