Yesterday after I visited the MNHS roadside historical marker on the Sandy Lake Tragedy (blogged here), I drove about a mile north on Hwy 65 to the town of Libby, MN and the entrance to the Sandy Lake Recreation Area. Near the dam is the Mikwendaagoziwag Memorial, constructed by Ojibwe Tribes in 2001, commemorating the Sandy Lake Tragedy (‘Wisconsin Death March”).
The sign below the memorial (right photo) reads:
The Memorial on this glacial mound remembers about 400 Ojibwe Indians who died and thousands of others who suffered during what is known as the Sandy Lake Tragedy. Constructed by Ojibwe Tribes from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, the Memorial was completed in 2001. It is a sacred remembrance of the many sufferings endured to preserve the Ojibwe’s homelands and way of life.
Mikwendaagoziwag means “we remember them” in the Ojibwe language. At least 400 grandfather stones are embedded in the Memorial to represent those who died.
The tragedy unfolded when U.S. government officials attempted to illegally relocate a number of Ojibwe Bands from their homes in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan to northern Minnesota. In late autumn of 1850, thousands of Ojibwes had assembled at Sandy Lake for their annual treaty annuity payments. As the Ojibwe waited nearly six weeks for the payments, they suffered from illness, hunger and exposure. Many died from dysentery and measles. The promised annuities were never fully paid and, after the last of the meager provisions were distributed on December 2, the Ojibwes began an arduous journey home. Harsh winter conditions had already set in, and many more died along the way.
The outer circle of plaques on the Memorial commemorates the 19 Ojibwe Bands whose treaty annuities were to be paid at Sandy Lake in 1850. Today, these 19 Bands are succeeded by the 12 federally-recognized Ojibwe Tribes who built this Memorial and are commemorated by the inner circle of plaques.
