Last Updated: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 6:05 PM CST
Lac du Flambeau museum retains local history
By Mike Skubal - Daily News staff
The George W. Brown Jr. Ojibwe Museum and Cultural Center is a gem, one of a number of small museums in the Northwoods.
Owned and operated by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the museum opened in 1995 and chose to honor an elder who has been a life long proponent of cultural preservation by naming the center in his honor.
According to Christina Breault, in her fifth year as director, the purpose of the center is to "preserve and promote the knowledge of local history and culture". Many of the objects in the exhibits were made by the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe and other bands.
A four-season diorama provides the focal point of the museum, highlighting spearfishing, maple syrup production, the gathering of wild rice, and an example of the type of shelter used by the Ojibwe in this area.
Other exhibits include a 24 foot dugout canoe and smaller birch bark canoes, and a French fur trading post with costumes for the kids to try on. There is a new logging exhibit with tools loaned by the Rhinelander Logging Museum and a mount of a world record sturgeon.
Smaller exhibits highlight traditional Ojibwe arts and crafts, beadwork, and the history of the region. The area's habitation began about 9,000 years ago following the withdrawal of the glaciers.
Keeshekenin (Sharpened Stone) moved his band to the Lac du Flambeau area about 1745 and the area has been a permanent Chippewa settlement ever since.
Breault enjoys teaching and educating about this history, and thinks trying to change stereotypes is important. She says, "What I'm doing right now is preserving the past for the future to come."
Winter hours from November to April are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday - Thursday, with other times by appointment. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for children ages 5-15, and children under 5 are free.
Take the back roads to Lac du Flambeau, enjoy the drive. Discover the George W, Brown Museum, one of many family destinations in the Northwoods worth your while.
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