'Agaaming Aki' (the land across the water)

An amazing opportunity for Bois Forte youth this summer...

Grand Portage has been a site of cosmopolitan partnership since well before the fur trade in the 1790’s. In a novel co-management situation, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the National Park Service collaborate to tell that story at the Grand Portage National Monument. Likewise, the Grand Portage Band is proud to have the significance of Isle Royale National Park acknowledged and designated as a ‘Traditional Cultural Place’ (dedicated August 2021). The 1854 Treaty Authority Education and Outreach Division prioritizes providing tribal youth with experiential opportunities with culturally significant resources and outdoor skill building. It is of utmost importance for tribal youth to invest in protecting, preserving and enhancing area natural/cultural resources as they grow to become the future stewards of rights (‘ways’) and resources (‘beings’) within the Indigenous ceded lands and the Lake Superior basin.

In partnership with Minnesota SeaGrant, the Grand Portage National Monument was initially awarded 2018 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding project monies to hold science-based programming for youth. Postponed events in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided extra planning time for the management team to strategize how best to meet Great Lakes Environmental literacy principles through meaningful and indigenous-focused programing. With the addition of Tribal Interpretive staff leadership, careful planning was taken to orient the ‘Agaaming Aki’ program goals to fit tribal community needs and strengths. During the summer of 2022, Grand Portage youth will host Bois Forte peers and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College ‘Gidaa’ camp youth in two ‘Agaaming Aki’ events. Through hands-on experiences, intertribal youth will network; build relationships and confidence through structured and unstructured near-shore, science-based activities, career exploration, and community connections on the Grand Portage Reservation and Isle Royale National Park. Camp activities will include:

• Experience historic sites and natural features that define kinship on the landscape (ex. the main depot of the Northwest Trading company, High Falls on the Pigeon River, Isle Royale, Little Sprit Cedar Tree)

• Investigate shoreline processes that sustain lake-wide food chains

• Participate in a Lake Superior Lake Trout monitoring survey and subsistence activities

• Engage over evening campfires; witness a Ojibwe/Dakota star story presentation, craft with community members, and catch up on natural resource management career opportunities

Submit the APPLICATION by Friday June 17th, 2022

Read the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

See the FULL PROGRAM FLYER