Isle Royale National Park: Ojibwe, Edisen, and SS America

Isle Royale National Park:
Ojibwe, Edisen, and SS America

Reconnect with nature and learn stories of how people thrived in this wilderness. For a sneak preview of the area, you can watch the webcams to see what beauty awaits you. This is better than the post-apocalypse shows on Netflix where people need to learn to survive after losing power, cars, and the internet (gasp!).

Tomorrow, we will take a deep breathe and enjoy the Relaxation itinerary. These tables are handy to keep - a blister or torn muscle may convert your Cultural plans into Relaxation plans.
- Cris

Day 1: Arrival and Orientation at Rock Harbor

Rock Harbor Visitor Center

Take a seaplane onto the island and head to the Rock Harbor Visitor Center to check for important notices and weather predictions. For example, an alert went out in June 2024 of ‘increased wolf-human interactions.’ Yeah, that sounds important. It seems that the wolves have acquired a taste for human food and are breaking into food storage containers in the campgrounds. You are on an island. Your ability to leave the island is directly dependent on the weather. Is a storm coming? Leave now or be prepared to stay for a few more days. This is probably one of the most informative Visitor Centers to visit.

Visit the old cabins and ranger stations near Rock Harbor to get a sense of how people previously lived there. This park is beautiful due to isolation, which makes these cabins fascinating. How do you truly live ‘off grid?’ Come and check it out.

In the evening, join a storytelling session at Rock Harbor Lodge. Listen to a ranger-led campfire talk about shipwrecks, indigenous legends, and wolf-moose studies. For most of human history, we shared information through stories around the campfire. It’s surprising how natural it still feels.

Need music/games/recipes for Halloween?
Download them from here.

Day 2: Indigenous History

Ojibwe Tribe

Take a guided hike with a ranger to learn about the Ojibwe's cultural ties to the region. The Ojibwe tribe, also known as the Chippewa or Saulteaux, have historically lived in what's now southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. Known for their trademark birchbark canoes, copper mining, and maple syrup, they significantly shaped their region for several centuries. Like many tribes, they were robbed by forced treaties with the US. The lack of explicit permission to hunt and fish on their own land within the treaty of 1855 (a clause made clear in the previous treaties) is still affecting Ojibwe today, as they try to hunt and fish according to treaty laws while the state of Minnesota attempts to enforce state laws over the treaty rights. 

Motivation, Education, and True Stories

Goals: Is this why you learned to scuba dive?
Graphic Design: Live and Learn
True Story: Why do I suspect this really happened?

Day 3: Shipwrecks and a Fishery

Edisen Fishery

The Edisen Fishery is the most intact surviving example of a small, family-operated commercial fishery in continuous use in the park. It was in operation from 1910-1975 and represents a once common lifestyle on Lake Superior. This is not a story of well-run government management. When sport fishing threatened the isolation of the park, the government went through a series of ‘we don’t care how long you have lived here’ shady maneuvers with the Edisen family that were intended to push them out. The government was totally unprepared for the strength of pioneers who lived just fine without government and the couple lived and fished at this site until their death.

Shipwrecks

Lake Superior was a seriously dangerous place for the ships transporting copper and silver. There are 10 (!) shipwrecks at Isle Royale National Park. The discovery of silver in Silver Islet on the Canadian north shore initiated a rush to the area. Many shipwrecks occurred in a three-and-a-quarter-mile strait, and as early as 1872 it had been recognized as a very hazardous passage. Let your imagination run wild. How would your life change if you found silver in a shipwreck? Would this be better than Powerball? Dive to see the SS America which never was really officially salvaged. Please note: there are warnings all over the place that this is not for beginners. No one is coming to save you if you get in over your head (ha!). Experienced divers only, please.

Day 4: Reflections and Departure

Suzy’s Cave

Hike a short distance to see Suzy’s Cave, named after a woman named Suzy Tooker, who summered as a child on the nearby Tooker Island owned by her father. The young Suzy often canoed over to Rock Harbor to play in the cave, formed by waves in an earlier era when Lake Superior levels were higher than they are today. Ponder how your life would be different if your father owned a private island. Make a note to buy a private island for your children (or your dog). Use the short walk back to figure out how to pay for it.

Tomorrow, we will explore the Relaxation appeal of Isle Royal National Park. We anticipate that it will be natural to relax here.

See you tomorrow.

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