The 7th Fire Jiimaan Journey made a stop at Grand Traverse Lighthouse during a historic, Indigenous-led intertribal voyageur canoe (chi jiimaanan) expedition that retraces the ancient westward migration of the Anishinaabe people earlier this month on July 15.
They left from Van Buren State Park in Grand Haven at the beginning of July and the 2026 Jiimaan Journey concluded when the crew paddled into Josephine Ford Park in Harbor Springs last week.
Jiimaan Caretaker Fred Harrington brought out a second jiimaan for the final day which allowed the entire crew to paddle through the final stretch, which was split into two legs for a combined total of just under four hours of paddling.
Despite a small leak in the second jiimaan, crew members pumped water out of the vessel and pushed forward through smoke, coming from the Minnesota and Ontario wildfires, with no other troubles.
As the jiimaanan took off for the second leg of paddling, a sudden, but short, burst of heavy rain hit the area which many expressed made the journey’s final paddle even more beautiful.
Once they arrived at the landing point, they were greeted by supporters and elders from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. Many crew members expressed that the end of the 2026 journey felt like the beginning to a series of new jiimaan similar journies to come.
