Final River Revival event of 2026 season about Ishkode (fire) on Wisconsin Point
A beautiful Thursday night on September 17th brought together 37 community members to learn about Ishkode (fire in Ojibwemowin) on Wisconsin Point. This event was the final River Revival event of the 2026 series hosted monthly since April by the St. Louis River Alliance. Gathering at Lot #5 of Wisconsin Point, attendees were introduced to the event’s speakers:
Vern Northrup, Elder from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and retired Fire Operations Specialist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano, enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and Master Science and PhD student at the University of Minnesota
Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and founder/CEO of Good Sky Guidance
Following an introduction to the event, attendees walked to the site of the cultural prescribed fire that took place in November 2025. This fire marked the first cultural prescribed fire on the Point in over 150 years. Wisconsin Point is just one of many places in the Great Lakes region where intentional fire used by Ojibwe people played a major role in shaping the health of forests and other ecosystems. When Ojibwe people occupied and lived on Wisconsin Point, they lived in relationship with Ishkode, which had myriad benefits to the land including clearing understory brush, promoting edible and medicinal plants like blueberries, and assisting in the regeneration of red pine. Pine sap was also collected from trees following a fire, which was used to create birch bark canoes.
When Ojibwe people were forcibly removed from Wisconsin Point and fire suppression policies were enacted by the government, fires ceased, red pines stopped regenerating, the understory became thick with brush, and living in relationship with Ishkode became unlawful according to the U.S. government. Now, after more than 150 years of Ishkode being absent from Wisconsin Point and Minnesota Point, teams on both Points are working to bring fire back to these places.
A cultural prescribed fire on Wisconsin Point took place in November 2025, and a cultural prescribed fire on Minnesota Point is planned for this fall (2026) if the weather conditions are favorable. Attendees of the River Revival event were able to view the site of the first burn on Wisconsin Point, see the benefits to the landscape, and learn about the future of fire in these places.
Thank you so much to Vern, Niso, and Bazile for speaking and sharing their knowledge with attendees. Thank you also to Cherie Hagan from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for sharing about additional projects happening in Allouez Bay and on Wisconsin Point. This was the last River Revival event of the 2026 season. Thank you to everyone who came to any of these events to learn more about some amazing projects happening in Superior, WI.
You can learn more about the series as a whole by visiting our website: https://www.stlouisriver.org/news/community-engagement-for-allouez-bay-and-wisconsin-point
Additional resources:
Wisconsin Point Fire Restoration project page (City of Superior)
