Nakwema is an Ojibwe term meaning “where paths connect.” This name was selected to demonstrate our dedication to the history of this land, and the connections that the Trailway creates – to places we love, to the past, to the future, to each other, and to ourselves.
The entirety of the Nakwema Trailway exists on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg – the Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. When on the Trailway, you are in the presence of significant Anishinaabeg settlements. Specific settlements will be noted when trail routing is finalized.
With humility and respect, dbaadendiziwin and minwaadendamowin, we are grateful for the generous care with which the Anishinaabeg, and those of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, have given and continue to give to this land. We collectively understand that offering this acknowledgement does not absolve settler-colonial privilege or diminish colonial structures of violence at any level.
We are committed to amplifying the full, longstanding history of the land with all who traverse the Nakwema Trailway. Our collaborative work to care for this land that we cherish is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those on whose ancestral lands we reside.
Miigwetch, thank you.
