“This land needs to hear its language”

By Jess Piskor

Sun contributor

Emily Modrall drew an audience of 150 to Suttons Bay High School on Nov. 29 where she summarized the Kchi Wiikwedong Anishinaabe History Project and its work to give more space and visibility to the Anishinaabe past and present through signage and art on public land.

The presentation opened with Modrall describing her background and prefacing she is not a member of the Grand Traverse Band, nor does she have indigenous roots. She was careful to highlight that the decisions, language, design and implementation of the project were led and informed by members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, while she saw her role as that of a convenor of stakeholders.

A fascination with history led Modrall, who grew up in Suttons Bay, to a Ph.D. in Art & Archeology from the University of Pennsylvania and 15 years of field work in Italy. But upon returning home, this region’s own history seemed far away.

Two years ago, Modrall ran across a marker at West End Beach etched “OLD INDIAN TRAIL” which she learned led south to Cadillac and was used by the Anishinaabek more than a century ago. Most of these trails are now lost to history — or paved over. Modrall describes herself in that moment unmoored, as she felt the history of her home and birthplace shifting beneath her feet. “What was this old trail?” She remembers wondering, “Who put up this marker? And what more can we do to preserve the past?”

Thus was born the Kchi Wiikwedong Anishinaabe History Project. After discussions with Tribal Elders, five different municipalities decided to erect new historical markers within Northport, Suttons Bay, Leland, and Traverse City, as well as at Brown Bridge Natural Area in the heart of Grand Traverse County and Peterson Park in Leelanau Township.

Modrall says they “decided that the signs would not focus narrowly on specific history like names and dates and places, but do the work of sharing these more timeless teachings that come from the Anishinaabe tradition. They’re called the Seven Grandfather teachings. So seven of the signs will have a teaching and then two signs will have texts that are more the Western tradition we call history-based.”

The signs are more sculptures or monuments than simple signs. Made of Corten steel that develops a beautiful protective rust patina, the six-foot-tall hollow structures look like multi-faceted boulders and are meant to represent the timeless and enduring nature of the Anishinaabe past, present and future. They were designed by Oneida Nation designer and architect Chris Cornelius and his design company, studio: indigenous.

The monuments, built in Traverse City by Nuart Signs, are tactile. Holes are cut in them in a pattern that comes from Great Lakes Anishinaabe beadwork. Together with designs that look like feathers, Modrall enthusiastically describes, “the holes let the light and the wind and the water sort of blow or shine through. You can tap them and they ring.”

With the aid of technology, they can also talk.

“One of the things that the sign designer, Chris, said to me when he was here, he knew from the jump that he wasn’t going to be involved with the language part or the text part of the project,” Modrall says.

“But I said to him, ‘You know, I think that the signs should be fully bilingual rather than just include vocabulary words in parentheses, which is, you might say, an easier way to go.’

“And he said, ‘No, no, this land needs to hear its language’.”

Grand Traverse Band Elders Eva Petoskey, Joanne Cook and Arlene Kashata wrote the teachings and the history, first in English, and then Grand Traverse Band language instructor Isadore Toulouse translated it into Anishinaabemowin. With the aid of technology, visitors can use their phones to hear a recording of the Grand Traverse Band members reading the script in English and Anishinaabemowin.

“This piece of the project was really led by the elders. They were the ones who said, let’s put it out there. Let’s sing on camera. Let’s record.” The result is a sculptural sign that offers many ways to experience it.

“I really hope that people kind of grapple with the language,” Modrall says. “I think some people look at a language that they don’t understand, and then they just move their eyes to the part that they do understand, but I hope that they at least take a shot at sounding out a word or two.”

One monument is already in place along the Boardman River at Brown Bridge Natural Area. The Grand Traverse Band was instrumental in helping return the river to its natural state, and this monument is meant to honor that work. Another monument will be located at Peterson Park in Northport.

Any visitor to this Leelanau Township Park is immediately confronted with a panoramic view of the Manitou and Fox islands. The moment of sunset, viewed from the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is overwhelming.

The bluff wasn’t a park when White settlers first arrived, but a well-known village. By the mid-19th century with the establishment by the federal government of the local Indian reservation and Indian removal policies, the village was abandoned and land was sold off piece by piece.

With the installation of the sign this spring, Modrall hopes “that people look at the land and the lake and the islands and the sunset, and read the text and understand sort of the vastness of the history, both in terms of time, but also in terms of space.

“Understanding that, yes, this spot was a village (and it) also was part of a huge space that was very different before non-indigenous people showed up. And what we see now and the way we understand it and experience it is so very different, and it has changed so fast.”

After Modrall’s presentation was over, she shared she was “shocked” that 150 people were interested on a Wednesday night in Suttons Bay. “Honestly, I was really surprised and delighted. And I shared that number with other people who were equally surprised and in a good way.”

So people are thinking, okay, let’s talk about our past. And then maybe let’s keep talking about it.”

The new monuments are one part of the conversation. More parts are still in the works, including a documentary film focusing on hours of conversation with Tribal Elders. Installation of the remaining monuments will take place starting next spring.