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Walking the Old Road: A People's History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe
The story of a once vibrant, now vanished off-reservation Ojibwe village—and a vital chapter of the history of the North Shore
“We do this because telling where you are from is just as important as your name. It helps tie us together and gives us a strong and solid place to speak from. It is my hope that the stories of Chippewa City will be heard, shared, and remembered, and that the story of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Chippewa will continue to grow. By being a part of the living narrative, Bimaadizi Aadizookaan, together we can create a new story about what was, what is, and, ultimately, what will be.” —from the Prologue
At the turn of the nineteenth century, one mile east of Grand Marais, Minnesota, you would have found Chippewa City, a village that as many as 200 Anishinaabe families called home. Today you will find only Highway 61, private lakeshore property, and the one remaining village St. Francis Xavier Church. In Walking the Old Road , Staci Lola Drouillard guides readers through the story of that lost community, reclaiming for history the Ojibwe voices that have for so long, and so unceremoniously, been silenced. Blending memoir, oral history, and narrative, Walking the Old Road reaches back to a time when Chippewa City, then called Nishkwakwansing (at the edge of the forest), was home to generations of Ojibwe ancestors. Drouillard, whose own family once lived in Chippewa City, draws on memories, family history, historical analysis, and testimony passed from one generation to the next to conduct us through the ages of early European contact, government land allotment, family relocation, and assimilation. Documenting a story too often told by non-Natives, whether historians or travelers, archaeologists or settlers, Walking the Old Road gives an authentic voice to the Native American history of the North Shore. This history, infused with a powerful sense of place, connects the Ojibwe of today with the traditions of their ancestors and their descendants, recreating the narrative of Chippewa City as it was—and is and forever will be—lived.
“We do this because telling where you are from is just as important as your name. It helps tie us together and gives us a strong and solid place to speak from. It is my hope that the stories of Chippewa City will be heard, shared, and remembered, and that the story of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Chippewa will continue to grow. By being a part of the living narrative, Bimaadizi Aadizookaan, together we can create a new story about what was, what is, and, ultimately, what will be.” —from the Prologue
At the turn of the nineteenth century, one mile east of Grand Marais, Minnesota, you would have found Chippewa City, a village that as many as 200 Anishinaabe families called home. Today you will find only Highway 61, private lakeshore property, and the one remaining village St. Francis Xavier Church. In Walking the Old Road , Staci Lola Drouillard guides readers through the story of that lost community, reclaiming for history the Ojibwe voices that have for so long, and so unceremoniously, been silenced. Blending memoir, oral history, and narrative, Walking the Old Road reaches back to a time when Chippewa City, then called Nishkwakwansing (at the edge of the forest), was home to generations of Ojibwe ancestors. Drouillard, whose own family once lived in Chippewa City, draws on memories, family history, historical analysis, and testimony passed from one generation to the next to conduct us through the ages of early European contact, government land allotment, family relocation, and assimilation. Documenting a story too often told by non-Natives, whether historians or travelers, archaeologists or settlers, Walking the Old Road gives an authentic voice to the Native American history of the North Shore. This history, infused with a powerful sense of place, connects the Ojibwe of today with the traditions of their ancestors and their descendants, recreating the narrative of Chippewa City as it was—and is and forever will be—lived.
272 pages, Paperback
Published December 10, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 4, 2020
"Walking the Old Road" is pure Staci -- quiet, thought-provoking and powerful, with a bit of humor sprinkled here and there. In her book, author Staci Lola Drouillard shares the story of Chippewa City, her family story and the impact of both, for her personally, for the Grand Marais Anishinaabe, and for our North Shore Community. She is courageously commited to historical truth-telling, and she does just that, even when it's painful. Weaving memoir and oral histories with her narrative and decades of historical research, Staci deepened my understanding of the past in a way I feel safe examining my own history and my own behavior to help in the healing from the wounds of the past. And for this, I am grateful. Would love to see this book in high school curriculums.
June 12, 2022
Staci, I know you won't read this, as we've discussed authors avoiding Goodreads reviews at all costs. But thank you, thank you for this heavily researched book. Now I know what all the fuss is about. I had no doubt it would be good! The photographs, the first hand stories, the detailed history of the plots of land beneath our feet, all answering questions I didn't know I had.
