Canoe Journeys Seasonal Lifeways

| Event Details Seasonal Lifeways  Sat–Sun, June 27–28, 2026 | 10 AM – 3 PM  Sat–Sun, Aug 8–9, 2026 | 10 AM – 3 PM  Sat–Sun, Aug 29–30, 2026 | 10 AM – 3 PM  We are Making an 1854 Treaty Canoe Sat, July 18–Thur, Aug 20, 2026   Engage with Canoe Builders and See Makers Showcase Their Skills The 2026 Canoe Journeys program highlights Ojibwe history and Big Lake connections to the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior and the relationship with Mooningwanekaaning (Madeline Island) from the very beginning to the present day. Your ticket includes Canoe Journeys Seasonal Lifeways experiences and Madeline Island Museum general admission access. Funding for the 2026 Canoe Journeys program is made possible by in part with generous support from the Apostle Islands Historic Preservation Conservancy.  Seasonal Lifeways Big Lake Space Gather in the Big Lake Space on the museum’s front lawn to engage with educators, storytellers and makers showcasing their skills in basketmaking, flint knapping and birchbark canoe building.  Birchbark Lodge Seasonal Lifeways  runs weekends from 10 AM–3 PM on June 27–28, Aug 8–9 and Aug 29–30.  Indoozhitoomin 1854 Treaty Jiimaan – We Are Making An 1854 Treaty Canoe Beginning July 18, Red Cliff Ojibwe Elder and master canoe builder Marvin DeFoe will make a birchbark canoe featuring contributions from the Ojibwe Tribes that are signatories to the 1854 Treaty at La Pointe. Chief Buffalo led the negotiations between the United States and Ojibwe tribes in an effort to stop removals and create permanent homelands for the Lake Superior Ojibwe in the Lake Superior region. The canoe build will run approximately 20 days and end in early August. A maiden journey and ceremony is tentatively planned for August 20, 2026.    Cost Adults (18-64): $10 Teen (13-17): $10 Senior (65+): $8 Child (5-12): $5 Child Under 5: Free Society members receive free general admission, please verify your membership where prompted to receive discount at check out. About the Location Bella and Leo Capser opened the Madeline Island Museum in 1958. Their original collection of artifacts and texts has helped document centuries of island history, while later additions and expansions to the museum paint an even richer, deeper portrait of life on the Apostle Islands. The Ojibwe and other tribes made their home on Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands, for thousands of years before Europeans first made contact—in Ojibwe, the island is named  Mooningwanekaaning-minis , which means island of the yellow-breasted woodpecker. Because of its strategic location and ample resources, the island served as a trading center for millennia and later a reliable French fur trading post, missionary headquarters and commercial fishing zone for European settlers in the North American interior that continues today for State and Tribal fishermen.   Madeline Island Historical Museum   226 Colonel Woods Ave  La Pointe, WI 54850  Know Before You Go & Accessibility Your ticket includes Canoe Journeys Seasonal Lifeways experiences and Madeline Island Museum general admission access. The museum store is open during operating hours. Museum admission is good for the entire day, visitors can exit and return.  No food/beverage allowed. Restrooms and water fountains are available on site. The site will remain open rain or shine, except on a gale day. Unredeemed tickets can be used on another date in the case of a gale day. No pets are allowed. Service animals are permitted. Because of the historic nature of the buildings, not all areas are ADA accessible. Guests with additional mobility needs are encouraged to contact the site directly at 715-747-2415 or  madelineisland@wisconsinhistory.org .…