July 20: Manitoulin Island

I awoke at about 6:30 a.m. to find us already in the North Channel approaching Manitoulin – the world’s largest freshwater island! The Ojibwe first occupied the island more than 10,000 years ago, naming it after the Great Spirit: Manitou, meaning God’s Island. First Nation peoples still constitute over a quarter of the island’s population and every August they celebrate their culture in one of Canada’s largest pow-wows, called Wikwemikong. After a light breakfast on deck, I stationed myself at the bow of the Clelia II to get some photos of the famous swinging bridge, which connects the town of Little Current on Manitoulin Island to the Ontario mainland. We boarded buses in Little Current for a 20-minute ride to the First Nation community of Chigeeng. Here we visited the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, which was a dome-shaped building half underground, similar in shape to a traditional teepee. The Jesuit priest and a Native woman who served as minister provided us with background on the ceremonial traditions of the church. Dream-catchers hung above the alter, one for each direction: west, north, east, south. Turtles and eagles also were prominent in the artwork in the church. We then made our way across the street to the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation for guided tours of the museum, art gallery and a special smudging ceremony. A young Native man explained the daily burning of sage, sweet grass, cedar and tobacco, and how the resulting smoke is used to cleanse a person’s soul and keep bad spirits from entering their space. To conclude the trip, we assembled in an outside amphitheatre for a traditional pow-wow. Four Natives provided the drum beat and singing, and six dancers in traditional and modern dress entertained us. A father and his six-year-old son did a traditional dance. The wife then did a traditional matrical dance. A teen daughter illustrated the jingle (healing) dance, with her skirt adorned with small metal plates that made a vibrant jingling sound as she moved about the stage. Two other women were dressed in fancy modern costumes and did a high stepping, twirling dance. At the end, all of us were invited to do a circle dance on the stage, which was great fun! Upon returning to the waterfront, we were treated to free ice cream cones (I had mint-chocolate chip) and enjoyed a beautiful walk on the marina boardwalk. Lunch was again outside on the deck and included an amazingly good chicken curry, green salad and fresh pineapple. The Clelia II set sail at 2 p.m. for Sault Ste. Marie and the afternoon was spent enjoying the beautiful scenery: rocky embankments and shoals and the occasional powerboat or kayaker. Guest lecturer Evan Haefeli presented his second talk “When Cadillac and Pontiac Were Men: The Great Lakes Before U.S. Independence.” Dinner tonight was Rainbow trout! My dinner companions at the Smithsonian table were David and Marralyce Seaman from South Dakota; Patty and Mary Frey from Minneapolis; and Lucille Solberg and Mary Lou Zimmer from Seattle and Gig Harbor, Wash. The Clelia II is now underway to Sault Ste. Marie.