By Cory Quirk for Boreal Community Media - Thursday, March 7, 2024

On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, Staci Lola Drouillard presented Chippewa City: Home and the History of Small Places to an audience at the Grand Marais Public Library. She shared background and stories from the research process for her book Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe, opening a discussion with audience questions at the end. 

For further reading, and to encourage learning and continuing conversations, Drouillard recommended authors such as Timothy Cochrane, Linda LeGarde Grover, and Travis Novitsky. Novitsky’s 2023 book Spirits Dancing: The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, and Living Connections to the Cosmos was Drury Lane’s #1 selling book of last year, while Drouillard tied herself for #2 with Walking the Old Road and her 2022 book Seven Aunts.

Drouillard noted that with Walking the Old Road’s December 2019 release date and the pandemic, she hasn’t had many chances to present her findings in person until now.

Staci has two more author talks scheduled along the North Shore this month: 

• Silver Bay Public Library on Friday, March 8 at 2 pm

• Two Harbors Public Library on Thursday, March 14 at 5 pm

Drouillard shows a photo of an Anishinaabe marker tree and discussed maple syrup season

“New stories are created, shared and reclaimed every day. It’s up to all of us to listen, and to honor these small places by remembering.”

To learn more about Staci Drouillard, visit: https://mnwritersdirectory.org/drouillard-staci/

The Grand Marais Public Library hosts many presentations (including one with local photographer Bryan Hansel next week), Friday Night Reels, and more. For a full list of March events visit their website here.