Encounter the Spirit of the U.P. Through Its Rich Native American Heritage

Native Americans have lived in the forests and along the shores of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for thousands of years. Archaeological digs reveal clues to their ancient past, including copper mining in the Keweenaw Peninsula over 7,000 years ago. Stone hammers, wooden tools and hand-dug mines tell part of the story, though where and how they traded copper remains a mystery.

More is known about the Anishinaabe — meaning “Original People” — who migrated from west to east across North America to the Great Lakes. Today, they are known as the Ojibwa/Chippewa, Ottawa and Potawatomi. Their deep respect for the land and water still shapes the U.P. For centuries, they lived a subsistence lifestyle — farming, hunting, fishing and moving with the seasons. While their language, faith and traditions have evolved since Europeans arrived in the 1600s, the spirit of the First People endures.

You may be Anishinaabe, curious about the U.P.’s First People, passionate about real history or on a quest for something deeper. Whatever brings you here, these are powerful ways to connect with the Spirit still present today.

Meet Our Tribal Communities

Today, the federal government recognizes five Native American communities in the Upper Peninsula.

Bay Mills Indian Community of Anishinaabe Indians
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Hannahville Indian Community of Potawatomi Indians

Come to the powwows — where Grand Entries ignite your soul, drums and songs draw you in and dances echo the heartbeat of the Earth. Walk historic trails, visit museums and cultural centers and honor sacred places. Then take a piece of the experience home — support Native artists by purchasing handmade jewelry, clothing and crafts from their shops. You will find places to visit below.

Enriching Things to Do

Add Vibrant Powwows to Your Travel Plans

One of the best ways to immerse yourself in Native American culture is to attend one of the U.P. powwows held throughout the year. Taste tribal fry bread and listen to stories passed down from generations.

Memorial Day Saturday | Native American Festival | Museum of Ojibwa Culture, St. Ignace | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Drum dance, traditional food, sacred medicines, presentations and more

Early June | Niiwin Noodin Powwow | Manistique | celebrate the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indian heritage through music, art, crafts and dancing

Near the 4th of July | Baaweting Homecoming Powwow | Sault Ste. Marie | Sunrise ceremony, spiritual gathering, Grand Entries, drumming and dancing

Last Weekend of July | Annual Keweenaw Bay Maawanji-inding | Ojibwa Campground, Baraga | Magnificent drumming and dancing

Early August | Grand Island Powwow | Bay Furnace Campground, Munising |

Second Weekend of August | Heritage Festival | Fort de Buade Museum and the Museum of Ojibwa Culture, St. Ignace | Walking tours, historical fashion show, food and live music

Late August | Rendezvous at the Straits Powwow and Indigenous Art Show | Father Marquette National Memorial, St. Ignace | French voyager reenactment, encampment and Native American dancing and drumming ceremonies

November/December | Learning to Walk Together Powwow | Center for Native American Studies, Northern Michigan University, Marquette | Brings several Native American communities together for cultural exchanges, dances, crafts and art | Contact the Center for details

Explore the Anishinaabe’s Living History and Culture

Everywhere you go in the Upper Peninsula, the Anishinaabe story flows through the Great Lake waters and bubbling streams, the whispering pines, the darkest night skies, towering cliffs and thundering waterfalls. Trace their journey through time at the cultural centers, museums and historic sites that honor their living legacy.

Native American Museums and Cultural Centers

Marquette Mission Park & Museum of Ojibwa Culture | St. Ignace

This is the oldest documented archaeological site in Michigan and is where Father Jacques Marquette founded a mission in 1671 among Huron Indian refugees. The city-owned Museum of Ojibwa Culture shares how the Ojibwa and French cultures learned from each other.

Father Marquette National Memorial | St. Ignace

On a rise overlooking the Straits of Mackinac and the majestic Mackinac Bridge, the Father Marquette National Memorial tells about this 17th-century missionary-explorer and the meeting of French and Native American cultures deep in the North American wilderness. This is part of the National Parks system, so ask for a passport stamp when you visit. The memorial is closed for construction until July 2026.