I could have used more! There were moments where I wanted more details, more first-hand story, more explanation of the photograph. Makes me feel my white privilege upbringing, wanting MORE! But I will be grateful for what has been given.
Would recommend for anyone with a connection to the North Shore. Or anyone wanting more history about American land and people.
I could have used more! There were moments where I wanted more details, more first-hand story, more explanation of the photograph. Makes me feel my white privilege upbringing, wanting MORE! But I will be grateful for what has been given.
Would recommend for anyone with a connection to the North Shore. Or anyone wanting more history about American land and people.
September 7, 2022
This is a truly beautiful and impeccably researched book that deserves to be much more well known. I bought my copy at the bookstore in the McNamara terminal Detroit Airport in their fantastic “local interest” section. In its best moments it reminds me of The Warmth of Other Suns with how it presents oral history in such a literary way.
April 13, 2020
4.5 stars. I loved reading and learning about our area’s cultural history with Staci’s beautiful prose and diligent research. There is much to be gained by reflecting on the missteps and outright atrocities our nation has committed against American Indians. May this book be read far and wide, informing our future policies and agendas to prevent repeating ugly history. Thank you Staci ❤️
June 22, 2020
We drive by the places in this book 2-3 times a year, and did not know this history. Chippewa City/Grand Marais/Grand Portage...these are Ojibwe lands.
The author interviews many elders, cites from many historical records, documents, but also tells a story of a people, a place.
I would like to meet this author, hear her speak.
Notes:
Kadunce River we have hiked by, fished in (named after Kadonce family)
p. 25: The author mentions these books that changed the way she thought about literature and history:
"Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko
"Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Neihardt (we own this book)
"Night Flying Woman" by Ignatia Broker
p. 35: "a different way of keeping track of time, and a different way of recording history...an elder whose family has lived here for multiple generations, who was taught how to maple sugar in the spring, fish the waters of Lake Superior in the summer, harvest wild rice in the fall, and wait until winter to talk about the wild creatures that surround us, you come to understand that as Ojibwe people, we have always been here."
p. 42: [Englishman] Henry's view of the Saganaga Ojibwe exemplifies how many early non-Native historians used their words to dismiss Indigenous people because they did not fit neatly into their own worldview. The Ojibwe word Saganaga menas "twisting lake with many island". Saganaga, like all of the lakes and rivers along the border, is an important part of the human history of Minnesota, including the history of the Anishinaabe people who have hunted, fished, riced, and paddled the borderlands for centuries. Henry and other early travelers of the border route used their own words to shape others' perceptions about the Lake Superior Ojibwe without ever making room the other side of history."
[we paddle Saganaga each summer, in August...this Ojibwe land
p. 88: "The 1880 census has two sections - one for whites and one for "Indians"
p. 101: "But when we name things, we bring them into the world."
(she talks about a river, the "Halfway River" that doesn't have an English name)
p. 147: Chik Wauk Lodge on Saganaga Lake...Bruce has been there with John B...the Powell's place?
p. 159: describing life in Chippewa City: "used to be a nice place when I was a kid. Everybody was the same, this family didn't have any more than the next family and would share."
p. 164: (and surrounding pages)...discussion of Naniboujou..."an exclusive white club"..."co-opting the name", mention of Carl Gawboy, artist (who I know has a painting of Lake Superior I've used teaching, the story of the thunderhawk image on poplar trees)
p. 176: "This homogenizing of the "other" is a common element in colonialism"..."They" are a curiosity to her, mostly devoid of human qualities, cultural relativity, or spiritual life"
p. 230: I knew of the artist, George Morrison...a sculpture of his is at Tweed Museum in Duluth. His story, family history, his schooling throughout the book is extensive, and very interesting. I like the artwork on this page. When I looked him up and read more about him I learned his art sells for tens of thousands of dollars. He is buried in the cemetery at "Chippewa City".
p. 264: the author has written on this entire page so beautifully of "home"...and says: "she walks along the water's edge. When you come from a place where it's possible to walk west and walk north and walk east, but not ever south, you learn to understand that everything we do becomes a part of the lake."
