As she began to plan the event, Carole Lakota Eastin gathered a core of dedicated individuals, from the Central Illinois area, who were well-versed in Native American culture, and in their particular fields of expertise.  These individuals were involved from the beginning of the event, served during the formative years and made a significant contribution to the shape and form of the annual event.   The individuals who might be considered the founders of Return to Pimiteoui should include the following persons. 

Carole brought these individuals together, in meetings that took as their model, the traditional Native American Council. All ideas were brought up, discussed and given equal credence. This meant that there were very few actual votes taken on anything. The ideas were simply discussed until everyone agreed on the proper course of action. This is a perfect mode of operation to include the ideas of all, and it worked very well. One of the reasons it worked so well was that we all enjoyed each others company, and did not mind the extreme length of our weekly meetings. :)

The core group above was expanded to include an army of volunteers, each wing branching off from the basic duties performed by the above persons.  At Powwow time this was a beautiful sight to see, as all of these individuals came together to do their part to make the event a reality. It was one of the most dramatic expressions of teamwork that many of us had ever seen! The Return To Pimiteoui volunteer efforts have been recognized with a National Top Award for its excellence.

Below is a partial list (in no particular order) of the many organizers and volunteers who made the first, formative years so successful that the powwow is well established as an annual event.