According to Anishinaabe-Ojibwe tradition, Mackinac Island is a sacred place populated by the first people and was home to the Great Spirit Gitchie Manitou. Mackinac Island, by virtue of its location in the center of the Great Lakes waterway, became a tribal gathering place where offerings were made to Gitchie Manitou and where tribes buried their chiefs to honor the Great Spirit. Native Americans traveling the Straits region likened the shape of the island to that of a turtle’s back and named it Michilimackinac, Land of the Great Turtle.
Celebrations to honor the Great Spirit took place on Mackinac Island each spring along with rest and relaxation on after the long northern winter. Hunters and accomplished anglers would meet, trade and rejoin their families while elders would discuss tribal affairs. Once the Europeans came, these early visitors believed Gitchie Manitou fled the Island to dwell in the Northern Lights.
Mackinac’s location and rich fish population also drew French traders and Jesuit missionaries. In the 1670s, the first Europeans visited Mackinac. Father Claude Dablon wished to establish a mission on Mackinac Island and encouraged Father Jacques Marquette to move his congregation to the island. Eager to escape the dangers from the Huron and Sioux conflict, Father Marquette agreed and moved his displaced band of Huron followers to the island in 1671.
http://www.mackinacisland.org
Off to Traverse City, MI in the morning to spend 2 days w/Joe's Grandpa Art...he has no internet, so we won't be back online til July 4th when we get to Chicago, IL.
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