John Lindman and local Ojibwe band members launched the canoe on Mandy Lake at Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge Oct. 21. John has been crafting birchbark canoes since 1992, taking it on as a profession three years ago. But he does more than build boats. He teaches. He teaches the lost art of birchbark canoe making.

?All of the old builders were gone,? he explained about trying to connect with tribal builders. He did find a few old traditionally made birchbark canoes scattered throughout the Great Lakes region. They gave him the clues for the finishing touches. He learned along the shore of Lake Superior from a canoe builder, but soon found out he needed to do more than just build boats. He is now helping Ojibwe bands regain the knowledge that was not passed down from earlier generations. There is a small fleet currently under construction by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. His apprentices will soon have apprentices of their own and the river of knowledge will flow again.

Woodland Indians, Dakota and Ojibwe peoples have and continue to utilize the natural resources on Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is steeped in cultural resources from the large concentration of linear burial mounds and dugout canoes to modern day Ojibwe members reconnecting to the land through wild rice harvest.