There is a growing awareness of the work being carried out through The Branch of Peace under the leadership of Ogimaa Songab Midegah Ogichidaa, together with Ogimaa Miigiwe Ogichidaa, a Band Chief and Lodge Sub‑Chief within the Midewiwin. To understand this work, it must be viewed within the proper framework of the Pembina Chippewa Nation’s Foundational Law and Governance.
See Foundational Law and Governance
Within the Anishinaabe system, governance is not divided into separate political, spiritual, or economic domains. Authority exists as a unified whole, carried through hereditary leadership, the Midewiwin Lodge, and the responsibilities entrusted to the Chiefs. This system is not derived from external institutions but arises from ancestral law, maintained continuously through lineage, ceremony, and responsibility.
Ogimaa Songab Midegah Ogichidaa serves as the hereditary Chief of the Red Bear Pembina lineage, a Lodge Chief within the Midewiwin, and a traditional Firekeeper. His leadership reflects the full authority of this unified governance system—carrying treaty responsibility, cultural continuity, and national leadership as one inseparable function.
Serving alongside him, Ogimaa Miigiwe Ogichidaa holds responsibility as a Band Chief and Lodge Sub‑Chief within the same governance structure. In this role, he assists in the execution of leadership duties, the coordination of Lodge responsibilities, and the maintenance of continuity across the Nation’s work. His position is not separate from governance but operates within the same unified framework of authority.
The Branch of Peace is one of the primary platforms through which this governance is expressed. It is not an independent initiative or a separate organization—it is an extension of the responsibilities carried by the Chiefs within the Midewiwin and the broader Pembina Chippewa governance system.
Through this platform, the work being carried out includes:
- The continuation and transmission of ancestral teachings
- The coordination of intertribal and international relationships
- The organization of gatherings grounded in traditional law
- The preservation and exercise of treaty-based responsibility
These functions are not symbolic or supplemental; they are core expressions of governance as defined within the Foundational Law.
The Midewiwin Lodge itself is a governing institution, maintaining the continuity of law, identity, and authority across generations. It is through this structure that leadership operates, decisions are guided, and responsibility is carried forward.
As such, the work of Chief Midegah and Chief Miigiwe through The Branch of Peace represents an active and ongoing exercise of traditional governance. It reflects the continuation of nation‑to‑nation relationships, the fulfillment of inherited responsibilities, and the maintenance of a system that predates modern political structures and persists independently of them.
Understanding this work requires a shift away from modern assumptions about leadership. In the Pembina Chippewa system, authority is not measured by visibility within external media or institutions. It is measured by continuity, by fulfillment of duty, and by adherence to the governing law of the Nation.
Through their leadership, the work continues—carried through the Lodge, expressed through The Branch of Peace, and grounded in the same authority that has guided the Nation since the time of the original treaty signatories.
A thousand lights in the desert are not scattered or disconnected.
They are part of a single fire—carried forward through generations, and still burning.