Crane Migration Series Note Card

The images in this series represent one of the seven stops along the migration journey of the Ojibwa people. The Ojibwa people were looking for their final destination where ‘the food grows on water’ (wild rice) and an island shaped like a turtle, which is generally believed to be Madeline Island in Lake Superior. Each of the stops is represented by a totem or clan: Waabizheshi/Marten, Ajijaak/Crane, Mooz/Moose, Ma'iingan/Wolf, Owaazisii/Catfish, Makwa/Bear, and the final stop with all the major clans. —Gordon Coons

Gordon is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe of Northern Wisconsin and a descendant of the Ottawa tribe in Michigan. Now living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Gordon is a self taught artist, creating and experimenting with a variety of media including linoleum block prints, paintings, pen and ink drawings, and creations in stone, wood, and assembled sculptures.  Although his artwork is more contemporary, each piece portrays a unique view of traditional Native stories or is a record or impression of Indigenous history in North America.