p. 265: the land and change and home
Places I'd like to visit, see, some time we drive up the shore, some of which may not exist today:
Happy Fisherman restaurant in Colvill, 9 miles up the shore from Grand Marais
p. 47: the Pigeon River, the grand portage, Partridge Falls, High Falls...."one of the most well-documented historical sites in Minnesota...collection of artifacts is housed at the Grand Portage Monument at the foot of Mount Rose..."
p. 63: "After discovering this family history about Mount Josephine and its English name, I've come to think about the mountain in a different way. There is a clear sense of pride in knowing that your great-great-grandmother was one of the first white women to climb Mount Josephine, but also a bit of shame that is rooted in the deep-seated recognition that any claims to the naming of this sacred place by white settlers, even if you are related to them, is colonialism, pure and simple."
[I've always wanted to climb Mount Josephine]
p. 78-79: The Point, Artist's Point, Grand Marais
...beautiful description on this page 140: the author's great-grandmother's lilac bush is still there..."where the motel is...the road that goes to the Federal Credit Union...that was the end of my mother's land"s page of the author and her sister climbing rocks here, watching the sunrise, fishing, a place that inspired poetry and art...
"In the process of uncovering the history of Chippewa City, discovering that The Point was originally a treaty allotment was particularly eye-opening because I had never before considered that "Indian" land might have exited outside of the Grand Portage Reservation. If this iconic landmark was once deeded to a Chippewa resident, then what other lands also have a recorded history of tribal ownership?"
p. 140: the author's great-grandmother's lilac bush is still there..."where the motel is...the road that goes to the Federal Credit Union...that was the end of my mother's land"
p. 245: Katie's Point, Thunder Hook Point...the map on p. 246...the history of how this land was "lost" to the people of Chippewa City...so sad
The author interviews many elders, cites from many historical records, documents, but also tells a story of a people, a place.
I would like to meet this author, hear her speak.
Notes:
Kadunce River we have hiked by, fished in (named after Kadonce family)
p. 25: The author mentions these books that changed the way she thought about literature and history:
"Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko
"Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Neihardt (we own this book)
"Night Flying Woman" by Ignatia Broker
p. 35: "a different way of keeping track of time, and a different way of recording history...an elder whose family has lived here for multiple generations, who was taught how to maple sugar in the spring, fish the waters of Lake Superior in the summer, harvest wild rice in the fall, and wait until winter to talk about the wild creatures that surround us, you come to understand that as Ojibwe people, we have always been here."
p. 42: [Englishman] Henry's view of the Saganaga Ojibwe exemplifies how many early non-Native historians used their words to dismiss Indigenous people because they did not fit neatly into their own worldview. The Ojibwe word Saganaga menas "twisting lake with many island". Saganaga, like all of the lakes and rivers along the border, is an important part of the human history of Minnesota, including the history of the Anishinaabe people who have hunted, fished, riced, and paddled the borderlands for centuries. Henry and other early travelers of the border route used their own words to shape others' perceptions about the Lake Superior Ojibwe without ever making room the other side of history."
[we paddle Saganaga each summer, in August...this Ojibwe land
p. 88: "The 1880 census has two sections - one for whites and one for "Indians"
p. 101: "But when we name things, we bring them into the world."
(she talks about a river, the "Halfway River" that doesn't have an English name)
p. 147: Chik Wauk Lodge on Saganaga Lake...Bruce has been there with John B...the Powell's place?
p. 159: describing life in Chippewa City: "used to be a nice place when I was a kid. Everybody was the same, this family didn't have any more than the next family and would share."
p. 164: (and surrounding pages)...discussion of Naniboujou..."an exclusive white club"..."co-opting the name", mention of Carl Gawboy, artist (who I know has a painting of Lake Superior I've used teaching, the story of the thunderhawk image on poplar trees)
p. 176: "This homogenizing of the "other" is a common element in colonialism"..."They" are a curiosity to her, mostly devoid of human qualities, cultural relativity, or spiritual life"
p. 230: I knew of the artist, George Morrison...a sculpture of his is at Tweed Museum in Duluth. His story, family history, his schooling throughout the book is extensive, and very interesting. I like the artwork on this page. When I looked him up and read more about him I learned his art sells for tens of thousands of dollars. He is buried in the cemetery at "Chippewa City".
