Fond du Lac Band buys Spirit Island

A sacred Ojibwe island on the St. Louis Rivernow belongs to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Spirit Island, the sixth stopping place in the migration of the Anishinaabe people from the northeastern part of the continent, was purchased by the band Monday.

Karen Diver, chairwoman of the band told the Duluth News Tribune, “It’s such a significant reclamation of our land and culture it’s almost like healing … like plugging a hole in our cultural spirit.”

Hundreds of years ago, it was foretold through prophecy that the Anishinaabe people had to move west to survive. The seven stopping places during the gradual migration started at present-day Montreal and spread westward to Spirit Island, where as late as the 1900s, the Ojibwe held ceremonies.

The band will use the island for conservation and cultural efforts. It’s located near Clough Island on the Minnesota side of the river in Spirit Lake -- a widening in the St. Louis River. The nearly 10 acre island has 2,200 feet of shoreline and was purchased from a Duluth resident for $150,000.