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Gichi-Ode’ Memorial Powwow

Sep 19, 2021, 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm

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The Gichi-Ode’ Memorial Powwow celebrates new artwork on the ramps and stairways connecting Gichi-Ode’ Akiing Park to the Duluth Lakewalk. The project began in early September and is expected to continue until the end of the month. Artists and volunteers are working to complete a series of murals dedicated to the legacy of Chief Buffalo in our region and celebrating the contemporary livelihoods of Indigenous people in Duluth.

The powwow will include a feast and opportunities to participate in the painting. The event is hosted by AIM Twin Ports Support Group in partnership with members of the Duluth Indigenous Commission.

The artwork being installed is a continuation of the murals started back in the Fall of 2019, when the artists and community came together to recreate a pictograph that Chief Buffalo used (among others) on his journey to meet the President of the United States in 1854. The 2019 project also involved a community painting session that resulted in a mural reflecting on Ojibwe folklore and the aquatic life of the region. The new artwork includes maps of regional treaty territories, references to Chief Buffalo’s travels, Ojibwe florals by Michelle Defoe, and murals depicting contemporary Indigenous people engaging with the land, based on photos taken by Ivy Vainio.

Over the course of the past two years, artist Moira Villiard alongside partners in the project have been working to get approval at the city level to paint the rest of the walls, and approval finally came toward the end of this summer.

Chief Buffalo’s famous journey to Washington D.C. took place as a response to what is known as the Sandy Lake Tragedy, an strategic effort by leadership in Minnesota territory to bring harm to Ojibwe communities through a Removal Order. The order directly resulted in the deaths of more than 300 Ojibwe people.

Chief Buffalo traveled in his old age with a small team by canoe and train to Washington D.C. to request that Removal Order be rescinded, to rally support, and to implement the Treaty of 1854, which resulted in the creation of multiple reservations, assured tribal rights to hunting and fishing, and essentially established the grounds for Duluth and other cities in the region to exist on what would become ceded territories.

The mural project is a collaboration between project manager and artist Moira Villiard alongside lead artists Michelle Defoe, Awanagiizhik Bruce and Sylvia Houle, the Duluth Indigenous Commission, Zeitgeist Center for Arts, AIM Twin Ports Support Group, and descendants of Chief Buffalo, with sponsorship and funding by the American Indian Community Housing Organization (through Bush Foundation and Arts Midwest), the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council (through legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund), a Creative Support for Individuals Grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, and the IOBY Artists Lead program

Powwow Schedule
Noon – meet the artists working on the Chief Buffalo Mural and hand drum contest
1 p.m. – grand entry
3 p.m. – giveaway and honor dance for Chief Buffalo the buffalo descendants
4 p.m. – feast and hand drum contest youth and adult category
6 p.m. – grand entry

Links:
Chief Buffalo Memorial Murals Facebook Page
History on Chief Buffalo
Fundraiser

Details

Date:
Sep 19, 2021
Time:
12:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Venue

Gichi-ode’ Akiing
214 E. Superior St.
Duluth, MN 55802 United States
+ Google Map
Phone:
218-730-4300
Website:
duluthmn.gov/parks/parks-listing/lake-place-park
Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!