Revival of Ojibwe Winter Games an opportunity for community-university collaboration

Friendship is the first word that comes to Wayne Minogiizhig Valliere’s mind when asked about a partnership between UW–Madison and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

“It’s a really good collaboration between the university and our students,” said Valliere, an Ojibwe language and culture instructor, and former artist-in-residence at UW–Madison.

The partnership he’s talking about includes a series of projects with the Lac du Flambeau public schools: bringing back the traditional Ojibwe Winter Games, building birchbark canoes, and inspiring similar projects across the state.