Northwoods Memories Multimedia Productions

A little over four years ago, we began developing the ideas for publishing the Northwoods Pictograph bulletins.  In considering the project we were motivated by our long-lasting interest in the history and culture of the Ojibwa in the area that we loved to paddle.  Over and over, in conversations with people we met on the trail, or visited on-line, or talked with in various outfitter locations, we heard that paddlers had difficulty finding the sites.  Sometimes, paddlers had heard of sites but those sites were not listed on the maps.  Paddlers often commented that printed materials about the sites were inaccurate and, after following the directions, they found no site as described by those materials.  And nearly all who expressed an interest in the sites wanted to know more about the history and meaning of the images.

Many individuals report that the Ojibwa do not want photographs taken of the sites and images.  Early in the design of this site, we attempted to contact two Ojibwa elders for whom we had email addresses.  We were disappointed that we did not get replies.  Additionally, as many know, some rangers at the entry points tell paddlers that the Ojibwa do not want pictures taken at all. 

Our most valuable insight came from personal conversations with Jon Nelson (www.jon-nelson.com), a long time ranger in Quetico.  He worked for some years under grant funding, visiting with the Ojibwa elders to learn the basis of their religious beliefs and cultural practices.  He recently published a wonderful book, “Quetico:  Near to Nature’s Heart.”  In that book he also states what we learned from personal conversations with him.  He told me in those conversations that the elders were not so much against taking pictures of the sites, but that they were very much offended by paddlers disrespecting the sites.  He explained that the elders objected to those who would paddle to the sites, and while laughing and joking, take a couple of pictures just to say they were there.  He indicated that the elders did not object to those who were appropriately respectful of the sites and the religious beliefs they represent.

Additionally, he told me that the Ojibwa regard the messages in the images as prayers.  He also states this in the book.  Obviously, respect is due to these sites and their images.  To disrespect them is to disrespect the people to whom they are sacred.

With that in mind, and after a lot of soul-searching, we began the project by looking at the many pictures we had taken in the past and by reviewing our notes from our many visits to sites.  Though we had read many writings on the sites and on pictographs in general, we began again an intensive study of the culture and religion important to the Ojibwa.  We also committed to revisiting every site visited in the past and visiting those not visited in the past, to ensure that our notes and reports were as accurate as we could make them.  We vowed not to compile any information on any site until we had revisited or visited the site during the three year period of the Quetico Quest.  No bulletin would be printed with any information not based on our personal obversations at the site.

With that in mind, we began the project with the most important goals being to answer those questions that we had heard so often.  We wanted to be able to help the paddler interested in Ojibwa pictographs easily find the sites and the images.  Additionally we wanted to study as much as we could, and provide information on the relation of the images to the religion and culture of the people who left them behind.  And finally, we wanted to help paddlers learn from the experience.  From this came the admonition printed on our bulletins:  “Visit the sites!  Respect the sites!  Learn at the sites!’

We hope to help many paddlers visit, respect and learn.  We sincerely hope that every paddler who visits the sites using our bulletins,  will, above all else, not contribute in any way to damaging the sites.

For all of our readers who are associated with Boy Scout units headed to the Boundary Waters or Quetico based out of Charles Sommers, the Northern Tier Canoe Base, our Northwoods Pictograph bulletins are not currently stocked in the store there or in the outfitting department.  We wanted to let you know so that if you are traveling a route with pictograph sites, and you are interested in having your Scouts learn about pictograph sites and the related Ojibwa culture, you will need to pick up bulletins before arriving at the base.

You can order from our website, or if you want to save shipping charges, there are several outfitters close to Sommers who carry a complete stock of the bulletins.  You can check our “shop” pages or the “links” page for a list of those outfitters who stock our bulletins. Read the rest of this entry »

Any discussion of resources available to learn about Quetico Provincial Park would be entirely inappropriate without mention of the John B. Ridley Research Library ( www.catalogue.legacyforest.ca ). If you travel into Quetico from any entry in Canada, you should plan a day or two before or after your trip to visit this excellent library. Several comfortable hotels are available in Atikokan to allow you a day or two to visit the library and enjoy Atikokan. The library is located in the lower floor of the Quetico Park Information Pavilion which can be found at the Dawson Trail Campgrounds in Quetico Provincial Park. If you have a French Lake area entry permit, you will check in with the Rangers in the Pavilion, and the library is downstairs. Read the rest of this entry »

We often are asked by friends about taking children on their first canoe trip.  On the first canoe trip my wife and I took together, we took our five-year-old daughter, Caroline (and our dog).  That trip covered the Lake Agnes/S-Chain loop in Quetico.  We endured significant rain for the first day and a half which I feared would end all future canoe trips.  The sun came out as we entered the south end of Lake Agnes and we camped in the meadow at the base of Louisa Falls during our second night out. We dried clothes, fished some along the shores and had a great dinner.  At that time the meadow was much more open than it is now, but it is still a great “hangout” campsite Read the rest of this entry »

