Traveling the Seven Fires-Sault Ste. Marie

When European explorers arrived at the rapids of Sault Ste Marie, they made first contact with the Anishinaabe People. Whether coincidence or purposeful, the Jesuits had created their own migration path with settlements/missions at Montreal, Niagara Falls, Detroit, and Manitoulin Island, so their interest in the waterway between Lake Superior and Lake Huron should come as no suprise. In 1620, they found a robust population and also a unique geographical anomoly: the rapids. So the French gave it the name (saut=leaping).

The Anishinaabe called it Baawiigong, which means 'place of the rapids," and at this location, several hundred people survived off the fishing, hunting, and berry gathering. Historians do not paint a very clear picture about how long the Aninishinaabe had lived in the area prior to 1620. Some claim centuries. Others claim it used to be territory held by the Oceti Sakowin. Regardless of the length of the stay, it was a good home and thus has remained a home for the past four centuries.

For Julie and I, the roadtrip from the 4th Stopping Place to the 5th Stopping Place was a quick trip. We departed Manitoulin Island on a short bridge leading to the north shore and followed a highway through Ontario. While our trip was just 4-5 hours, the Ojibwe searching for their next stopping place had hundreds of islands not only along the north shore of Lake Huron, but at the UP of Michigan, unlimited choices presented to the north or south.

Unfortunately, this location was very disappointing to visit. From the huge bridges to the industrialization of the waterway, the rapids simply didn't serve as a scenic host any more.

LOL...I included this to make fun of AI. The more I look the funnier it gets.

Yet I did find a little magic just a short distance away. 60 miles south of Sault Ste Marie, the waters of Lake Michigan pour threw a deep channel into Lake Huron. While there are no bubbling rapids that make fishing giant sturgeon easy, the camp beside the rapids lacked one important feature: an island. Now I realized that ALL the stops didn't need an island, but so far...islands. So it didn't make me long to find a candidate of amazing historical and spiritual relevance.

Mackinack Isand, or Michilimackinac, means "Great Turtle," and the spiritual significance to the people of North America is that the turtle has connections to creation an/or the great flood. The Anishinaabe people explain that the island was the home of Gitche Manitou, the Great Spirit, and after the great flood, it became a refuge. So...Noah's Ark.

It is also a rest stop along a busy waterway. If invaders swoop in from the north, south, east, or west, a quick paddle could get you to safety. By the time Europeans came through the area, the Anishinaabe had already begun migrating westward in search of their 6th Stopping Place, and so, the Petun/Huron refugees from the Beaver Wars in the east used the island as santuary.

On the peninsula, explorers and fur traders also recognized the significance of the location as an important hub. Men like Pierre-Charles LeSueur established fur trade while spiritual guides such as Father Marquette built a mission to evangelize.

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Father "Pere" Marquette

During our visit, St. Ignace did its part to commemorate the historical and spiritual significance of Mackinac Island. Although Marquette died "out in the field" south of here, he was reburied and given great honor. You can also find many fascinating tributes to Huron culture such as a genuine long house. And...another museum. This one was loaded, but it allowed me to see how the "facts" were told in a different way from region to region.

A few years later, Julie and I again went out to Manitoulin Island, and on our return, we took the bridge into Michigan rather than hugging the north shore of Lake Superior. At another museum, a Potowatmi Elder displayed a medicine wheel and when asked about the discrepencies in the oral traditions, he sagely proclaimed: "All of them are true."

So much for orthodoxy.

So much for textbooks.

I learned to keep an open mind.