In the Great Lakes region of the nineteenth century, "mixed bloods" were a class of people living within changing indigenous communities. As such, they were considered in treaties signed between the tribal nations and the federal government. Larry Nesper focuses on the implementation and long-term effects of the mixed-blood provision of the 1854 treaty with the Chippewa of Wisconsin. That treaty not only ceded lands and created the Ojibwe Indian reservations in the region, it also entitled hundreds of "mixed-bloods belonging to the Chippewas of Lake Superior," as they appear in this treaty, to locate parcels of land in the ceded territories. However, quickly dispossessed of their entitlement, the treaty provision effectively capitalized the first mining companies in Wisconsin, initiating the period of non-renewable resource extraction that changed the demography, ecology, and potential future for the region for both natives and non-natives. With the influx of Euro-Americans onto these lands, conflicts over belonging and difference, as well as community leadership, proliferated on these new reservations well into the twentieth century. This book reveals the tensions between emergent racial ideology and the resilience of kinship that shaped the historical trajectory of regional tribal society to the present.

Discovering the Penokees showcases one of North America's least known wild treasures, northern Wisconsin's Penokee Hills. With over 120 stunning images, photographer Joel Austin details the beauty of the Penokees--forested hills, peaceful lakes and streams, rushing rivers, waterfalls, rugged overlooks. Austin also sheds light on the threat to the area from a proposed open-pit taconite mine--which would be the world's largest. Essays by experts and local folks who know the Penokees discuss the economic, public health, and environmental impacts of open-pit mining on local communities including Bad River Reservation, and on the watershed's rivers, forests, and wetlands.

Midwest Book Award Winner — Young Adult Fiction A disturbing call from her great aunts Astrid and Jeannette sends seventeen-year-old Francie far from her new home in New York into a tangle of mysteries. Ditching an audition in a Manhattan theater, Francie travels to a remote lake in the northwoods where her aunts’ neighbors are “dropping like flies” from strange accidents. But are they accidents? On the shores of Enchantment Lake in the woods of northern Minnesota, something ominous is afoot, and as Francie begins to investigate, the mysteries multiply: a poisoned hotdish, a puzzling confession, eerie noises in the bog, and a legendary treasure said to be under enchantment—or is that under Enchantment, as in under the lake? At the center of everything is a suddenly booming business in cabin sales and a road not everyone wants built. To a somewhat reluctant northwoods Nancy Drew, the intrigue proves irresistible, especially when it draws her closer to the mysteries at the heart of her own life. What happened to her father? Who and where is her mother? Who is she, and where does her heart lie—in the bustle of New York City or the deep woods of Minnesota? With its gripping story, romantic spirit, and a sly dash of modern-day trouble (including evil realtors and other invasive species), Enchantment Lake will fascinate readers, providing precisely the charm that Margi Preus’s fans have come to expect.

"This book is a rollicking, humorous, read - unlike any book ever written about Isle Royale. Dan Kemp is a great storyteller." -Peter Oikarinen, Author of Island Folk - The People of Isle Royale They checked the weather reports, and everything looked clear. Everything had to be clear before the boys could traverse dangerous Lake Superior. Confident in their decision, Digger and Wayne take to the water in a fourteen-foot rowboat, and following a harrowing adventure across deep, blue waters, they make it to the incomparable Isle Royale, off Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Residents of the UP, known as Yoopers, these boys are ready for trouble, and trouble finds them right away when National Park Ranger Robert Davies-whom the boys call "Dudley," after Dudley Dooright-decides to keep a close watch. Even so, the ranger's careful observations can't stop the boys from bootlegging, getting cozy with local gals, and helping travelers in need. By the end of the summer, these best pals have broken every rule in the book-and forced Dudley to write a few new ones. Isle Royale is a majestic piece of untouched land, lacking in electricity, but filled to the brim with colorful personalities and freedom. Digger and Wayne will never be the same ... but neither will the little island that feels just like paradise.

Wait, young Douglas’s grandfather says as the bobber twitches on the surface of Little Lake. Be patient. And so begins an encounter with the promise and wonder of nature that will last a lifetime. Deep Woods, Wild Waters traces the winding path that carried Douglas Wood from one wonder to the next, through a landscape of rocks, woods, and waters, with stops along the way for questions and reflections that link human nature to the larger mysteries of the natural world. Like life itself, the author’s way is not linear. One landmark leads back to a favorite campsite, another prompts him to consider the “gospel of rocks,” another launches him into the wilderness beyond the stars—a contemplation of time and space and humanity’s place in all of it. The creator of thirty-four books, including the classic Old Turtle, and an expert woodsman and wilderness canoe guide, Wood brings all his storytelling and bushwhacking skills to bear as he takes us hurtling down wild rapids, crossing stormy lakes, or simply navigating the treacherous currents and twisty trails of everyday life. A warm, generous, and knowing guide, Wood maps a journey that, as he says, “anyone can take, through a landscape anyone can know.” Turning the pages, hiking the portages, running the rapids, or scanning the wild country from high promontory, he invites us to say, in a soul-satisfying moment of recognition, “I know that place.”

Let Master Photographer Lisa Crayford guide you to the top-ranked waterfalls in the state, as well as her "secret waterfalls." Your bucket list should definitely include these 117 gorgeous locales that decorate Minnesota's landscape, including bridge views, short hikes, secluded waterfalls in urban areas and hidden gems along the North Shore. With this book in hand, you can easily plan to see them all. The waterfalls are organized geographically and ranked by beauty. Start with the ones nearby, then get away to discover those farther afield. All the information you need--directions, distance, hike difficulty and more--is right at your fingertips. These natural wonders prove that the Land of 10,000 Lakes is also home to some of the most picturesque waterfalls in America