Giiwedino-Manidoog Mural at Voyageurs National Park
Adorning the walls of the Rainy Lake Visitor Center is a vibrant three-panel mural depicting the extraordinary wildlife and scenery of Voyageurs National Park. The new artwork, Giiwedino-Manidoog / Spirits of the North, commissioned by the Conservancy, was created by Sam Zimmerman and illuminates the indigenous culture that has and continues to influence the park.
Giiwedino-Manidoog / Spirits of the North by Sam Zimmerman
In Summer 2022, Sam Zimmerman served as the Conservancy’s first Community Artist & Educator. In his week-long residency at Voyageurs, Zimmerman hosted a “Following My Spirit Home” book talk, shared Indigenous star knowledge at Dark Sky programs, and met with visitors and families at art pop-ups throughout the park.
Zimmerman, battling mosquitos and the park’s temperamental June weather, meticulously painted three large panels that would come together as a new mural to celebrate the park’s wild nature and cultural heritage. Visitors and community members stopped by the mural pop-ups with curiosity, as Zimmerman illustrated the breathtaking nature of the park in realtime.
The finished mural includes iconic park features including beaver, bear, moose, sturgeon, rocky shorelines, and a breathtaking starscape. Rich with symbolism, the painting features 16,866 stars for every day Voyageurs National Park has been open to the public.
“The story of this piece is to celebrate the beauty of the land, water and sky, the animal spirits of the park, while also serving as a reminder to visitors that the park sits on ancestral Anishinaabe and Ojibwe homes and indigenous culture was and is part of the story of the park,” says Zimmerman.
Sam Zimmerman, a Grand Portage direct descendant, is a painter, author, and educator based in Duluth, Minnesota. He passionately believes in artistic expression as a gateway for education and cultural understanding. His work continues the Anishinaabe tradition of storytelling, with themes of environmental stewardship and conservation. His work has been showcased in gallery and public installations throughout the nation and abroad.
Christina Hausman Rhode (left) and Sam Zimmerman (right)
“Voyageurs Conservancy was proud to partner with Sam Zimmerman on this project to celebrate and share Ojibwe art, stories, and community. Sam’s piece illuminates the beauty of the skies,waters, rocks, wildlife and stories of what is today Voyageurs National Park, lands that were inhabited by Indigenous peoples for over 10,000 years,” shared Christina Hausman Rhode, executive director of Voyageurs Conservancy.
Voyageurs Conservancy and the National Park Service thank Sam Zimmerman for using his artistic gift to share a more representative story of what is now Voyageurs National Park. Check Voyageurs.org for future locations and showings of the mural. If you’d like to view more of Zimmerman’s work, follow him online on Facebook and Instagram at @CraneSuperior.
NARRATIVE OF GIIWEDINO-MANIDOOG / SPIRITS OF THE NORTH BY SAM ZIMMERMAN / ZHAAWANOOGIIZHIK
With my first day in the park, being out sailing on the water - I was struck by the richness of the earth, and the life, spirit, and the power of the water. This piece is to celebrate the beauty of the land, water and sky, the animal spirits of the land, while also serving as a reminder to visitors that the park sits on ancestral Anishinaabe and Ojibwe homes. The Ojibwe constellations serve as this reminder as Ojibwe people have looked up at the stars for a millennium to tell stories. The Ojibwe culture and stories were and continue to be a part of the story of the Voyageur National Park.
Credit: Isaac Schwartz
OJIBWE LANGUAGE TRANSLATION BY MANDIOO MA’IINGAN
Weshkad imaa gii-niingaasimoonowaan nigii-maaminonendaan wiin iye epiichi-onizhishing iye aki, epiichi-bazhishigendaagok iye bimaadiziwin, naa ge epiichi-mashkaagamig iye sa nibi. Onjida go naa nigii-shizhoobii’aan owe ji-waabanda’amaan iye epiichi-maamakaadendaagokin iye aki, nibi, giizhik, naa go ge igiyeg aadizookaanag, miziwe bago eyaawaad. Boochi igo ji-mikwenda’indwaa igiyeg biiwideg imaa sa Anishinaabewaking bimi-ayaawag, memindage omaampii jiigibiig. Shke naa ge igiyeg moozhekanag, pane-ko gaa-onjiseg iye bimaadiziwin ogii-kanawaabamigowaan iniyen Anishinaaben. Mii imaa wezi-aadizookeng. Mii apane ingiyeg anishinaabeg ogii-tibaadodaan iye sa aki, biinish igo omaapii Gichi-onigaming.