Real Photo Postcard 1936 Indian Home Ojibwe Wigwam Mille Lacs Minnesota

Blog post by Mary Katherine May

Here is a real photo postcard I found with the caption Indian Home Mille Lacs Lake, Minn.  It's a little dark because of the shadows from trees when taken and probably some from age. 

The photo is of a dome-shaped Ojibwe wigwam with cattail mat sides and roof of overlapping animal hides. Scene includes two children and seated woman. A cook stove is situated to the right.

Ojibwe Wigwam, Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
Real Photo Postcard dated July 4, 1936.

 

EKKP Stamp Box and Written Date

   Very helpful for the collector and historian is the date penciled on the back: July 4, 1936.  This is verified by the EKKP stamp box that was in use 1904 to 1950.

     Mille Lacs Lake has been a popular northern Minnesota vacation spot where people enjoy outdoor sports as well as activities at Grand Casino Mille Lacs owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. For those who don't go for the gaming there are concerts and a fabulous buffet.

     The Ojibwe have lived in the area around Mille Lacs Lake since at least the mid-1700s. Because of settlers wanting the land and the introduction of infectious diseases by the end of the nineteenth-century only a few hundred Ojibwe remained in the area. 

     During the 1930s Mille Lacs Band children were sent to boarding schools with the government’s intent being assimilation into mainstream American society. To that end the children were not allowed to speak their Ojibwe language. 

     In 1934 with passing of the Indian Reorganization Act that recognized the Indians’ right to self-government, six Ojibwe bands, including the Mille Lacs Band, joined together to form the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. In the early 1990s, the Band opened Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley. Since then, casino revenues have allowed the Mille Lacs Band to strengthen its cultural identity, return to economic self-sufficiency, rebuild its reservation, and increase the prosperity of the entire region. (Sources: MilleLacsBand.com; Wikipedia.org.)

Rick and Mary May operate the webstore QualityMusicandBooks.com and on Etsy, GrandmaHen's Treasure Shop.