Grand Portage National Monument is proud to announce the opening of a new exhibit featuring brief biographies of seventeen Grand Portage Community Elders and examples of their craftwork produced as part of the monument's Cultural Demonstration program during 1968-2002. There will be an open house for the exhibit on Tuesday, October 4 from 5-7 p.m. at the Heritage Center.
The Elders Craftwork at Grand Portage exhibit is featured on the second floor of the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is a notebook containing information about Sharon Vogel, Rose Porter, Dora Kasames, Elizabeth Thibault, Rachel Hunter, Ellen Olson, John Flatte, Walter Caribou, Margaret Kozlowski, Martha Bushman, Emma Gagnon, Sophie Crawford, Jennie Hietala, Mary Dahl, Bertha LaPlante, Eleanor Olson, and Cecelia Hendrickson. The notebook also contains pages where family, friends, and visitors are encouraged to share their favorite memories or stories about the craftworkers.
The exhibit also features an extensive sampling of beadwork, including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, barrettes, and beaded moccasins and leather dresses. Additional craftwork on display includes canoe paddles carved by Walter Caribou, a painting by John Flatte, and birch bark baskets made by Rose Porter.
Items provided for display in the exhibit are on loan from several private collections of community residents and from the park's museum collection.
All are welcome to come and join us in the celebration of Elders Craftwork at Grand Portage National Monument. The Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center is open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. through mid-October, then Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. during the winter.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
