Gchi Mshijkenh Deh Minising/Heart of the Great Turtle Island
This grant will support a collaborative effort involving the State of Michigan, four tribes, and local partners in developing and interpreting the west side of Straits State Park in St. Ignace, MI. The project will add Anishinaabe context to the story of Michigan told at the site through a Learning Commons, outdoor trails, and structures at a Powwow Circle. This will make it a key interpretive space for explaining the seasonality of Anishinaabe life in both the pre- and post-contact periods, as well as their culture’s continuing relationship with the natural world. Americana’s grant will be used to construct a Drum Circle structure at the center of the Powwow Circle.