Today, we're talking about red pine forests, blueberries, treaty rights, and how they all converge around fire on a tiny split of land jutting out into Lake Superior - Minnesota and Wisconsin Points. Melonee Montano tells us about the importance of cultural fire for the Anishinaabe people and Evan Larson takes us on a walk in the woods to decipher the stories left by elder trees. Wildland firefighter Damon Panek shares his vision for collaboratively restoring fire to Wisconsin and Minnesota points, an end goal of the Nimaawanji’idimin giiwitaashkodeng: We are all gathering around the fire project, funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant. 

Special thanks to our guests:

Melonee Montano, University of Minnesota

Evan Larson, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Damon Panek, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Mocha, Valerie, Ashla, Emily, Project research team

Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Links:

Listen to the Wisconsin Water News episode The Stories Trees Tell

Read more about this project

Cultural fire returns to Stockton Island

Native fire management returns to Apostle Islands

Ojibwe history on Wisconsin Point is complicated, painful, beautiful

Wisconsin Point Restoration Site