These extraordinary portraits of Ojibwe elders convey the warmth, the
kindness, the humor, and the ongoing endurance of our people. What a
thoughtful celebration!--Louise Erdrich
Spirit of the Ojibwe is an intimate gathering of oral biographies and
stunning color portraits of thirty-two Lac Courte Oreilles Indian elders
painted by artist Sara Balbin.
Their tribal history, told in story and image, is a compelling tale of
how one people courageously adapted and triumphed over cultural
oppression, broken government treaties, and the deliberate flooding of
their reservation by the Wisconsin-Minnesota Power & Light Company.
First settled in the Lac Courte Oreilles region of northwestern
Wisconsin in the 1740s, the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe is today one of
the most progressive native groups in the United States. This is a
people who still live close to nature's rhythms, and these stories
reveal their tribal history, traditions, migrations, spiritual
practices, and clan structure. The tribal elders are keepers of
knowledge and never stop teaching.
Sara Balbin is a Cuban-born visual artist who has for the past
thirty years painted portraits of Ojibwe elders from the Lac Courte
Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She operates
Dragonfly Studio in the township of Drummond, Wisconsin.
Thelma Nayquonabe is an Ojibwe and Tribal member of the Lac Courte
Oreilles Reservation. She is currently the Early Childhood Education
Program director and instructor at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe
Community College.
James R. Bailey was a reporter for News from Indian Country and
Ojibwe Akiing. For seven years, he was the development director of
WOJB, the Lac Courte Oreilles' 100,000-watt public radio station.
