PHOTO COURTESY OF USDA FOREST SERVICE
The 152-year-old Point Iroquois Lighthouse on the shore of Lake Superior entered new management under the Bay Mills Indian Community on June 15, 2022. Under the agreement reached with the Hiawatha National Forest, the Bay Mills Indian Community will operate both the lighthouse and museum to help share the history of the area and Anishinaabe people.
“The area surrounding Point Iroquois Lighthouse has cultural and historical significance to the Anishinaabe,” says Kari Thompson, Hiawatha’s East Zone Recreation program manager. “This collaboration means the Bay Mills Indian Community can tell its story and share Anishinaabe history, cultural information and artifacts at the lighthouse.”
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the lighthouse and museum attract around 40,000 visitors annually to view the space and learn about the area’s history.
“The hope for Bay Mills’ partnership with the U.S. Forest Service in managing Point Iroquois Lighthouse is to create an inclusive and welcoming space which allows for visitors to learn of the connections of the past to our people’s present and the importance of the connection between the land, our community, and Anishinaabe culture,” says Museum Director Candice LeBlanc. “The vision is to create and build a place of learning, connection and appreciation for Anishinaabe people and Bay Mills Indian Community.”
To learn more, visit fs.usda.gov/hiawatha.
