Ernest Carl Oberholtzer (February 6, 1884 – June 6, 1977) was an American

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, and conservationist. Nicknamed "Ober", he was born and raised in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, but he lived most of his adult life in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Oberholtzer attended

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and received a bachelor of arts degree, but left after one year of graduate study in landscape architecture. He made his first trip to the Minnesota-Ontario border lakes in 1906. In 1909 he took his first extended canoe voyage through the border lakes and the

Rainy Lake Rainy Lake ( French: '; Ojibwe: ') is a freshwater lake with a surface area of that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake. Today it is harnessed to make hydroelectricit ...

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

, traveling 3,000 miles that summer. During the period from 1908 to 1915, Oberholtzer wrote a number of articles and short stories, some under the

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Ernest Carliowa. Many of the stories and articles were based on his canoe trip experiences. In 1913, Oberholtzer moved to

. He purchased Mallard Island in 1922; the tiny island would be his home for more than 50 years. After plans were announced by business mogul Edward Backus to construct a series of dams to harness the Rainy Lake watershed for power generation, Oberholtzer spoke in opposition at a hearing of the

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held at

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in September 1925. As a result of meetings with

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

businessmen who were similarly opposed to industrialization of the area, the Quetico-Superior Council was formed in 1928. Oberholtzer served as its first president. His activities for the council included lobbying

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and the Minnesota legislature, testifying before the International Joint Commission and building public support for the council's program. In 1934, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

created the President's Quetico-Superior Committee to advise and coordinate government activity concerning the Quetico-Superior area. Oberholtzer was its first chairman, and served as a member until 1968. Oberholtzer was one of the eight founding members of The Wilderness Society and served on its executive council from 1937 until 1967. His addition to The Wilderness Society lent national stature to the group. In addition to his wilderness campaigning, he spoke fluent

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

and was a fervent student of their culture. He never married and died in 1977 after a long period of ill health. Oberholtzer is recognized today as a leading advocate for the preservation of the Quetico-Superior lake area, as well as an advocate of the Native American culture in that region. The Minneapolis ''

Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...

'' selected Oberholtzer as one of the 100 Most Influential Minnesotans of the 20th century.

Exhibition

An exhibit of Oberholtzer's photographs was held at the

Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art The Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art is a non-profit art museum in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA. It is located on the former Oklahoma Baptist University Green Campus, being the campus of the former St. Gregory's University. In June 2024, over six years si ...

. The exhibit included images displaying his relationship with the Ojibwe and their lifestyle. One section of the exhibition detailed in photograph the process of harvesting and preparing wild rice. ''Traditions: Ernest Oberholtzer's Photographs of the Rainy Lake Ojibwa'' ran from May 4 to June 30, 2013.

Notes

References

*Paddock, Joe. 2001. ''Keeper of the Wild: The Life of Ernest Oberholtzer''. Minnesota Historical Society Press. . *Sutter, Paul. 2002. ''Driven Wild: How the Fight against Automobiles Launched the Modern Wilderness Movement''. Seattle: University of Washington press. .

Exhibition

Notes

References

External links