When I first visited the island back in 1988, I was enchanted with the island and all of the spirit inhabitants. The Front House was where I had my first experience with one of the spirits of the island. My Anishinaabe upbringing has protocols that require me to go back every spring to make a spirit offering and to honor that experience. As l continued to grow in my awareness of the spiritual inhabitants of the island, my attention turned to the drum.

I am a member of the Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation and my family has relatives in the neighboring community of the Seine River First Nation. Both communities are situated on Rainy Lake. Ober frequently visited these two communities, and in our family stories this is where I heard that the drum may have its origins.

My people have a spiritual connection to the land, and it is through this connection that I decided to find out the origin of the drum. In ceremony l asked “Aandi gaa-bi-onji-ayaad a’aw dewe’igan miinawaa aaniin ezhinikaazod a’aw dewe’igan?” “Where did the drum originate from and what is the drum’s name?”  I was told that the drum has made her home on the island and she belongs on the island. Her spirit name is Minisinaanakwadook and denotes where she wants to reside.

The etymology of her name provides insights on her origin and purpose. Minis is the Anishinaabe word for island, aanakwad is in reference to clouds and the suffix –ook denotes that the name carrier is female. The drum then is a grandmother, and her name may translate to the-island-inhabitor-that-helps-us-connect-to-creation-through-the-observation-of-clouds.  

This drum is a grandmother spirit and she may be called Nookomis in Anishinaabemowin.  She is the true hostess or true caretaker of the islands. It is through her that all connections are made. All one has to do is offer her a pinch of tobacco, sit quietly with her and listen to her. It is in quiet meditation that one learns about the connection that we all have with creation.   

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Pebaamibines (Dennis) Jones serves on the Oberholtzer Foundation board of directors and has hosted language development experiences on Mallard Island since the late 1980s.