Stories of Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag
August 16 - August 23
Stories of Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag
Program Leader: Camille Naslund
Learn about the history of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe from a tribal historian.
When Henry Schoolcraft arrived on Star Island in 1836 on a quest to “discover” the source of the Mississippi River, it was home to a vibrant Ojibwe village. Ojibwe speaker, teacher and tribal historian Camille Naslund will share highlights from her ongoing research about the history of the Leech Lake band. Topics she will address include local Ojibwe chiefs, clans, stories about Windigo and other spirits, early white explorers and their contacts with natives living here, and the construction and impacts of the first dams built on the Mississippi headwaters.
Dr. Naslund is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Reservation and the Director of the Niigaane Ojibwe Language Immersion Program at the Bugonaygeshig School. She is writing a book on Leech Lake history. Her working title is “Giiwenh, So the Story Goes.”