Co-curators William Johnson, of the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, and Carla Sinopoli, of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, cut the ribbon to open the doors to the exhibition. April 19, 2019

On Friday, April 19, the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, hosted a celebration to mark the opening of Wiidanokiindiwag (They Work With Each Other), an exhibit featuring more than fifty Anishinaabek baskets, canoe models, rattles, photographs, and other items from the Great Lakes Region. Some of the pieces are more than 100 years old; others are contemporary works.

Co-curators William Johnson, of the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, and Carla Sinopoli, of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, were on hand to cut the ribbon and open the doors to the exhibition.

The exhibition’s title, Wiidanokiindiwag (They Work With Each Other), has two meanings: the first refers to the Anishinaabek basketmakers, who worked with each other and with native materials, including black ash, sweetgrass, elm and birch bark, and porcupine quills. The second meaning refers to the collaboration of the people of the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways and the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, who worked together to bring about this exhibition. The collaboration between the groups began many years ago, with efforts to implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Since then, hundreds of Anishinaabek ancestors and their burial belongings have been returned to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and many other Great Lakes Tribes.

Complementing this exhibition is an online catalog produced by the students of University of Michigan’s Museum Anthropology course (Antharch 497), titled Bkejwanong/Walpole Island, Ontario Collections at the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology. The course is taught by Lisa C. Young, a lecturer at the University of Michigan Department of Anthropology, who also helped organize the Ziibiwing exhibit.

Wiidanokiindiwag (They Work With Each Other) is on display until October 5.

Baskets being prepared for packing at the Research Museums Center in Ann Arbor. Each item was photographed, had its condition recorded, and was carefully packed for the journey to the Ziibiwing Center in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

Michael Galaty, director of UMMAA, is presented with a basket made by contemporary Anishinaabek artist Josh Homminga. From left to right: Willie Johnson, Ziibiwing curator; Shannon Martin, Ziibiwing director; Sarah Bedell, basketmaker; Josh Homminga, basketmaker; and Galaty.

Students, curators, staff and members of the community at the opening celebration of Wiidanokeendiwag (They Work With Each Other), an exhibit at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. April 19, 2019.

For several weeks before the exhibit opened, University of Michigan undergraduate student and UMMAA intern Molly Huisingh photographed the baskets and other objects and prepared them for their journey. Professor Lisa Young is to her left, in the background.