Exploring Northwoods Indigenous Communities

This class will take place January 9, 11 and 16, 2024, 1:00-3:00p.m. at the Mercer Community Center, with a fourth meeting and field trip January 18, 1:00-3:30p.m., with Jim Bokern.

Since the last glaciers retreated until today, Indigenous people have relied on Northwoods natural resources. Over thousands of years, from the Great Lakes to the interior lakes and streams, dynamic Indigenous practices have focused on sustaining a good life. 

This series of four Fe University classes will explore the scholarship and historic documents that reveal some insights into Northwoods Indigenous people’s prehistory and history. Additionally, visits to a key cultural site and a museum will connect participants more directly to important cultural traditions. 

Specific areas of exploration include precontact cultural traditions, historic indigenous communities, travel routes, village sites, resource use and interaction with Euro/American communities. An overview of post treaty Indigenous communities and families will illuminate how tribal groups like the Ojibwe and Potawatomi preserved traditional practices. An Ojibwe guest speaker will deliver a special focus on wild rice harvest and modern Ojibwe stewardship of resources. Finally, the class will travel to a historic pine pitch site and the George Brown Jr. Ojibwe Museum and Cultural Center. 

Participants will learn how to “Get out and Explore” cultural sites, support cultural stewardship and engage in historic preservation.

Instructor: Jim Bokern

Offline Registration: Download PDF Registration Form, complete and mail in with payment.

Registration Questions? Contact us or call (715) 892-3982 or (715) 476-2881.

Registration Issues/Troubleshooting: If you are registering with one email address for two or more people, please register each person individually (i.e. do not register all at once, but add students one at a time to checkout). If you continue to have difficulty or have another question, please contact us.

Cancellation Notice: Students are encouraged to sign up at least two weeks before the beginning of any Fe University class. Classes with less than 4 students 2 weeks before the start date may be cancelled at instructor/FeU discretion. If you’re interested in a class, please sign up early! Thank you.