p. 264: the author has written on this entire page so beautifully of "home"...and says: "she walks along the water's edge. When you come from a place where it's possible to walk west and walk north and walk east, but not ever south, you learn to understand that everything we do becomes a part of the lake."
p. 265: the land and change and home
Places I'd like to visit, see, some time we drive up the shore, some of which may not exist today:
Happy Fisherman restaurant in Colvill, 9 miles up the shore from Grand Marais
p. 47: the Pigeon River, the grand portage, Partridge Falls, High Falls...."one of the most well-documented historical sites in Minnesota...collection of artifacts is housed at the Grand Portage Monument at the foot of Mount Rose..."
p. 63: "After discovering this family history about Mount Josephine and its English name, I've come to think about the mountain in a different way. There is a clear sense of pride in knowing that your great-great-grandmother was one of the first white women to climb Mount Josephine, but also a bit of shame that is rooted in the deep-seated recognition that any claims to the naming of this sacred place by white settlers, even if you are related to them, is colonialism, pure and simple."
[I've always wanted to climb Mount Josephine]
p. 78-79: The Point, Artist's Point, Grand Marais
...beautiful description on this page 140: the author's great-grandmother's lilac bush is still there..."where the motel is...the road that goes to the Federal Credit Union...that was the end of my mother's land"s page of the author and her sister climbing rocks here, watching the sunrise, fishing, a place that inspired poetry and art...
"In the process of uncovering the history of Chippewa City, discovering that The Point was originally a treaty allotment was particularly eye-opening because I had never before considered that "Indian" land might have exited outside of the Grand Portage Reservation. If this iconic landmark was once deeded to a Chippewa resident, then what other lands also have a recorded history of tribal ownership?"
p. 140: the author's great-grandmother's lilac bush is still there..."where the motel is...the road that goes to the Federal Credit Union...that was the end of my mother's land"
p. 245: Katie's Point, Thunder Hook Point...the map on p. 246...the history of how this land was "lost" to the people of Chippewa City...so sad
July 28, 2020
History, plain and simple. And, I might add, a needed supplement to the usual narrative which only details the exploits of the white men from Europe.
March 17, 2020
In Walking the Old Road, A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe, author Staci Lola Drouillard tells the stories of a community of 200 Anishinaabe families at the turn of the century. Beginning in 1987, Drouillard had the prescience to begin interviewing Chippewa City elders preserving for future generations what would have certainly been a lost history. Through these first-person accounts, Drouillard evokes the place, the people, and the way of life that formed the spirit of our community.
The importance of first-person narratives, is beautifully articulated early in the book:
“Words are the bones of our stories, and they are alive and carry weight. That is why the historical works of William Warren, Anton Treuer, and other Ojibwe historians are so important . . . Without their story, the historical record is crushed under the weight of one man’s voice, and history becomes tilted and out of balance, like a canoe with all the packs loaded to one side.”
The Anishinaabe traditions of hunting, fishing, and trapping, of a life governed by the seasons, became increasingly threatened by European settlers, government land allotment, and family relocation. Everything the Ojibwe needed for survival had been provided for by the land and water, until they were cut off from it.
“The final loss of land at Chippewa City happened in various ways.” She writes, “In some cases the State took the land through eminent domain to build a highway. In other cases, the county asked citizens to pay property taxes they could not pay.”
Some moved to Grand Portage, others left to serve in World War 1, and some relocated to other communities. “Early on, dividing the people in order to gain control of land and resources was used as a tool to conquer not only the land, but also the spirit of the people living on the land.”
One of my favorite passages in Walking the Old Road concerns Drouillard’s great-great grandmother Elizabeth’s lilac bush, which bloomed generation after generation near the credit union in town:
“ . . . we, just like the lilacs, draw strength from the earth beneath us. Stored in our roots, we are nourished by the memory of the people who came before us. Who, like the hearty perennials of early summer, are not afraid to show the world who we are. And most importantly, that we are still here.”
What a gift Staci Douillard has given our community. I recommend Walking the Old Road for anyone who loves, lives, or visits the North Shore of Lake Superior.
