Our magazine is powered by the community. Whether you are an aspiring writer, a photographer, a business owner, or someone with a family milestone to share, we want to hear from you.

What we are looking for

• Foundational Stories – How something got built at Hannahville or in your community: a program, a business, a board, a tradition. Who started it, what problem it solved, and what it became. These run in our Foundational Stories series.
• Small Business and Entrepreneur Stories – Own a business, sell your crafts, run a side hustle, or just getting started? Tell us what you do, how you got going, and what you’ve learned. Native-owned or not, local or online, we want to feature you.
• Cultural Reflections – Thoughts on seasonal traditions, language learning, or historical memories.
• Community Reflections – Graduations, birthdays, new arrivals, or wedding announcements.
• Photo Submissions – High-resolution shots of local scenery, community events, or traditional crafts.
• Youth Voices – Poems, school reports, or artwork from students at Nah Tah Wahsh and surrounding schools.

Writing a Foundational or Business Story

You don’t need to be a writer. Just answer these in order and we’ll shape it with you:

1. When and where – the year and the place.
2. The problem – what wasn’t working, or what need you saw.
3. What you did – the decision or the work.
4. What it became – the lasting result, or where the business is today.
5. Lesson for today – one or two sentences for the people doing this work now.

Photo guidelines

• Quality – Send original files, not downloads from Facebook (they lose quality).
• Permissions – Make sure everyone in the photo has given permission to be featured.
• Captions – Include a brief description of who is in the photo and where it was taken.

Word counts

• Short updates – 50 to 150 words (milestones).
• Feature articles, Foundational Stories, and business stories – 300 to 600 words.

How to submit

• Email – Send your text and photos to potawatomilife@gmail.com
• Subject line – Please use: Submission: Topic – Name
• Deadline – Submissions are reviewed on the 15th of every month for the following month’s digital feature.

Thank you

Thank you for reading, sharing, and being part of this. Every story, photo, and announcement you send helps keep our community’s record in our own hands. This magazine is free because of people like you, and it only works when the stories come from home.

— Leroy Wandahsega II, Founder, Potawatomi Life