"Sault St. Marie,"Chippewa/Southeastern Ojibwa

"Sault St. Marie,"Chippewa/Southeastern Ojibwa

912.1.9

This painting depicts a group of Anishinaabek sitting around a campfire with several domed wigwams nearby. The woman of the group wears a blue shortgown over a black skirt. The Sault rapids are in the background. Sault Ste. Marie is at the intersection of Northern and Southern styles, yet most evidence points to a preference for the Southern Style.

Paul Kane

1849 - 1856

Anishinaabe

Sault Ste. Marie

"The Sault St. Marie is situated at the lower extremity of Lake Superior, where it debouches into the river St. Marie, in its course to Lake Huron: having in this part of the river a considerable fall, for about a mile and a half in length,it soon becomes a foaming torrent, down which, however, canoes, steered by practised guides, ordinarily descend safely, although with terrific violence. Sometimes, indeed, the venture is fatal to the bark and its occupants." "I took a sketch of the rapids above alluded to, from the American side. There is a small town called the Sault St. Marie, on the American side, containing 700 or 800 inhabitants, with a well-built garrison, prettily situated on the river’s bank. On the Canadian side, about half a mile direct across, the Hudson’s Bay Company have a trading establishment, and the Custom House officer, Mr. Wilson, a tolerably handsome house." (Paul Kane, "Wanderings of an Artist," 1859:45–46). From this description, I have used the current location of the Mission Indian Point historic marker for the coordinates. It is not possible to identify the exact location of the view, but it does not make a difference in terms of the style distribution.

Oil on canvas

Gift of Sir Edmund Osler

46.48484639820592, -84.3022458815237

Courtesy of ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), Toronto, Canada. ©ROM. Permission to reproduce this image must be obtained from the ROM.

oil painting

49 x 76.3 cm