Mille Lacs Indian Museum & Trading Post

10/24/2026

The Ojibwe word of the weekend is indede, which means “my father.” Like the words we’ve been highlighting this month, part of this word is a dependent noun stem, in this case, “-dedey-.” First person pronouns for this word vary throughout where Ojibwe is spoken. Here, Zhaawanigiizhigookweban, the late Millie Benjamin, uses “in-” as the first person personal pronoun to say “my father” in Ojibwe. Other speakers might use “nin-.” Fluent speakers will understand whichever first person personal pronoun is used.

Additionally, like in many languages, there is more than one way to refer to a father. In other places, “my father” might be said, “nimbaabaa” or “imbaabaa.” or “noos.” We invite you to search “father” in English at the Ojibwe People’s dictionary to explore the variety of ways to refer to fathers in Ojibwe.

The artwork in this video comes from Mille Lacs Band tribal member Wesley Ballinger.

10/19/2026

Today we are sharing a historic object from our collections. We chose this object because a visitor recently asked about utensils. This particular spoon was made from wood by someone at Grand Portage between 1900 and 1940. Sometimes wooden spoons would be made from knots in trees that would form the bowl of the spoon. Formations described as “bird’s eyes” in certain tree root formations could also be used to make a strong spoon or bowl. Other times the bowl would be hollowed out of wood by a curved knife. Besides wooden spoons like these, birchbark spoons could be used as well as clamshells.

You can see some more spoons in our Four Seasons Room, we’d love to point them out for you. We are open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 am-5 pm, year round. We look forward to seeing you!

Image Citation: Ojibwe carved and incised wood spoon. Not earlier than 1900 - Not later than 1946. Minnesota Historical Society. St. Paul

10/17/2026

The Ojibwe Word of the Weekend is nisayenh, or my older brother. There are a few things to notice about this word. First, we want to point out the “nh” at the end of the word. In Ojibwe that indicates that the vowel preceding the “nh” should be nasal. It’s hard to describe because there is no English equivalent. Additionally, how nasalized that vowel is may vary by dialect and speaker, so listen closely in your community.

Second, we want to point out that, like many other words for family relationships, the words for younger sibling is made of a dependent noun stem that requires a personal prefix. The dependent noun stem is “sayeny-.” The personal prefix “ni-” combined with this dependent noun stem creates the word “nisayenh,” which means “my older brother.” The personal prefix “gi-” combined with the dependent noun stem creates “gisayenh.” The personal prefix “o-” combined with the dependent noun stem and creates “osayenyan.”

If you’re curious about learning more words for family relationships, consider using the Ojibwe Rosetta stone; some of those words are covered in the first unit! https://mnhs.info/4s0ECMF or follow us the next few Saturdays.

Listen to Zhaawanigiizhigookweban, the late Millie Benjamin, pronounce nisayenh and practice every time you speak of or about your older brother. The artwork comes from Mille Lacs Band tribal member Wesley Ballinger.

10/16/2026

Register now and tune in Tuesday at 7 pm to learn more about the North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix Heritage Area and the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post.

Tune in on Oct 20, 7pm, for the 1st episode of Live! from North Woods and Waters! 📚 Travis Zimmerman, Mille Lacs Indian Museum & Trading Post Site Manager, shares insights with Thomas Wayne King.

Learn more & register: https://northwoodsandwaters.org/live-from-north-woods-and-waters/

10/14/2026

Today we are sharing a historic photo from our collections. We chose this photo because we think these children are adorable. We also love the amusement and love on their grown-up’s face in the background. This photo was taken in Mille Lacs in about 1900.

An important thing that many elders pass down via oral tradition is that the families in Mille Lacs didn’t have a lot but they had each other. So it may appear as though they are not financially well off, but they were rich in culture, community, and connection to the land.

A note about the word Chippewa. It is a Europeanized pronunciation or mispronunciation of the word Ojibwe. It is used in government and legal documents and was often used historically, like in the writing on this picture. Ojibwe and Anishinaabe are more often used today.

Image Citation: Chippewa children, Mille Lacs Lake.
Approximately 1900. Minnesota Historical Society. St. Paul.

10/12/2026

Today we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. This is a day to celebrate Indigenous cultures and think about Indigenous history. Some people will mark the day with community gatherings, powwows, or other special events.