Our Northwoods Pictograph project is based on our commitment to revisit every pictograph site seen in the past and visit those we have not yet seen.  On our first trip in 2007, we visited 13 sites through 4 entry points in Quetico and two entry points in the Boundary Waters.  This trip consisted of four individual trips of one or more nights and two day trips of a few hours each.  In this report on the first part of the trip, I will cover the day trip to the Sea Gull Lake pictograph site (in the BWCA) and the overnight trip to the Cache Bay site across the Canadian borderOrder Cache Bay and Seagull Lake Bulletins.

Northwoods Pictograph bulletins used on this trip:  Saganaga Lake, Cache Bay and Seagull Lake  (one bulletin covering two sites).  Order Bulletin here .
 

 Fisher Map used on this trip:  F 19

McKenzie Map used on this trip:  Map 6

  I also provide some information for future paddlers or those interested in simple trips, pictures of the Cache Bay Ranger Station, a video clip of the Quetico sea plane resupplying the Cache Bay Ranger station,  and the account of a completely unexpected and exciting encounter with a group of paddlers who reported a new petroglyph site. Read the rest of this entry »

No.  Though it may make you more confident to do so, and certainly the more experience you have the better, outfitters will train you before you go out on the trail.  When you first talk with your outfitter, let them know about your experience or lack of experience.  Outfitters generally will plan into your time ahead of the trip enough for some training and practice. 

Not only will they teach you the paddling skills but also canoe safety.  They will teach you how to carry your canoe over the portages from lake to lake and let you practice while they supervise.  Many outfitters are close to water and have places for you to “put in” and practice.  Others will gladly take you to a close body of water to practice. 

What is most important is that you ask for a route to be planned appropriate to your skill level.  Outfitters will be glad to help you here, and if you discuss this with them when you first make contact, they will be able to help with a permit that has appropriate trips.

Outfitters depend on your business to stay in business.  They are eager to train you well and plan a great trip for you so that you will become a repeat client, and will tell others what a good job they did.

Communication is the key!

Folks who have not been to canoe country ask us many questions about planning a trip.  Invariably, we answer their question, and quickly add, “Figure out the dates of your trip and contact your outfitter with those dates as soon as possible.”  We addressed the idea of finding an outfitter and what they can do for you in an earlier post.  Now we must address the “dates” issue.

Permits are required for entry into both Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northeastern Minnesota.  Both areas are controlled entry, meaning that only a specific number of permits are allowed per day into each entry point.  Additionally, there are a maximum number of canoes and people allowed under each permit.  Outfitters are experts at handling this information.  But they cannot begin to help you until they know the date you will arrive at their base, and the date you want to go out on the trail.  The most important thing for you to realize in this process is that “the early bird gets the worm.” Read the rest of this entry »

For interested folks who have never made a wilderness canoe trip, the planning and preparation is intimidating.  It would be nice if you had a very experienced friend who would let you go on a trip with him or her.  It would also be nice if they took you by the hand and led you through all the preparations.  Most of us do not have such a friend.

But all of us have access to an outfitter.  Experienced outfitters are available at every area around canoe country where you might want to enter.

Outfitters are expert at handling all the details of securing permits to enter the wilderness.  They will advise you on any documents needed to cross international boundaries if that is a part of your plan.  They have excellent equipment for rent that is exactly the equipment you need for this type of outdoor adventure.  If you have some of your equipment, they can fill out your gear to what is needed.  They can pack an entire kitchen and food store for you, usually based on menus you select.  They have a variety of canoes for rent along with paddles and life jackets.  And they can provide the canoe, equipment, and food preparation training for you if you are a beginner, or an outdoors person who just needs to make the transition into canoeing.  Before you leave on your trip they will provide you with good maps and lots of detailed information on your traveling route. Read the rest of this entry »

Our first trip of 2008 took us to a total of 14 pictograph sites around the periphery of Quetico and in the Boundary Waters.  To complete our series of Northwoods Pictograph Bulletins, we committed to revisiting every site we have visited in the past to check the accuracy of our photographs and records, and to visit the few remaining sites we had not yet visited. Read the rest of this entry »

From the beginning of this website, we have been talking to friends, colleagues, and members of bulletin boards to decide what would make this blog helpful, interesting and consistent with memories of northwoods experiences.  This blog will evolve, but to start, we will address some of the suggestions shared with us so far.

The “General” category will continue for things of general interest that are non-specific and of broad application.  We will also use this section to introduce new sections of the blog, new ideas, things of timely nature, and notices about information of a new or different nature elsewhere on the site. Read the rest of this entry »