“Passages: Ojibwe Migration to the Place Where the Food Grows on the Water” is the newest exhibit at the Capser Center at the Madeline Island Museum (in La Pointe, WI). La Pointe is the village on Madeline Island, part of the Apostle Islands archipelago. However, Madeline Island is the only island not included in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. As a result, it is the only island where vehicles are allowed, and it is connected to the mainland by a ferry.
In the Anishinaabe (or Ojibwe) language the island is known as, Mooniingwanekaaning. The island is the ancestral homeland of Lake Superior Anishinaabe and it was ceded to the United States by the Treaty of La Pointe in 1842 (negotiated and signed on the island, just like the subsequent treaty in 1854).
The Madeline Island Museum was first opened in 1958 by Bella and Leo Capser, who had been long-time residents of the island. The museum is located on the former site of the American Fur Company. A decade later, it was transferred to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which continues to manage the site. In the 1990s, the main building of the museum was constructed.
Today, Madeline Island Museum consists of the main building which houses a gift shop, a theater, and several exhibit spaces, including the main exhibit space, where Passage is currently displayed. This building is connected to historic buildings of the American Fur Company, including their warehouse.
“Passages: Ojibwe Migration to the Place Where the Food Grows on the Water”
“Passages” debuted when the Madeline Island Museum open in May of 2024.
Passages features a mix of text, historic photos, maps, historic petitions and treaties, displayed on the outside wall of the exhibit room. Moving clockwise around the room from the opening up panels, visitors learn about Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) perspectives on the Apostle Islands and surrounding region, their migration story to the region, Chief Buffalo’s 1852 journey to Washington after the Sandy Lake Tragedy, the Oshcabawis Pictograph, and the Treaty of La Pointe in 1854.
The opening panel from the “Passages” exhibit and another panel discussing the significance of the Apostle Islands.
Overall, the exhibit tells engaging, interconnected stories that will deepen visitors’ sense of place for Madeline Island, the Apostle Islands, and the Chequamegon Bay region. The panels frequently incorporate ojibwemowin (the Ojibwe language) and quotations from Anishinaabe citizens throughout the western Lake Superior watershed. Screen shares stories and knowledge from Anishinaabe citizens of Bad River and Red Cliff, and in one corner, a film screens the award-winning documentary Bad River (with a bench so visitors who want to take in part of the film are welcome to take a break).
Panels highlighting the voices from citizens of the Bad River and Red Cliff Anishinaabe Nations.
It’s no secret that I love maps, and the maps were one aspect of the exhibit that I particularly enjoyed. Throughout the exhibit, maps are used to situate the stories and narratives. Historic maps are also included in the panels. These maps are interpreted through Anishinaabe perspectives, illustrating Anishinaabe people’s environmental knowledge that has been passed on through generations.
Two panels featuring maps to show the importance of place.
“Passages” also does an excellent job displaying and interpreting the Oshcabawis Pictograph and panels displaying the full text of the Treaty of La Pointe from 1854. The panel also highlights and enlarges particularly significant passages of the treaty, like Article 2 which discusses where Anishinaabe people’s reservations in the western Lake Superior watershed will be located. This is one of the most effective displays of a treaty I’ve seen in a museum.
Potential Places for Expansion
The only place where I feel “Passages” could benefit from more context is the big jump from the Anishinaabe migration to Madeline Island to the Sandy Lake Tragedy. I know space (and time and budget) are always the realistic limitations of exhibits. In an imaginary world with unlimited exhibit space and resources, I’d love to see a panel on relationships between Anishinaabe people and new arrivals working in the fur trade (French, British, Americans, etc.) to help fill this gap.
This could also be a place to mention the island’s namesake, Madeline Cadotte (usually spelled as Ikwezewe in the Fiero double vowel orthography and is commonly spelled as Equaysayway in primary sources). Her life and her family’s lives are an example of how involvement in the fur trade led to many passages throughout the Great Lakes for Anishinaabe and other Indigenous peoples.
The fur trade also connects to the Sandy Lake Tragedy. Brenda Child (Red Lake) and other historians have shown how the mid-19th century also corresponds with a demographic shift in (American territory) of the western Lake Superior watershed. Until this point, since European arrival in the area, Anishinaabe peoples were the demographic majority. However, from the mid-1800s on, Euro-Americans become the demographic majority.
Material Culture That Connects Past and Present
To me, the highlight of “Passages” is the stunning display of three canoes in the center of the room. They are a striking visual representation of the theme “Passages” and make clear connections between the knowledge and craftsmanship of Indigenous peoples in the Apostle Islands region across generations.
The center canoe is a dugout canoe made from white pine. Originally found on Madeline Island, it is part of the museum’s collection and is usually displayed in the old museum building. Another canoe is a birch bark canoe with a cedar bark sail constructed by the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute in 2023 constructed using traditional methods. The other is a dugout canoe made from white pine from the Red Lake Tribal Nation constructed in 2022 by the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute.
Together, the three canoes are an excellent example of how, despite political and environmental challenges, Indigenous peoples continue to adapt the methods used for generations so that these traditions endure into the present day.
This is the power of material culture—it serves a concrete connection across time and space.
“Passages” will probably also be on display at the Madeline Island Museum next year, but there may be additions or other changes, so I recommend visiting this fall if possible. I particularly recommend a visit if you live in the Chequamegon Bay area or a nearby region. While it is important for tourists to develop a deeper sense of place by learning Anishinaabe histories of the region, it is even more important for people who live on ceded territory in the region.
Take Your Own Journey to View Passages!
I’ve enjoyed all the rotating exhibits at the Madeline Island Museum since 2017, and “Passages” is definitely a favorite. Visitors can view “Passages” at the Madeline Island Museum till the end of the season.
The Madeline Island Museum is currently open 10 am to 5 pm from Wednesday to Sunday until October 19. Visitors must take the ferry from Bayfield (or their own boat) to get to the museum. The museum is about a block away from the ferry docks on the island, so if it’s the main reason for your visit, you don’t need to take a vehicle. However, if you want to explore Big Bay Town Park or Big Bay State Park after visiting the museum, you should take a vehicle (or bike).
If you are new to making trips to Madeline Island, familiarize yourself with the ferry schedule and what businesses are open and what their hours are. Remember, La Pointe is a small town, and while a lot of tourists visit, it has more limited amenities than what some tourists may be used to. If you prepare in advance, you are more likely to enjoy your trip!
Further References
To learn more about Anishinaabe perspectives on the Chequamegon Bay, listen to Mike Wiggins (the director the Madeline Island Museum) talk for the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Winter Storytelling series in 2023.
To learn more about Madeline Cadotte and the demographic changes in the western Lake Superior region in the mid-19th century, check out Brenda Child’s book Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community (New York: Penguin Books, 2013).
- Child, Brenda J. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages - 01/29/2013 (Publication Date) - Penguin Books (Publisher)
To learn more about the treaty history of northwestern Wisconsin, check out Erik Redix’s book Erik Redix, The Murder of Joe White: Ojibwe Leadership and Colonialism in Wisconsin, (Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2014).
- Redix, Erik M. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 294 Pages - 09/01/2014 (Publication Date) - Michigan State University Press (Publisher)
