History of Survivance: Upper Midwest 19th-Century Native American Narratives

Pipestone Quarry

Large burial mound at White Bear Lake, Minnesota

This image may not be reproduced for any reason without the express written consent of the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society.

The largest of nine American Indian burial mounds in the vicinity of Shady Lane and Lake Avenue along the shore of White Bear Lake prior to its demolition in April of 1889.

White Bear Lake Area Historical Society, PO Box 10543, White Bear Lake, MN 55110; http://www.whitebearhistory.org

http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm/ref/collection/white/id/10

http://54.245.164.12:3000/mdl/items/wbl00003.tif

The tenure of the lands up the Upper Midwest by the Dakota (the eastern branch of the Lakota people, frequently also called Sioux) and Anishinaabe (also known as Ojibwe, Ojibwa and Chippewa) peoples can be archaeologically dated to a minimum of 11,300 years ago. Dakota oral histories describe an even longer occupation, starting with the gift of the land by the Creator in illo tempore. Anishinaabe oral history relates a prophecy where the people were told to move West, “to where the food grows on water.” Archaeological evidence indicates this was approximately 500 years ago. Regardless, the people themselves are, of course, still here.
What is perhaps so astonishing about the non-Native version of the history of Native America is that it essentially starts and ends with the colonization of the Upper Midwest by Europeans, a period of only a few centuries. Dakota and Anishinaabe traditions and culture are far older than that, and endure to this day.

Ancient Legacies

Colonization

Colonial Narratives

Conflict

Reservation Era

Survivance

Birchbark food storage container or makak has a rectangular base and an oval mouth with slanting sides. It is made from a single piece of bark with the red side of the bark on the exterior and the white on the interior. The container is sewn together at the ends using a row of bark strip stitches. The rim is reinforced with a wood strip sewn on with bark fiber strips. The exterior sides are decorated with geometric patterns created by scraping the red bark when wet. The bottom is penciled "du". Probably made for sale.

Not earlier than 1900 - Not later than 1959

http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10257258

http://54.245.164.12:3000/mdl/items/10000_1175.tif

Minnesota Historical Society

Minnesota Digital Library

Among the many beautiful objects made for everyday use are origami-like folded and sewn birch bark containers called makuk. Used for the storage of food, money, and other small items, these baskets can be intricately engraved. The designs on them are usually geometric, and appear to bear a relationship to the repeated geometric designs found on Ojibwe woven basswood bags and beaded loomed garters, and have likely been part of Anishinaabe tradition for thousands of years.

History of Survivance: Upper Midwest 19th-Century Native American Narratives

Birchbark Makuk

Birchbark Makuk