Over thousands of years, from the Great Lakes to the interior lakes and streams, dynamic Indigenous practices have focused on sustaining a good life.
This series of four Fe University classes will explore the scholarship and historic documents that reveal some insights into Northwoods Indigenous people’s prehistory and history. Additionally, visits to a key cultural site and a museum will connect participants more directly to important cultural traditions. The classes will be at the Mercer Community Center on January 9, 11, and 16, 2024 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. There will be a field trip on January 18, 2024 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Specific areas of exploration include precontact cultural traditions, historic indigenous communities, travel routes, village sites, resource use and interaction with Euro/American communities. An overview of post treaty Indigenous communities and families will illuminate how tribal groups like the Ojibwe and Potawatomi preserved traditional practices. An Ojibwe guest speaker will deliver a special focus on wild rice harvest and modern Ojibwe stewardship of resources. Finally, the class will travel to a historic pine pitch site and the George Brown Jr. Ojibwe Museum and Cultural Center.
Participants will learn how to “Get out and Explore” cultural sites, support cultural stewardship and engage in historic preservation.
Registration fee is $40 before December 29 and $45 afterwards.
Registration is online https://feuniversity.org/class/exploring-northwoods-indigenous-communities/2024-01-09/#tribe-tickets or by calling: (715) 892-3982 or (715) 476-2881.
