Native Americans gathered with their canoes at the Savanna Portage State Park Boat landing on the east side of Sandy Lake, July 27, in honor of more than 5,500 tribal members who made this journey nearly 200 years ago.
Native leaders and St. Paul District officials canoed across Sandy Lake to the recreation area to arrive at the Mikwendaagoziwag Memorial for a ceremony and feast. This celebration, which loosely translates to “they are remembered” in English, incorporates native customs and traditions to commemorate the deaths of their ancestors during the winter of 1850-1851.
A memorial was placed in October 2000 at the Corps’ Sandy Lake site to ensure those 400 that died in the Sandy Lake Tragedy are remembered. It was established by descendants of the victims representing several Ojibwe tribes. Called the Mikwendaagoziwag Memorial, it stands on a small knoll that is also a grave site of Native Americans and early settlers.
“Thank you to the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, or GLIFWC, and tribal leaders that had the foresight to establish this memorial and remembrance,” said Tamara Cameron, St. Paul District operations division chief. “It ensures that future generations will learn about, and never forget, what happened here. It is a story of loss, but also a story of grit, determination and survival.”
GLIFWC Executive Administrator Michael Isham said, “Paddling across the lake with the wind and the waves was tough, but nowhere near what our ancestors dealt with in 1850-1851.”
Ojibwe tribal members were forced to travel to Wisconsin and Upper Michigan to Big Sandy Lake for their annuity payments in October, only to find meager supplies and no one there to distribute payments. There they waited several months for their treaty payment, as they endured extreme winter weather conditions. Finally receiving a partial payment in December, they attempted to return to their homelands east of the Mississippi River. With limited supplies such as food and clothing, some 400 tribal members died from exposure, disease and starvation.
“The Mikwendaagoziwag gives us an opportunity to learn from the past, to learn what our sovereign nations have endured, and to understand the horrific role that the U.S. Government had in this tragic event,” Cameron said during the ceremony.
“Migwitch (thank you) for this beautiful day, the amazing food, and the opportunity to remember this significant event in Anishinaabe history,” Cameron said to attendees. “We (Corps) are so grateful to be here with you today to pay our respects.”
The Mikwendaagoziwag is held annually, typically on the last Wednesday in July, at the Corps Sandy Lake Recreation Area. This location was a historic crossroads, as a major trade route between the great lakes and the Mississippi river, and every year on this day in July, it again becomes an important crossroads for multiple generations of native people to come together, to remember, and to be inspired.
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This story originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Crosscurrents on page 15 https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Media/Crosscurrents/
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