The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum | Mackinac Island

A dynamic and interactive art experience, including a Kids Art Studio, introduces you to historic 18th-century maps, Native American decorative art, souvenir china and glassware, 18th and 19th-century black and white photography and contemporary art on loan from the Manoogian Collection.

Mackinac Island State Park and Fort Mackinac Historic Park | Mackinac Island

Follow the Native American Cultural History Trail along the motor vehicle-free M-185. Six turnouts with interpretive panels share the rich original people’s story from the earliest settlement through today. Find out more about the Anishinaabe’s island life in exhibits at Fort Mackinac.

Drummond Island Historical Museum | Drummond Island

One of the U.P.'s newest-constructed museums, this historical destination will captivate you with its artifacts from Native Americans, Finnish farmers and American settlers. Additional displays cover the British Fort Drummond, the lumber era, sporting camps and the island's rich fishing and boating history.

Baaweting Anishinaabe Interpretive Center and Resource Library | Sault Ste. Marie

Operated by the Sault Tribe, this center offers language preservation programs, traditional craft education and cultural exhibits from the Native American point of view. Before you visit, check if it is open. There are no set hours or days of operation.

The John Johnston House | Sault Ste. Marie

Irish fur trader John Johnston and his Ojibwa wife, Oshahguscodaywayquay, established their log home and business in 1793. They furnished their house with the aristocratic comforts John knew in Ireland and it became a favorite stop for dignitaries traveling through the region. But the Johnstons’ prosperity took a blow when the American Revolutionary War reached the Upper Peninsula. Visit the house to learn the fascinating turns in their family’s story.

Tower of History | Sault Ste. Marie

Take your vacation to new heights riding an express elevator 21 stories in the Tower of History. See the breathtaking view of the storied Sault Ste. Marie landscape. Inside, museum exhibits share the rich history of the region’s early missionaries, Native Americans and settlers.

A second museum, the River of History Museum, offers self-guided audio tours that lead you through galleries, where you can hear the intriguing stories of Native peoples, French fur traders and early pioneers who helped tame the St. Marys River.

Point Iroquois Lighthouse | Brimley

The name Point Iroquois references a history-altering battle that took place in 1662 between the Anishinaabe and an invading Iroquois war party. The Iroquois wanted to dominate the fur trade in the region, but the Ojibwa warriors valiantly halted their westward expansion.

Devos Art Museum | Marquette

The DeVos Art Museum, on the campus of Northern Michigan University, features local, national and international contemporary art. Its Indigenous Art and Craft collection consists of functional and decorative pieces made by Native American and Intuit peoples from North America and Canada.

Sand Point Lighthouse | Baraga

The Sand Point Lighthouse is on the west side of Keweenaw Bay at the Ojibwa Campground and Recreation Area. It is owned by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. They recently restored the keeper's dwelling to its original design. The lighthouse is not open for tours, but you can explore the grounds.

Menominee Range Historical Museum | Iron Mountain

The Menominee Range Historical Museum’s over 100 exhibits give you a window into life on the Menominee Iron Range from the latter part of the 19th century through the early years of the 20th century. Its dugout canoe, dating from between 1650 and 1756, was saved from the West Branch of the Sturgeon River near Foster City. It and a birch bark canoe made by the Menominee tribe living in Badwater in the early 1900s are highlights of the Native American artifacts. Take a close look at the Native American diorama, too.

Potawatomi Heritage Center | Hannahville

Potawatami Heritage Center is near the tribal community’s Woodland Gathering Grounds. You are welcome to visit and see its collection of artifacts.

