A Canoe’s Voyage: Margaret Blackbird Boyd’s Fight for Odawa Land Rights

This talk, with Eric Hemenway and Ally LaForge, explores the history of a significant Odawa birch bark canoe crafted by Margaret Blackbird Boyd, which has returned to Harbor Springs after nearly 150 years.

In 1876, Boyd crafted a three-foot long quilled birch bark model canoe as a gift for President Ulysses S. Grant. That year, Boyd traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for Odawa land rights. Along the journey, Boyd was forced to sell her quillwork, including the canoe, to finance her travels. Boyd nevertheless became one of the only Native women to have a one-on-one meeting with the president in the 1870s.

Learn about the canoe’s voyage and how historians and locals rediscovered it at Chicago’s Field Museum in 2024. The canoe will be on loan for the Gaawii Eta-Go Aawizinoo Gaawiye Mkakoons / It’s Not Just a Quill Box exhibit at the Harbor Springs History Museum through October 2025.

Registration is required for this event. To register (with or without a donation) visit the event link on this page or call 231-526-9771.

You may also like the following events from Harbor Springs Area Historical Society:

• This Saturday, 23rd August, 10:00 am, Quill Work Heritage Day: Live Demonstrations & Ask the Experts in Harbor Springs
• Next Thursday, 28th August, 05:30 pm, It's Not Just a Quill Box - History Talk in Harbor Springs

Also check out other Sports events in Harbor Springs, Meetups in Harbor Springs, Nonprofit events in Harbor Springs.