The Bois Forte Ojibwe (or Zagaakwaandagowininiwag, meaning “People of the Thickly Wooded Place”) are an Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) people whose homeland is in present-day northern Minnesota. Their story is one of resilience, survival, and adaptation in the face of changing landscapes, treaties, and external pressures.
The Bois Forte Ojibwe are part of the larger Anishinaabe migration that took place over centuries, originating from the East Coast and moving inland to the Great Lakes region. Their ancestors followed the prophecy of the Seven Fires, which guided them westward in search of the land where “food grows on water”—a reference to wild rice (manoomin), a staple of their diet and culture.
The museum contains interesting artifacts, including traditional dress, a canoe and a birch bark hut.
Like all native American tribes, the Bois Forte Ojibwe were subjected to having their children shipped off to boarding school.