Delta County Historical Museum | Escanaba

The Delta County Historical Museum is in Ludington Park near the Sand Point Lighthouse (yes, there are two Sand Point Lighthouses in the U.P.) The museum portrays the area’s history along the Big and Little Bays de Noc. Learn more about Native American culture, logging, shipping, the railroad industry, military history, surveying, sports, fishing, local business history and much more. It is open every day from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend.

Historic Sites

Visiting the actual places where the Anishinaabe continue to walk, fish, hunt and live on ancestral lands is deeply moving. Pause, feel their spirit and embrace their promise to protect the U.P. they love. Some historically significant sites to visit are:

Castle Rock | St. Ignace

One of the oldest lookout points in the U.P. with views of Mackinac Island, Lake Huron and St. Ignace.

Grand Island | Munising

This rustic island, surrounded by clear, emerald-green waters, was once an Ojibwa settlement. Archaeologists have uncovered Native American artifacts from as early as 1300 B.C. The original people have long used the fisheries around the island as a source of year-round food. Today, Echo Lake, the island’s largest inland lake, hosts bass, panfish and pike, while Murray Bay is renowned for its perch, pike, walleye and rock bass. Trout Bay offers lake trout and coho salmon. The Grand Island Ferry Service also offers guided bus tours to give you deeper insights into the history and tribal sacred grounds on the island.

Isle Royale National Park | Rock Harbor

If your adventurous spirit craves breaking free, spend time at Isle Royale National Park. One of the most remote U.S. parks, this rugged archipelago wilderness is in Lake Superior, 53 miles north of Copper Harbor and 20 miles east of Grand Portage, Minnesota. Few people go there, but many of those who do return.

The Anishinaabe call this isle, Minong, which translates to either the Good Place or the Blueberry Place. It is the site of the Minong Copper Mining District, a National Historic Landmark that recognizes the prehistoric Indigenous miners and others who followed centuries later.

Today, the tribe’s Grand Portage Band continues its cultural practices of hunting, trapping, maple sugaring, fishing, plant and berry gathering and spiritual renewal on the Isle. The Band also believes that the waters off Minong are the home of Mishepeshu, the underwater lynx. They believe the lynx is an important and potentially dangerous spirit or manitou.

Bishop Baraga Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest | L'Anse

A beloved pioneer on the Keweenaw Peninsula, he ministered to the Native Americans throughout the region.

Assinins | Bishop Baraga Mission and Orphanage | Baraga

Bishop Baraga founded this present-day ghost town in 1843. Chief Edward Assinins was one of the first Ojibwa baptised at the site and he invited the bishop to establish a mission there. The missionaries built the Old St. Joseph Orphanage and School, which housed Native American and European-descent children. Today, this town has some of the oldest still-standing buildings in the area, including a one-room school, barn and church. Please be respectful of the few residents living in the area.

Lac Vieux Desert | Ottawa National Forest | Watersmeet

The Lac Vieux Desert, the headwaters of the Wisconsin River, spreads across the Michigan and Wisconsin borderlands. Its history intertwines with the Chippewa, who still live and work in the area. For centuries, they have fished these waters, which they explained to French explorers were the “Lake of the Old Clearing” or “Old Garden.” Today, it continues to be a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy fishing, boating, camping and being surrounded by nature’s serenity. Close by is the Chippewa-owned and run Northern Waters Casino Resort, offering gaming entertainment and relaxation.

Sylvania Wilderness | Ottawa National Forest | Watersmeet

This 18,327-acre wilderness in the Ottawa National Forest hugs the Wisconsin/Michigan border, just seven miles west of Watersmeet and 39 miles east of Ironwood. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service, it’s part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Here, you can stand among virgin trees over 400 years old, splash in clear lakes and watch wildlife roam free. One visit, and you’ll want to return every season.

Since 600 A.D., the Ojibwa people lived off this land, calling it “katikitigon,” or “old planting ground.” In the late 1800s, timber companies cleared much of Michigan’s forests, but this swath was spared. In 1895, lumberman A.D. Johnson bought 80 acres here to log but changed his mind after seeing its untouched beauty. He protected it instead — and the Spirit of the Ojibwa still rejoices every day.

