INDIGENOUS MUSIC AND ART AT HOME ON THE REZ

By Mashkodebizkikigahbaw, Benji Sam

For the second consecutive year, the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post hosted a Labor Day weekend celebration of Indigenous music and art from artists and creators from around the Midwest. With the support of Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures and the Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative, this year’s Native American Music and Arts Festival was something special.

On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, over 500 community members, travelers, and history buffs gathered in support of Indigenous culture to celebrate the arts, crafts, teachings, and music from local and regional artists. With a total of 22 venders at this year’s event there was something for everyone on the Western shores of Mille Lacs Lake. From birch craft goods to traditional war clubs, Native style threads, Ojibwe style paintings, or earrings made of rock, quills, antler, or horns, the art on display was truly breathtaking.

Travis Zimmerman, site manager of the museum and trading post, said in just the second year of this event the numbers from last year’s attendance nearly doubled. “We had consistent traffic the entire day and had representatives from multiple tribes including Ojibwe, Dakota, Lakota, and more who attended the event,” he said. “We were also able to feature some local musicians such as Little Otter singers on hand drums, local rapper Day Dayz (Eldayshun BigBear), Twin Cities band the Pretendians, and singer-songwriter Keith Secola performed throughout the day.”

In addition to artists selling their arts, crafts, and merchandise goods, drawings for donated gifts, goods, and gift cards to the Trading Post and Museum were given away every half hour throughout the day. “On top of the artists and food trucks, we also brought in multiple artists to teach free classes throughout the day,” said Zimmerman. “Our own Native Artist in Residence Chanelle Gallagher hosted pottery demonstrations and worked on projects throughout the day for folks to watch and learn about her pottery while Fern Renville also set up to teach the art of turning nettle fibers into cordage and ropes.” Spinning nettle fibers, and other art forms like it, are a lost tradition that only survives through community learning, documentation, and sharing through events like these.

With the recent success in growth in just the first two years of this event, the future is bright in considering the next steps towards improving and continuing to grow this celebration. “Ultimately, we would love for this gathering to become a recurring event for this community to attend every Labor Day weekend. If we could someday make this a two-day event and have enough local and regional artists to commit, we could make this a cornerstone event in featuring Native American artists and musicians,” said Zimmerman.

The Trading Post and Indian Museum has always been just that — a cornerstone in featuring and celebrating Ojibwe and Native American art, history, and cultural connection to practices, medicine, and craft. The Trading Post features the works of nearly every local artist from the Mille Lacs and surrounding areas as well as featuring the works from many regional artists as well. This location has served as the selling place for arts and crafts for generations and with events like this it will surely continue to celebrate artists well into the future.

Next door, the museum features a very special set of works by many local artists who were nationally recognized for their work in art and preservation of culture and language, and the four-seasons room that celebrates the traditional living style of the semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Mille Lacs Anishinaabe. Featuring displays such as the well-known “Women of the Big Lake” and often bringing in local artists to teach classes on beadwork, sewing, moccasin making, birch bark crafting, and more, this location has served in preservation and celebration of the 300-plus years of Ojibwe history in the Mille Lacs Lake area.

For updates on future artist events, museum tour information, or cultural and arts demonstration events please visit the Minnesota Historical Society website or follow the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post on Facebook or Instagram for up-to-date times and happenings.