Learning from Place: Anishinaabe Duluth/Misaabekong

Artist, historian, teacher and writer Carl Gawboy (Bois Forte Nation) will explore the Ojibwe fur trade and the relationships among Anishinaabe communities, European traders, waterways and the developing economy of the region.

The group will convene at the Duluth Art Institute. From there, participants will travel by bus to sites throughout Duluth/Misaabekong, including a stop at the Chief Buffalo mural with artist Michelle DeFoe (Red Cliff Anishinaabe Nation). Through the story of Chief Buffalo (Bizhiki), participants will explore Ojibwe leadership, diplomacy, sovereignty and connections to Duluth and Lake Superior.

The experience will also engage with Anishinaabe oral history and traditional knowledge, including stories of Misaabekong—“the place of the giant”—Thunderbirds, origins and relationships among people and the natural world. These stories, shared by Linda LeGarde Grover (Bois Forte Nation) and Wendy Savage (Fond du Lac Nation), carry teachings about place, relationship, responsibility and identity that continue to hold meaning today.