Kitch-iti-kipi “The Big Spring” | Palms Book State Park, 15 minutes north of Manistique

This mystical spring’s ever-bubbling, clear, teal-colored water has mesmerizing powers. The Ojibwa discovered it centuries ago and nicknamed it the “Mirror of Heaven.” The reflection of the surrounding forests and looking down into the ethereal depths from a self-propelled raft will make you one with the sky and water. Despite its chilly temperatures, Kitch-iti-kipi rarely freezes even in the U.P.’s snowiest winters, adding to its mystique and wonder.

Additional Stops

World’s Tallest Indian | Ironwood

The Hiawatha Statue (circa 1964) is named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem, “Song of Hiawatha.” It towers 52 feet tall, a few blocks from downtown. Made entirely of fiberglass, it is one of the very few surviving road art statues that once could be seen all over the United States.

Nee-Gaw-Nee-Gaw-Bow Carving | Wakefield

Nee-Gaw-Nee-Gaw-Bow means Leading Man in the Chippewa language. The carving is a tribute to the Chippewa people and is the 59th statue in Peter “Wolf” Toth’s “Trail of Whispering Giants.” The famous artist donated a different Native American carving to each of the 50 states and Canada. Look for it on the lakeside pier next to the Wakefield Visitor’s Center.

Sacred Places and Burial Grounds

The spiritual places and burial grounds listed below are some of the sacred places of the Anishinaabe. Please be respectful, honor signs, walk silently and listen to the wind. Allow these lands and water to renew your spirit and strengthen your inner being.

Gros Cap Cemetery is just a few miles west of St. Ignace on US Highway 2. It is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in the nation and is well worth pulling off the highway to walk reverently through this serene site. A large group of Ottawa and Chippewa settled and traded in the area in the 1600s and established a burial ground, which is now part of this century. Over the centuries, Native Americans and European settlers have been laid to rest here, including some who are believed to have died in a nearby massacre. The headstones range from simple crosses to modern granite markers.

Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery is approximately a half mile north of Fort Mackinac near Skull Cave. It is the burial site of Native Americans who lived on the island and dates to the mid-1820s. The site of an earlier military post cemetery is still elusive to historians.

Bay Mills Old Indian Burial Ground in northern Chippewa County is not open to the public. However, you can stand along the fence to see the spirit houses and a sign with the Ojibwa legend of the white pine tree. The weathered, wooden spirit houses are over many of the graves. They are two feet tall and cover the length and width of the graves. Each has a round hole that allows the deceased spirit to escape. The Ojibwa family and friends would place food offerings, tools and items of significance to the deceased on a small shelf inside. This is not a place of seeing history, it is a place of feeling its ever-living presence.

Pinery Cemetery, a few miles northeast of L’Anse, has been a Native American burial ground since the 1600s. Spirit houses mark several of the graves and American flags honor Native American veterans.

High Rock Bay is about as close to Keweenaw Point, the absolute northernmost tip of the mainland Upper Peninsula, as you can get. It’s not easy to get to, but if you have a high clearance vehicle, let your inner explorer rip loose. But take this drive slowly. The Indigenous people in the U.P. believe the 20-foot-tall red cliffs rising from Lake Superior’s shore held spiritual significance for the earliest people who lived in the U.P. They still do.

Pentoga Park Indian Burial Grounds are at the edge of a campground along the Brule River Trail near Iron River. The park is built on the former site of an Ojibwa village and their heritage can be seen everywhere. It offers a paved ramp for watercraft access to Lake Chicagon where you can fish and paddle.

