Early Ojibwe peoples first used the "grand portage" to link inland winter camps to summer homes at Grand Portage Bay on Lake Superior. This 8.5-mile trek up the Pigeon River bypassed a series of waterfalls, including High Falls. From there, the Grand Portage people gained access to the chain of lakes and rivers that led to the vast plains of Canada. Centuries later, European fur traders followed their lead and Grand Portage became the inland headquarters for a worldwide fur trade. From 1730 to 1805 this trading post hosted hundreds of traders, partners and voyagers as goods and cultures from all over the world met at Grand Portage in a flurry of trading activity.
The Ojibwe peoples still make their home at Grand Portage and celebrate traditional culture. The Grand Portage National Monument, established in 1960, includes the archeological remains of the Northwest Company Depot as well as a full restoration of the trading post, stockade, Great Hall, surround palisades and more. Open mid-May through mid-October, visitors catch a glimpse of an era when the fur trade made Grand Portage an emporium of goods and melting pot of cultures. Look out over the bay and imagine a flotilla of huge, heavily laden canoes arriving from as far east as Montreal. Grand Portage was, literally, the Gateway to the West.
Rendevous Days in mid-August also helps preserve Ojibwe traditions and celebrate new ones by bring people together from all over for a weekend filled with activity – pow-wow dancing, softball, a 1 and 3-mile walk, turkey shoot, horseshoe tournament and games for the kids.
Sled dog racing was once a way of life for the Ojibwe. Before the time of European settlers, and boundaries between the United States and Canada, the people of Grand Portage traveled inland from Lake Superior during the winter months in pursuit of their wild game food supply. Winter travel proved difficult with no modern day roads or vehicles. The sled dog not only provided the strength to pull heavy loads, but also served as a traveling companion during cold winter hunts.
The people of Grand Portage traveled north to the Nipigon region, east to Isle Royale and west toward Winnipeg in pursuit of food. Their travels took them many miles, which were accomplished primarily through the tireless aid of their sled dogs. It is this "passage" from summer to winter camps that the people of Grand Portage remember and commemorate at the annual Grand Portage Passage Sled Dog Race.