Susan Johnston/Ozhaawashkodwekwe: An Indigenous Woman in the North Country

In honor of Women's History Month, this week's guest Emily Macgillivray (The Outdoors Historian) joins the podcast to share the story of  Ozhaawashkodwekwe, also known as Susan Johnston, an Ojibwe woman born in the Chequamegon Bay region of Lake Superior (Wisconsin), married to an Irish fur trader and a leader of her tribal clan in Bawating (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) where she owned a large sugar bush on nearby Sugar Island in the St. Mary's River. Maple Sugar was an important food source and commodity for the indigenous people of the Great Lakes. It was an important part of the diet in the early Spring before other food was available. It was used for food preservation, similar to salt, and could be bartered for other food, exchanged for trade goods, and more. Emily also touches a bit on the indigenous experience in the fur trade and also the importance of re-learning indigenous history in the 21st century as compared to how it was traditionally taught in the past in both Canada and the United States.Emily Macgillivray is a historian and writer who lives in the Chequamegon Bay area of northwestern Wisconsin. She has worked as an educator focusing on histories of the Great Lakes, United States, and Canada, fo over fifteen years. She received her PhD from the University of Michigan and was an assistant professor at Northland College, where she also taught field courses focused on the Lake Superior watershed. She has also worked in both large and small museums focusing on Indigenous and Black historys. Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, Emily has also lived and worked in Kingston, Ontario, Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. She currently works in land use development for her municipal government. In her free time she combines her love of the outdoors and history in her wrting on Substack as The Outdoors Historian.You can follow Emily on Substack at substack.com/@theoutdoorshistorianCheck out Emily's website at theoutdoorshistorian.comTo leave a comment, send me a text here.Support the show