This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. Read all my reviews and listen to my author interviews on www.superiorreads.blog.
The importance of first-person narratives, is beautifully articulated early in the book:
“Words are the bones of our stories, and they are alive and carry weight. That is why the historical works of William Warren, Anton Treuer, and other Ojibwe historians are so important . . . Without their story, the historical record is crushed under the weight of one man’s voice, and history becomes tilted and out of balance, like a canoe with all the packs loaded to one side.”
The Anishinaabe traditions of hunting, fishing, and trapping, of a life governed by the seasons, became increasingly threatened by European settlers, government land allotment, and family relocation. Everything the Ojibwe needed for survival had been provided for by the land and water, until they were cut off from it.
“The final loss of land at Chippewa City happened in various ways.” She writes, “In some cases the State took the land through eminent domain to build a highway. In other cases, the county asked citizens to pay property taxes they could not pay.”
Some moved to Grand Portage, others left to serve in World War 1, and some relocated to other communities. “Early on, dividing the people in order to gain control of land and resources was used as a tool to conquer not only the land, but also the spirit of the people living on the land.”
One of my favorite passages in Walking the Old Road concerns Drouillard’s great-great grandmother Elizabeth’s lilac bush, which bloomed generation after generation near the credit union in town:
“ . . . we, just like the lilacs, draw strength from the earth beneath us. Stored in our roots, we are nourished by the memory of the people who came before us. Who, like the hearty perennials of early summer, are not afraid to show the world who we are. And most importantly, that we are still here.”
What a gift Staci Douillard has given our community. I recommend Walking the Old Road for anyone who loves, lives, or visits the North Shore of Lake Superior.
This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. Read all my reviews and listen to my author interviews on www.superiorreads.blog.
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January 7, 2022I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author. Drouillard's reading was engaging and enjoyable. The truth is, though, I feel like to really grasp the story I need to listen/read again. I found it difficult to keep track of the individual people that were discussed as they came back again and again.
A part of the book that stood out to me that I found really meaningful was Drouillard's deep dive into the way actual pieces of land changed hands. I'm familiar with the statement that "land was stolen from native people," but this statement is general and doesn't get into the actual mechanics of how this happened. Drouillard traces the ownership of various specific pieces of land and shows the ways they changed hands between specific people, moving from Anishinaabe people into the hands of white settlers. This does mean that there's a lot of text about old documents, which sometimes feels dry, but these documents are really central in how native people's land was taken.
Another really powerful aspect of the book is the way it pushes back forcibly against the idea of indigenous people being "stuck in the past," this idea that everything having to do with native communities is history and not a living present. Drouillard walks us through the history and brings us to the present day, letting us meet the elders she spoke to and showing her process as a historiographer and what that means to her personally and to her community. It's a history book that connects us palpably to the present day and then gestures to the future.
I hope at some point to be able to come back to this book and understand the details more fully, but I've certainly learned a lot. It also makes me sad, thinking of this place I've visited on a couple of occasions and really loved, seeing its dark history. But of course, that's why it's so important.
A part of the book that stood out to me that I found really meaningful was Drouillard's deep dive into the way actual pieces of land changed hands. I'm familiar with the statement that "land was stolen from native people," but this statement is general and doesn't get into the actual mechanics of how this happened. Drouillard traces the ownership of various specific pieces of land and shows the ways they changed hands between specific people, moving from Anishinaabe people into the hands of white settlers. This does mean that there's a lot of text about old documents, which sometimes feels dry, but these documents are really central in how native people's land was taken.
Another really powerful aspect of the book is the way it pushes back forcibly against the idea of indigenous people being "stuck in the past," this idea that everything having to do with native communities is history and not a living present. Drouillard walks us through the history and brings us to the present day, letting us meet the elders she spoke to and showing her process as a historiographer and what that means to her personally and to her community. It's a history book that connects us palpably to the present day and then gestures to the future.
I hope at some point to be able to come back to this book and understand the details more fully, but I've certainly learned a lot. It also makes me sad, thinking of this place I've visited on a couple of occasions and really loved, seeing its dark history. But of course, that's why it's so important.