We’d like to share today, in honor of the long history of indigenous people on these lands, that we will be hosting a traveling exhibit from Jeffers Petroglyphs through the winter. This exhibit and site itself shows thousands of years of indigenous history with 8,000 rock carvings depicting many lifeways. Jeffers is an MNHS site near Comfrey, MN, the last day they are open for the public season is this coming Saturday. If you can’t wait until after the next Memorial Day to visit Jeffers, visiting the traveling exhibit while it is here is a great idea. We particularly love how it shows a connection to indigenous cultures all over what is now the United States as you can see in one of the images of the traveling exhibit we shared here.

Regardless of how you are recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day today, we want to remind you, if you don’t already, there are many ways to celebrate Indigenous cultures every day.

10/10/2026

The Ojibwe Word of the Weekend is nimisenh, or my older sister. There are a few things to notice about this word. First, we want to point out the “nh” at the end of the word. In Ojibwe that indicates that the vowel preceding the “nh” should be nasal. It’s hard to describe because there is no English equivalent. Additionally, how nasalized that vowel is may vary by dialect and speaker, so listen closely in your community.

Second, we want to point out that, like many other words for family relationships, the words for younger sibling is made of a dependent noun stem that requires a personal prefix. The dependent noun stem is “-miseny-.” The personal prefix “ni-” combined with this dependent noun stem creates the word “nimisenh,” which means “my older sister.” The personal prefix “gi-” combined with the dependent noun stem creates “gimisenh.” The personal prefix “o-” combined with the dependent noun stem creates “omiseyan.”

If you’re curious about learning more words for family relationships, consider using the Ojibwe Rosetta stone; some of those words are covered in the first unit! https://mnhs.info/4y6XfQk or follow us the next few Saturdays.

In the meantime, listen to Zhaawanigiizhigookweban, the late Millie Benjamin, pronounce nimisenh and practice every time you speak of or about your older sister. The artwork comes from Mille Lacs Band tribal member Wesley Ballinger.

10/07/2026

Next Friday, October 16, we are having a Family Fun Day. With paid museum admission, everyone can design their own shoulder bag to bring home. You can also try your hand at lacrosse or try hitting a target with an atlatl, which is an ancient type of hunting tool. Bring the whole family out to the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post to enjoy family friendly activities all day.

10/05/2026

On this day in history, October 5th, 1813, Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, died in the Battle of the Thames. Tecumseh, a skilled orator and military commander, created a coalition of Native people around the Great Lakes to resist encroaching settlers and protect Native ways of life. When the war of 1812 started, he allied with the British. Tecumseh’s military genius carried many actions in this conflict. However, British forces fled during the Battle of the Thames and Tecumseh died in the battle. Upon his death, his coalition crumbled and many Native Nations involved were displaced. Some wonder how modern maps might be different had events turned out differently.

The end of this conflict did establish Minnesota’s borders with Canada, even though the conflict might seem far removed from our area. Conflicts like the War of 1812 affected eastern Ojibwe far more than Ojibwe people living in Minnesota, although some participated. It also affected Minnesota history as it brought American authority to the area and an end to British fur trading, which you can read about here: https://mnhs.info/4hfskMO

The image we are sharing here is a painting of Tecumpseh attributed to Owen Staples, although, a biographer wrote, “No fully authenticated portrait of the Shawnee leader exists.”

10/03/2026

The Ojibwe Word of the Weekend is nishiime, or my younger sibling. Why is the translation “my younger sibling” and not simply “younger sibling?” The answer illustrates a difference between Ojibwe and English. Ojibwe has many dependent noun stems. The concept of a dependent noun stem can be a hard concept for English speakers. The noun stem /=shiimey-/ isn’t used on its own like “younger sibling” is in English. A personal prefix must go with /=shiimey-/ to make it a complete word. For “my younger sibling,” the personal prefix “ni-,” is added as in this video. To speak about “your younger sibling” the person prefix “gi-” would be added to make the word “gishiime.” For “his younger sibling” or “her younger sibling,” the personal prefix “o-” would be added to make the word “oshiimeyan.”

If you’re curious about learning more words for family relationships, consider using the Ojibwe Rosetta stone; some of those words are covered in the first unit! https://mnhs.info/4hJtFuq or follow us the next few Saturdays.

In the meantime, listen to Zhaawanigiizhigookweban, the late Millie Benjamin, pronounce nishiime and practice every time you speak of or about your younger sibling. The artwork comes from Mille Lacs Band tribal member Wesley Ballinger.