The Slice from PBS North.

You are here at the Duluth Art Institute, and we are standing inside of a really a remarkable opportunity to learn about Minnesota history, through the lens of the Anishinaabe.

So our first exhibit here is Carl Gawboy's work, and it's based off of his graphic novel, The Ojibwe Fur Trade.

The fur trade was all about fashion and the women exemplified this.

The fur trade was about food.

And most of the food that was produced during the fur trade was produced by women.

the fur trade was about family.

You know, for about 200 years, we're talking about here.

So the women, when you look at it historically through all of the sales transactions that had been recorded, the women were the ones that were making the decisions, and they were also the ones doing the bartering.

One of the things I tried to show here is that, for Ojibwe women, there wasn't just one fashion, one fashion statement.

It's a variety, you know, there wasn't one hairstyle.

There was a variety.

And there is no men in my picture.

Here again, it was women who did the shopping for the fur trade.

I taught college courses on the fur trade.

one of the things that inspired me was that there's a big gap, in the history.

And I. thought you know, what other place in the world, is there such a gap in the history?

It was so important.

I wanted to fill it.

The accompanying exhibition with Carl's Ojibwe fur trade Nation is Wendy Savages curatorial expertise.

When we come back, we'll have a little more time to talk about the work Wendy Savage put together for Ojibwe Adornments.

The Slice from PBS North, presented by the Teberg Fund.