Northwestern University students Forrest Bruce (Ojibwe), on the left, and Kayla Giger (Sagamok First Nation) carry the stern of a canoe into Lake Michigan. The traditional Anishinaabe birchbark vessel was built in 2021 on campus by a master Ojibwe canoe builder with help from Northwestern faculty, staff, students and members of the Native community. Bruce and Giger paddled the canoe into the lake to the cheers of dozens of people who lined the shore at a ceremony. The return to the lake is “an act of empowerment and resistance,” said Patty Loew (Mashkiiziibii), director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research. It shows “that native people were here, are here and will always be here,” she said. The canoe will be on display at the Segal Visitors Center on campus.
Richard Cahan
Richard Cahan takes photos for the Evanston RoundTable. He also is publisher of CityFiles Press, a small but mighty media company that believes in the power of words and pictures. You can reach him at... More by Richard Cahan