Unifying Milwaukee the 414 Way on 414 Day 2025
Unifying Milwaukee the 414 Way:
414 Milwaukee and Indian Community School Celebrate Culture, Community, and Connections
Milwaukee, March 21, 2025 414 Milwaukee is proud to collaborate with the Indian Community School (ICS) for the 6th Annual 414 Day flag drop at Milwaukee City Hall on Monday, April 14th 2025, at 11:15 am. 414 Day is a popular event that has been gathering momentum each year it has been held. Last year, the event drew over a thousand people!
This cultural tribute promises to be an unforgettable moment celebrating Milwaukee’s rich heritage. In addition to the flag drop, this year’s 414 Day celebration will feature ICS students, community members, and a powerful new song by Joe Rainey (Red Lake Nation of Ojibwe). Rainey, a renowned hand drum singer and composer, created an original song exclusively for this event, which will be performed live for the first time. ICS student singers will be joined by other singers to honor the voices, stories, and enduring presence of Milwaukee’s Native community.
This collaborative event includes Audra Two Thunders, Our Ways Coordinator at ICS, who will guide the flag drop countdown with the Mayor of Milwaukee, Cavalier Johnson. DJ Zac Christian will provide audio production. Visit Milwaukee will assist with staging and awareness. Bel Air Cantina will be serving FREE breakfast burritos and coffee. ICS is proud to be a part of this unique collaboration as part of 414 Day, celebrating the rich cultural traditions that continue to shape our city.
414 Milwaukee designed and produced a new t-shirt ($30) called the 414 Marker Tree shirt. Inspired by a trail marker tree on the ICS grounds, proceeds from t-shirt sales will benefit the school. "Audra Two Thunders showed me a photo of this bent tree, and I saw the number 4," says 414 Milwaukee owner Fred Gillich. "After that, I immediately knew what to do."
In a further show of support, 414 Milwaukee made the t-shirt design available to ICS for its use. The design is a tribute to the original caretakers of the land now known as “Milwaukee.” It is an enduring reminder that Milwaukee has the largest concentration of Native Americans in Wisconsin and is home to ICS, its students, families, and staff.
“Singing our songs and sharing our languages and cultures is important to us every day, and to be here on 414 Day, representing our school and celebrating who we are as Native people, makes it truly special,” said Dr. Mark Powless, Our Ways Director at Indian Community School.
Directional trail marker trees are hardwood trees throughout North America that Native Americans intentionally shaped with distinctive characteristics as wayfinding. These trees are hundreds of years old and convey that the tree was shaped by human activity rather than formed by nature.
For more information about 414 Milwaukee, contact Fred Gillich at (414) 465-8009. To learn more about ICS, or for media inquiries, visit www.ics-edu.org, call (414) 525-6118, or email smarks@ics-edu.org.
