Story warms a cool January night at Bois Forte Heritage

By Staff – January 31, 2025

On a cold yet beautiful Friday evening on January 10th, attendees gathered at the Bois Forte Heritage Center with Ojibwe Storyteller Char Lewis at 5:00 p.m.

After an initial meet and greet with treats in the lobby, everyone moved into the center of the museum space under the lighted star ceiling in a circle for story time. Char shared the story of how the Mukwa (Bear in Anishinabemowin), used to have a long tail and how he lost it. Mukwa was being mean to Anishinabeg (the People) so Nanaboozhoo, a main Ojibwe folk hero and demigod, grabbed him by the tail and threw Mukwa into the sky and his tail fell off. Thus, Mukwa has a short tail ever since.

Morgan Olson, Bois Forte Tribal Archivist, has displayed other stories as part of a series called Ojibwe Winter Stories.  The three on display right now are: “How the Ojibwe Got Maple Sugar,” “The Magic Pots,” and “Nanaboozhoo Made a House for Turtle.”

To view these, the museum is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located at 1500 Bois Forte Road, Tower, MN 55790, just down the road from Fortune Bay Resort Casino.

PHOTO: Storytelling time at the Bois Forte Heritage Center.