Federal funds to help restore Lake Superior sandbar

DULUTH - Preservation of rare coastal dunes and old-growth pines will be central to restoration plans for the western end of Wisconsin Point, the Lake Superior sandbar in Superior, Wis., that for centuries has played an integral role for area Anishinaabe.

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve were awarded nearly $350,000 to create a vision and plan for the restoration and care of nearly 11 acres of land reclaimed by the band officially in 2017, after a lengthy federal transfer process. The western end of Gibiskising Minis, Ojibwe for "land bridge," is separated from Duluth's Park Point by a shipping canal.

The people of Fond du Lac traveled to the point for centuries for seasonal use, but many lived, fished and gathered there, until villagers were forced off the land by U.S. Steel in the early 1900s. The point is also part of the Anishinaabe's westward movement along Lake Superior, settling where wild rice grows.

https://www.startribune.com/federal-funds-to-help-restore-sacred-lake-superior-sandbar/600362137/