Mackinaw City in Cheboygan County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Anishnaabek Home
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 13, 2025
1. Anishnaabek Home Marker
When gathered together for the summer fishing season, each band village might include 150 people who belonged to perhaps 30 related families. Each family had its own house, either a conical nasaaogan or a dome-shaped waginogan. Some Anishnaabek families continued living in these traditional houses well into the 19th century.
Both houses consisted of poles covered with reeds or cedar and birchbark, with a blanket or mat hung as a door. The houses could be heated with an interior fire, but in summertime cooking, eating, and socializing took place around an outdoor fire. More reed mats, cedar boughs, and blankets or animal skins provided sleeping areas, which were divided between men and women. Elders slept in back, opposite the door. The outer shell of reed or bark was removable, allowing the women to pack up the house and move between seasonal camps.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Indigenous Peoples and Communities.
Location. 45° 47.164′ N, 84° 44.123′ W. Marker is in Mackinaw City, Michigan, in Cheboygan County. It can
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Northern Michigan Lower Peninsula, on the Straits of Mackinac, and in one of the Lake Huron Shore counties. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Encampment at Pequodenonge (here, next to this marker); The Anishnaabek (here, next to this marker); Using the Land (a few steps from this marker); The Powder Magazine (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Michilimackinac (within shouting distance of this marker); Specialist Soldiers: The Royal Regiment of Artillery (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Canoes (about 600 feet away); From Montreal to Michilimackinac
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 13, 2025
2. Anishnaabek Home Marker
More about this marker. The right of the marker contains a picture of an Anishnaabek family in their house.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 13, 2025
3. Anishnaabek Home Marker
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 13, 2025
4. Anishnaabek Family House
Credits. This page was last revised on July 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 18, 2025, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 86 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 18, 2025, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.
