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Grand Portage National Monument, located within the boreal forest on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota, preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage dating back to the 18th century.
The Grand Portage bypasses a set of waterfalls on Pigeon River a few miles from where it runs into Lake Superior. The Pigeon River was a waterway of enormous importance in pre-industrial times, as its headwaters meet the headwaters of the Rainy River some 50 miles upstream. The waterway thus crosses the Northern Continental divide that separates the drainage basins of the Arctic Ocean from that of the Atlantic Ocean. It provides passage between the waters of the Hudson Bay watershed and the Great Lakes, including their watershed.
History
As early as 2,000 years ago, Indian Nations probably used Kitchi Onigaming, or “the Great Carrying Place”, to travel from summer homes on Lake Superior to winter hunting grounds in the interior of Minnesota and Ontario. In 1729 Cree guide Auchagah drew a map for some of the first French fur traders showing them how to reach the "western sea" of Lake Winnipeg. In time, Grand Portage became the gateway into rich northern fur bearing country connecting remote interior outposts to lucrative international markets.
In mid-July 1802, partners of the most successful fur trade company in North America, the North West Company, met in their Great Hall at Grand Portage, Minnesota and voted to move their summer headquarters from the protected shores of Lake Superior’s Grand Portage Bay 50 miles north to the mouth of the Kaministquia River. Almost from the time the Anglo-Scot Nor’Westers had organized at Grand Portage in the mid 1780s an emerging United States wanted them out. The July vote would mean that 18 buildings constructed from native squared spruce, pine and birch and over 2,000 cedar pickets surrounding them would be torn down, transported north in company schooners and used in constructing the new Fort William far from U.S. soil.
Reopened in 1951 as Grand Portage National Historic Site, designated a National Monument in 1958, its nearly 710 acres lying entirely within the boundaries of Grand Portage Ojibwe Indian Reservation, the reconstructed depot celebrates fur trade and Ojibwe lifeways. It was subsequently added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
Attractions and events
The portage trail exists in much the same location and condition today, and visitors can hike 8.5 miles from Lake Superior to the Pigeon River. Volunteers and park staff dress in period attire and explain and interpret what life was like at the turn of the 19th century. Every August, Grand Portage National Monument hosts a rendezvous re-enactment and pow wow.
See also
- Grand Portage, Minnesota
- Grand Portage State Park, Minnesota
- the Voyageurs
- Isle Royale National Park
Source
National Monuments of the United States | Portages | Registered Historic Places in Minnesota
"Grand Portage National Monument"