We are doing a walking tour of LaPointe, the only settlement on the Apostle Islands. Madeline Island is not part of the National Lakeshore and is home to about 400 year round residents. The ferry ride from Bayfield is only 20 minutes. In the winter when the lakeshore freezes, the ferry is able to continue operating by breaking ice to some extent to keep the channel open. Eventually it freezes over and the route to La Pointe becomes an ice road. Vehicles can cross the ice road which is delineated by a border made up of used Christmas trees. A vehicle called a wind sled which looks like an Everglades Airboat, takes passengers back and forth. There is only a short period of time when the crossing can not be made during the transition from water to ice and vice versa. That is usually just a day or two.
St Joseph Catholic Church was first established by French traders in 1669. There was a substantial church built in 1838 which stood until 1901. The current structure was built in 1902.
We walked to the Capser Trail which is less than a mile from the ferry dock. The trail crosses a large wetland which was created by a miles long beaver dam. When the dam was destroyed, this wetland was created. At this overlook we spotted a Northern harrier flying overhead.
There is a legend involving another local bird, the Gold breasted woodpecker that led the Ojibwe Indians to Madeline Island. That one baffled me until I realized it was a Northern flicker they were referring to. They were all over.
We meandered on several roads, making our way to the marina and the "Indian Cemetery". Local businesses gave the cemetery that name thinking that it would be a touristy thing. There are some natives buried here but lots of early white settlers lay here as well.
The iron fence is adorned with trinkets as is the local native custom. A sign asks us to not enter the cemetery, although it is easy to walk around the fence. We did not enter it.
The most fascinating feature of this cemetery are the grave houses. We're told that natives who converted to Christianity followed a custom of building a small house over their graves. This was to shelter their soul and prepare for the journey to the afterlife. Often food and other offerings were placed in the houses. All had an opening so the soul could leave when ready. I read, some of these may be original grave houses.
Chief Buffalo is buried here. His grave can be seen on Find a Grave website. After seeing it there, I failed to locate it here. Some areas of the cemetery have vegetation which obscures graves. Chief Buffalo is a famous Ojibwe leader, He participated in a number of treaties in the early 19th century and was instrumental in establishing the Red Cliff area as a reservation. In 1852, the 93 year old chief made a trek to Washington DC to protest the Indian Removal Act which would displace his people. At first told that he could not meet with President Fillmore, the chief and his entourage went anyway and were granted a meeting. Supposedly, a peace pipe was smoked but more importantly, the removal order was rescinded and a permanent reservation was established. Fillmore stuck to the deal despite many efforts to ignore it.
Our short island visit ended with a bowl of white fish chowder. We enjoyed the local cuisine throughout this trip.
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