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.
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