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English: Interpretive sign, Agawa Rock, Lake Superior Provincial Park.

Stone Canvas

Beside you is Agawa Rock. This "Stone Canvas" was likely used by Ojibwe people for 2,000 years before European fur traders and explorers travelled on Lake Superior. The images visible today are believed to be 150 to 400 years old.

The pictographs were painted with red ochre, made from powdered haematite, which was mixed with fish oil or animal fat. This mineral has been found at Devil's Warehouse Island, 30 kilometres northwest of here.

The variety of styles in the images tells us that many artists painted here. You can see familiar animals such as moose, deer, bear and caribou. Other animal-like figures have horns and spines. There are also several canoes, the traditional mode of travel used by the Ojibwe.

It is believed that the pictographs were painted for a number of reasons and may have more than one meaning. Each Ojibwe child was born into a clan with a totem, a symbol tying the child to the natural world, to strengths and responsibilities and to family. Some of these totems are revealed at Agawa Rock.

Other pictographs may record great achievements. Early in the 1800's an Ojibwe names Shingwaukonce told how Chief Myeengun, The Wolf, led a war party across Lake Superior from the south shore to a site on this shore. Myeengun's trip has been dated to a time of war with the Iroquois between 1650-1662. The four canoes with warriors pictured here may be a record of their voyage. The horned animal is said to be the spirit of the water, known as Misshepezhieu, the Great Lynx. Misshepezhieu could work for or against humans - he could calm the waters, or he could bring wind and storms by thrashing his tail.

Pictographs are sacred messaged from the past. Please respect and preserve them. Do not touch the paintings.