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Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post

Not much is taught in our schools about the great people who lived in Minnesota before European settlers arrived, but it’s important for children to know as much as they can about Minnesota history. We should introduce our grandchildren to the cultures and traditions of American Indians. The Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post is a great place to start.

The Minnesota Historical Society owns the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, which is located along Highway 169, north of Onamia. But it is staffed by tribal members of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. It may be quite a thrill for your grandchild to meet a real Indian, and he will likely be surprised to find that American Indians are just like everyone else. They live in houses, drive cars and go to work.

Inside the museum, take a tour of the magnificent Four Seasons Room. This circular space of walls has been painted in a diorama style to reflect the four seasons of the year. Life-sized, realistic figures pose in front of these images, as if momentarily pausing from their traditional activities. Birds perch in trees, a wolf peers from the woods, and a fire burns in a wigwam.

The other exhibits in the museum are a combination of current and historical displays. Many are interactive, something that will please and entertain your grandchild. Local artists and artisans are often found working in the brightly lit front of the museum. These individuals are happy to explain what they are doing, and sometimes visitors can even try their hand at a craft.

Before leaving, take your grandchild next door to the trading post. You will find a variety of crafts and souvenir items, ranging from trinkets to exquisite, handmade moccasins and baskets. Hand-harvested wild rice is often available too.

An excellent introduction to the Ojibwe people, the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post provides us with an opportunity to teach our grandchildren about a proud, diverse culture. This is one chance that we shouldn’t pass up.

Bonding and bridging:

Ask your grandchild what American Indians are like, and he’s likely to tell you that they live in tepees, wear feathers in their hair and shoot arrows at people. Where does he get these crazy ideas? From television and movies, of course!

A trip to the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post is about more than introducing your grandchild to another culture. It’s about teaching him the negative aspects of stereotyping. He assumes that American Indians were (and perhaps still are) violent and scary. Of course, this was never the case for the Ojibwe Indians. Talk with him about stereotypes and how they can harm others. Would he like it if people judged him without getting to know him first? This conversation will help to create in him an awareness of other people and their feelings, and he’ll become a much better person for it.

A word to the wise:

Mille Lacs Kathio State Park north of Onamia is a wonderful place to see the land of the native cultures that thrived in this area. Its nineteen archaeological sites lead you from the early copper period to the time of the Dakota and the Ojibwe. This was a place of settlement long before the Europeans came. According to Ojibwe oral tradition, a three-day battle between the Dakota and Ojibwe was fought here, resulting in the Ojibwe taking possession of the region. Trails and interpretive materials help you discover these stories, and the state park is a wonderful place to hike and enjoy nature.

Age of grandchild: 7 and up

Best season: Summer

Contact: Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, 43411 Oodena Drive, Onamia, MN 56359 • (320) 532-3632 • millelacs@mnhs.org • http://sites.mnhs.org/historic-sites/mille-lacs-indian-museum

Also check out:

Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Portage; (218) 475-0123; www.nps.gov/grpo

Treaty Site Historic Center, St. Peter; (507) 934-2160; www.nchsmn.org

Our children grow up so fast. Maybe grandchildren are God’s way of giving us a second chance at participating in the miracle of life. UNKNOWN