How the Ojibwe Indians Settled Grand Portage, Minnesota

By Lisa Kroulik © March 14, 2011

Way up in the northeast corner of the state, (the part that looks like an arrowhead for you non-Minnesotans) is Grand Portage, the last civilization in Minnesota you will see before you reach the Canadian border. It is an unorganized territory of roughly 550 people in which the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and the Grand Portage National Monument are located. My family and I visited here in October of 2010 and found a place oozing with Native American and early state history. Score!

Grand Portage received its name due to its 16 miles of portage, which means “the carrying of boats and supplies overland between two waterways or around an obstacle to navigation”. As early as the 17^th century, Grand Portage was a central location for the fur trade industry. France established fur trading with the Native American people in the area during the 17^th century. In the 18^th century, the British took over and established the North West Company. Fur trading had become a lucrative business, and the British built Fort Charlotte in Grand Portage to protect their interests.

After the northern border between the US and Canada was formed in the early part of the 19^th century, the British moved their fur trading to the Canadian side to avoid US taxes. They built Fort William in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to replace the abandoned Fort Charlotte. We were also in Ontario on our vacation, but unfortunately it was too late in the season and we were unable to see Fort William.

The Grand Portage National Monument, designated as such and opened for visitors in 1951, is an 8.5 mile footpath dedicated to preserving the fur trade industry and the Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. It is adjacent to the Pigeon River, which flows into Lake Superior. The monument is fully enclosed within the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and features a Great Hall, a kitchen complex, a stockade wall, a canoe warehouse, Ojibwe Village(a fur trader's historic gardens), and historic weapons.

Similar to the Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River, visitors to the Grand Portage National Monument will be treated to staff who are dressed entirely in period apparel, from the 17^th to very early 19^th century. They will guide you on tours on anything from how canoes were made to a weapons firing demonstration. To complete this educational experience, there are four short films depicting life as it was around the Grand Portage area in the fur trade era.

The Grand Portage National Monument was designated as a National Monument in 1958 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Additionally, the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center opened to the public in 2007. It has displays about the fur trade and the Ojibwe culture as well as a bookstore and meeting areas.

The community of Native American people in Grand Portage were once part of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa,although they did not participate in the 1842 Ojibwe treaties declaring land ownership with the government of the United States. In 1854, they surrendered possession of their lands in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota and accepted the Grand Portage Reservation.

The Grand Portage Indian Reservation is governed by the Grand Portage Tribal Council. It operates its own court system and collects its own sales tax. The Tribal Council operates its own schools and community agencies, apart from the governance of the state. In 1996, it established a Land Use Ordinance with the state of Minnesota and the Environmental Protection Agency which protects the interests of the tribe: wildlife habitat, timber production, and protection of natural resources for recreational purposes. The hunting and fishing rights of tribal members are regulated under the Tribal Code and enforced by the 1854 Treaty.

In addition to the monument and state park, Grand Portage is a popular tourist attraction because of the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino. The hotel, which opened in 1975, has 95 rooms and is located on the shores of Lake Superior. The casino was added in 1990.  Grand Portage also has an impressive 100 miles of hiking trails and several campgrounds. We hope to return to Grand Portage in the future, preferably not in the fall again, as some attractions were already closed for the season in mid-October.