Ojibwe Cultural Center

By now on our cruise, we had sailed most of the length of Lake Michigan we were on our second stop on Lake Huron. During this cruise we sailed through 4 of the 5 great lakes, the only lake we didn't sail on was Lake Superior. We had also sailed into Canada and were sailing through areas in Ontario.

We sailed into port in Little Current, and then drove across the one lane swing bridge to Manitoulin Island, the world's largest freshwater island. Manitoulin means spirit island in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language). The island is considered sacred by the Native Anishinaabe people, who identify as the "People of the Three Fires." This loose confederation is made up of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi tribes.

Our time on this unique island was spent learning about the Ojibwe people at their cultural foundation. We were greeted with a dance performance of their traditional dances done in beautiful traditional dress. I decided to leave my SLR camera on the boat that day, so unfortunately I only had my phone to document these amazing dances.

The last couple of dances were hoop dances, which I had just learned about for the first time in South Dakota just a few months earlier. These dances are incredibly complicated and beautiful and tell stories as the dancer transforms several hoops, sometimes more than a dozen into different shapes, some of which resemble different animals.

After our welcome performance, we had the afternoon to explore the cultural foundation where there was a cultural museum, an art museum and a healing lodge, we had time to visit all three and to learn about this amazing culture.

I was fascinated by these intricately woven porcupine quill boxes, I hadn't ever seen anything like this. Porcupine quilling is an ancient Native American art used particularly among East Coast and Plains tribes, today, Native American quillwork embroidery is nearly a lost art. Porcupine quills are difficult to work with, and quilled leather is more difficult to take care of than beaded leather. Most quillers switched to beadwork when seed beads became widely available, since beading uses many of the same skills as quilling but is less grueling. However, some native artists are working to maintain traditional quill art today, particularly among the Chippewa and Micmac tribes, where the crafting of birchbark quill boxes never completely died out.  

We also learned about the clan system. The Anishinaabe, like most Algonquian-speaking groups in North America, base their system of kinship on patrilineal clans or totems. The Anishinaabe word for clan (doodem) was borrowed into English as totem. The clans, based mainly on animals, were instrumental in traditional occupations, intertribal relations, and marriages. Today, the clan remains an important part of Anishinaabe identity.

My mom and I wandered into the Enaamijige Yaang Studio which has in-house art facilitators that are experienced in their craft art form. The art facilitators provide their expertise and welcome guests to learn their crafts for a hands on experience. That day they were making porcupine quill boxes, so we got a little behind the scenes of how these beautiful works of art are created.

Our last stop of the day was to attend a traditional healing ceremony in the healing lodge which was fascinating. I love learning about other cultures and have always had a deep respect for Native American cultures, I love their emphasis on family and loving and appreciating nature, they are a wonderful and beautiful people.