Wigwam gives window to local history

The Chippewa Nature Center played host to visitors on Feb. 1 for a Wigwam in the

Winter, hosted by Kyle Bagnall, a welcoming conversation of what Native American life was

like in the region.


The first incarnation of the wigwam was built in 1998. The structure is made from cedar

bark and tamarack poles bent into a frame. Materials were gathered and constructed over the

period of two days by Native American cultural expert Jim Miller.


Two years after its construction, Dennis Miller, Director of Interpretation, and Bagnall,

Manager of Historical Programs, decided the wigwam should be utilized more than the

occasional event.


“We should just have one of sitting out there.” Bagnall said. “Create a nice opportunity

for people to drop by and have an interpreter there to talk and show items from the collection.”


Since then, the Wigwam has been used multiple times a year, correlating to the season to

show how people and nature are interrelated. Through the two hour winter session, Bagnall

showed various Native American tools and talked about the process of making everyday items.


A large focus of the event was on the creation of clothing from furs. In the winter season,

animals have thicker fur that is desirable for clothing. Bagnall broke down the process of treating

the furs correctly in a process that involved tanning it with the animals brain, followed by

smoking the furs or skin to waterproof it.


Skins that were not treated dried out and turned into rawhide. Chippewas used rawhide to

make straps that could be used for the webbing of a snowshoe among other uses for the string

substitute.


A Pinconning middle school student, Melissa, came to the event to learn more about

Sacagawea for a biography fair. When asked by her mother if she wanted to live in a wigwam,

Melissa replied with a resounding “no” while chuckling but did comment that she found it

interesting for a first hand look at how people lived in that era.


The next event that the wigwam will be a part of is Maple Syrup Day on March 22 from

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.


The Chippewa Nature Center will display how maple syrup is made at their Log

Sugarhouse, give tours through the sugar bush and talk about it’s history from settles to the

Native Americans who used the sugar as a food source in the spring.


For more information, contact Kyle Bagnall at kbagnall@chippewanaturecenter.org.