Portage Lake: Memories of an Ojibwe Childhood

Maude Kegg is an elder of Mille Lacs reservation in Minnesota. A well known beadwork artist, she's also known as a cultural preserver. In 1970, she became Ojibwe language teacher to Nichols, then a linguistics graduate student at the University of Minnesota (who has recently completed editing an Ojibwe dictionary -- the first since that of Bishop Baraga in 1898). In this book, Maude tells many stories of her girlhood in th late 19th century. She grew up among traditional people who had almost no contact with white people. Though there are a few myths and legends here, these are stories she was told, and they are part of some daily event of her life. The stories are on facing pages in English and Ojibwe. Maude's stories are good and cast a new light on Ojibwe history, but in many respects this is a book for linguists and serious students of the Ojibew language. Reviewed by Paula Giese, from her web page.