May 14, 2024
Acknowledging that I do not listen to books as well as I read them, I found this to be very interesting, loaded with colorful detail and original sources, but not well organized. The author uses relevant themes to organize the book, which crisscrosses chronology in support of the themes. Family lineage and geographical markers are solid guideposts for the reader, but still there is a bit of buffeting from decade to decade and even century to century.
That said, the endeavor to connect the present to a vitally important past that many have done their best to bury is noble and worthy. There is much to be learned from this work that is valuable and enduring even as this history continues to unfold in the words we use and the ways we interact with it.
That said, the endeavor to connect the present to a vitally important past that many have done their best to bury is noble and worthy. There is much to be learned from this work that is valuable and enduring even as this history continues to unfold in the words we use and the ways we interact with it.
June 19, 2022
I learned a lot from this book about the Anishinaabe people, the history of Minnesota over the last few hundred years, and the clashes and displacement that occurred as Europeans moved in. I knew this in a general sense prior to the book, but learned a lot more about the specific people and places in my state that were involved after reading this. Being familiar with the North Shore landmarks that were mentioned made the loss all the more tangible, and the numerous photographs added poignancy. The writing is personal, persuasive, and meticulously researched, but could at times benefit from further editing.
November 16, 2022
Staci Drouilard, a Grand Marais, MN resident wrote this book about the bygone town of Chippewa City, a small Ojibwe settlement, that lay a mile walk to the east of Grand Marais, along the northern shore of Lake Superior. Many of the author's relatives lived there and the author tries to recreate what life was like in this community before Highway 61 came and took down almost all the properties in the town, except for the Catholic church. She does it through oral interviews, historical documents, maps, and pictures. It is gently and respectfully told, but as fully told, as she could gather from all these sources. Drouilard brings out this town's story and that of its residents well.
March 26, 2021
I loved reading about the history that was along the shore of Lake Superior. This is the personal history of the author and her family, a family that lived in Chippewa City, MN. Her family and their neighbors are/were Anishinaabe. She chronicles the history of these people with first hand accounts and historical records where available. This is a very personal account of what it is to be a First Nation descendent.
June 18, 2020
Staci discovers her past as an Anishinaabe as she unfolds the history of a specific place and time; at once personal and universal. Absolutely loved the stories of the elders / firsthand accounts. Living in time with the seasons, in gratitude for the bounty and beauty of the area, resounded with my own reasons for calling this place home. Left me feeling connected.
October 18, 2023
A very enlightening historical narrative, pertaining to a very favorite area I love to travel to, to hike, photograph, relax, eat good Walleye and now and evermore to learn more deeply about the Ojibway culture. And yet another tribal american group ripped off by European immigrants and the American government!
August 14, 2025
it was so meaningful to read this while at menogyn in the area it talks about. i’m not a huge fan of nonfiction like this but knowing this information is so important and i’m glad i got myself through it. these stories are invaluable and im so glad to know the REAL history of the land i love so much.
June 15, 2020
This book was so interesting and engaging - part family history and part Minnesota history. I read it so fast! The pictures were terrific - I recognized faces by the end of the book, as if I’d really been introduced to these community members
August 23, 2021
Excellent book--an informative blend of family history, local geography and Native American culture with Chippewa City and the church the nexus tying it all together. Hard look at how treaties and unscrupulous dealings robbed the Native Americans of their homelands.
August 16, 2022
I learned a lot about the history of a community named Chippewa City which until I read this book never knew existed. Next year on my annual trip up the North Shore to Grand Marais I’m going to be doing some new exploring.
May 8, 2020
Very much enjoyed this and the personal nature of the book. Stories that need to be heard.
June 10, 2020
Gentle and hard writing about history of Cook County.
June 25, 2021
The author tells the story of her family in the Chippewa City (no longer there) and Grand Marais and the history of the Native American and white people interacting in that area.
June 5, 2022
Definitely history that should be known, with lots of interesting parts. Unfortunately it was difficult for me to follow at parts and seemed a little rambling.
August 6, 2022
I enjoyed reading this book and learning more about the history of northern Minnesota. The author told fun stories that helped me to better understand how some of the treaties and laws happened.
May 5, 2021
Very interesting and well-written. A must-read for folks who visit Minnesota's North Shore.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews