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Ojibwe Shoulder Bag Activity Kit
The Ojibwe Shoulder Bag Kit provides hands-on learning about arts, culture, and history of Ojibwe sovereign nations.
Based on stories from the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, this kit can enrich your lessons on Native culture, wherever you live in the United States or beyond.
Much more than a simple coloring activity, the kit's project serves three main purposes:
- Introduce Ojibwe culture, history, and arts, both past and present
- Honor the story of the artist who created the bag's preprinted design
- Encourage artistic expression, particularly in the bag's blank spaces
Kit contents
- 30 Shoulder Bags
with pre-printed design by Ojibwe beadworker Cheryl Minnema - Laminated classroom placards
images of historic and contemporary Ojibwe bags - Teacher's Guide
with extension ideas and FAQs on Ojibwe culture
Grades 2-7.
Cost: Full kit: $130, 30 Bag Replacement: $80.
Volume discounts on 200+ bags through Amy Feole
Artist biographies
Cheryl Minnema, Waabaanakwadookwe (White Cloud Woman), is a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Her design and story are featured in the kit.
She grew up watching her grandmother, mother, and sisters as they beaded traditional dance outfits. Cheryl is now doing her part to keep traditions alive. She points out: “Now I’m in the position where I can start helping to pass on what I have learned. It means a lot to me, because it’s such a big part of our culture.”
Darren Moose, Sr., Ogemabenez (King Eagle), is a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. He wrote and recorded the flute music included in the Resource CD. He is also a visual artist who enjoys making dance regalia.
He expresses his philosophy in this way: “It’s not how many notes you play at any given time; it’s what you do with each note.”
Related resources
Books
- Anderson, Marcia. A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2017).
- Broker, Ignatia. Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative. (St. Paul, Borealis Books, 1983).
- Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House. (New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, 1999).
- Loew, Patty. Native People of Wisconsin. (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 2003).
- Minnema, Cheryl. Hungry Johnny. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2014).
- Minnema, Cheryl. Johnny’s Pheasant. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2019).
- Peacock, Thomas. Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa. (St. Paul, Minnesota Historical Press, 2009).
- Thomas Peacock and Marlene Wisuri, The Good Path: Ojibwe Learning and Activity Book for Kids. (Afton, MN: Afton Press, 2002).
- Treuer, Anton, Ed. Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales and Oral Histories (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001).
- Treuer, Anton. Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012).
Videos and websites
- The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
- The Ojibwe People's Dictionary
- Ojibwe Inaajimowin
- We Shall Remain. (Public Broadcasting System, 2008)
- Wasa-Inaabidaa: We Look in All Directions, (Duluth, MN: PBS Eight, WDSE-TV, 2002).
- Mille Lacs Indian Trading Post by Carissa Thomas, MNopedia
- The Ojibwe: Our Historical Role in Influencing Contemporary Minnesota, by Thomas Peacock, MNopedia