Menominee Sacred Grounds and archaeological site is along three miles of the Menominee River. It is a rare, prehistoric find with hundreds of ancient burial mounds, some visible from the road. There are also sacred dance circles and extremely rare raised garden beds, which may date back to 250 AD. This was the ancestral home of the Menominee and the mouth of the river is the location of the creation of the Menominee tribe. It is where the Creator transformed the bear, a supernatural being who came from the underground as the first Menominee human being. Other tribal people lived, fished and harvested wild rice in the area. We are grateful that after lumbering the area, settlers did not plow it into farmland and destroy the burial grounds.

Native American Shops

During your visit, please support the shopkeepers and the artists they feature.

Totem Village | St. Ignace

Totem Village, along US Highway 2, offers a treasure trove of authentic Native American and other indigenous people’s cultural items, antique tools, herbal teas, jewelry and hand-forged items for a local blacksmith.

Museum of Ojibwa Culture & Gift Shop | St. Ignace

The gift shop at the Museum of Ojibwa Culture offers the region's largest selection of handcrafted Native American art and crafts. Shop for sculpture, paintings, jewelry, beadwork, pottery, baskets, moccasins, educational resources and more.

Gitche Gumee Handcrafted Jewelry | Newberry

You will be enthralled by the Lake Superior agate pendants and jewelry handcrafted by Gitche Gumee’s owner and artist, Gina Harman, originally from Escanaba. She also features her daughter’s rose paintings.

Noc Bay Trading Company | Escanaba

The Noc Bay Trading Company is an online source for quality Native American Indian crafts, craft supplies and craft kits. It focuses on beads and beading supplies, jewelry making findings and tools, materials for powwow dance clothing and musical instruments. They also have a store with some items on display at 1133 Washington Ave., Escanaba.

Recreation & Gaming Fun Spots

Several routes invite you to experience the ancestral trails still honored and traveled by the Anishinaabe people. These are some of the oldest and best outdoor recreational opportunities in the U.P. You can also support the local tribal communities at their gaming, golf and entertainment casinos and resorts throughout the U.P. Have fun!

Ancient Tails

Bay de Noc Grand Island Trail | Rapid River to Munising

This 40-mile trail parallels the White River and roughly follows the ancient portage route of the Chippewa between Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. It is a multi-use trail open to hikers, backpackers and horses. It offers amazing river bluff views with level and hilly stretches through jack and red pine, aspen, maple, paper birch and beech forest. There are areas suited for camping and tethering horses along the way. While water is available at the parking areas, please carry drinking water or plan to boil it or disinfect it with Halazone.

Hiawatha Water Trail | Big Bay to Grand Marais

This 120-mile water trail is an explorer’s dream, tracing the southern shore of Lake Superior from Big Bay to Grand Marais. As you paddle the same route once traveled by Native Americans and early European voyagers, you’ll pass the magnificent Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Grand Island National Recreation Area and stretches of the Hiawatha National Forest. Along the way, connect with the region’s rich past through historic lighthouses, visible shipwrecks beneath the clear waters, breathtaking scenery and welcoming coastal towns.

10 Native American-Owned Gaming Destinations, Resorts & Golf Courses

The Upper Peninsula Native American tribal communities invite you to try your luck at their casinos, play on some of the best golf courses, enjoy top regional and national entertainment and delicious food at their resorts. Here’s a list of all 10 gaming destinations and quick descriptions of some of the most popular:

Kewadin Casinos | St. Ignace | Hotel, entertainment, deli and first-class restaurant
Kewadin Casinos | Sault Ste. Marie | Hotel, DreamCatchers Theater, deli and breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant
Bay Mills Resort & Casino | Brimley | RV facility, restaurants and Wild Bluff Golf Course
Ojibwa Casino | Baraga | Deluxe hotel rooms, indoor pool, restaurant, live music and dance floor
Northern Waters Casino Resort | Watersmeet | Hotel, golf course, special events and shows
Island Resort & Casino | Harris | Over 300 guest rooms, luxurious spa, multiple dining options, two championship golf courses and an RV park

We hope you will accept the Anishinaabe’s invitation to visit the Upper Peninsula and become a steward of their Spirit’s enduring story.