Portage Lake

Memories of an Ojibwe Childhood

1993
Author:

Maude Kegg
John D. Nichols, editor

In this volume, Minnesota Anishinaabe elder Maude Kegg of the Mille Lacs Reservation reminisces about her childhood. Building birchbark and reedmat wigwams, boiling maple sap into syrup and harvesting turtles and wild rice are related in lyric detail. Dictated to John D. Nichols in Kegg’s native language, these compelling stories of traditional Ojibwe life appear in English translation on facing pages with the original Ojibwe text in a standardized orthography.

In this volume, Minnesota Anishinaabe elder Maude Kegg of the Mille Lacs Reservation reminisces about her childhood. Building birchbark and reedmat wigwams, boiling maple sap into syrup and harvesting turtles and wild rice are related in lyric detail. Dictated to John D. Nichols in Kegg’s native language, these compelling stories of traditional Ojibwe life appear in English translation on facing pages with the original Ojibwe text in a standardized orthography.

“As an aid to students of the Ojibwe language this fine book allows a reader to enjoy the stories and to study the words in their Ojibwe translations. Highly recommended for students and speakers of the Ojibwe dialects.” Turtle Quarterly

In this volume, Minnesota Anishinaabe elder Maude Kegg of the Mille Lacs Reservation reminisces about her childhood. Building birchbark and reedmat wigwams, boiling maple sap into syrup and harvesting turtles and wild rice are related in lyric detail. Dictated to John D. Nichols in Kegg's native language, these compelling stories of traditional Ojibwe life appear in English translation on facing pages with the original Ojibwe text in a standardized orthography.

"As an aid to students of the Ojibwe language this fine book allows a reader to enjoy the stories and to study the words in their Ojibwe translations. Highly recommended for students and speakers of the Ojibwe dialects." Turtle Quarterly

"Arranged by season, the stories tell of Kegg's upbringing near the present day location of the Mille Lacs Reservation in central Minnesota. Born in 1904, Kegg was raised by her maternal grandmother. They followed seasonal subsistence living, selling berries, fish, and maple sugar in exchange for staples; gathering wild rice; trapping; and gardening. Many of the stories describe a mischievous child who sneaks pinches of snuff, eats wild green wild rice until she bloats, and wanders off on snow shoes." American Indian Libraries Newsletter

Maude Kegg is a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa of Minnesota and was for many years an interpretive guide at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum of the Minnesota Historical Society. She recently received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

John D. Nichols has been a student of Maude Kegg’s for twenty years and is professor of Native studies and linguistics at the University of Manitoba. He is editor of Algonquian and Iroquian Linguistics.

“As an aid to students of the Ojibwe language this fine book allows a reader to enjoy the stories and to study the words in their Ojibwe translations. Highly recommended for students and speakers of the Ojibwe dialects.” Turtle Quarterly

“Arranged by season, the stories tell of Kegg’s upbringing near the present day location of the Mille Lacs Reservation in central Minnesota. Born in 1904, Kegg was raised by her maternal grandmother. They followed seasonal subsistence living, selling berries, fish, and maple sugar in exchange for staples; gathering wild rice; trapping; and gardening. Many of the stories describe a mischievous child who sneaks pinches of snuff, eats wild green wild rice until she bloats, and wanders off on snow shoes.” American Indian Libraries Newsletter