Kade Michael Ferris (January 25, 1969 – November 4, 2023), also known as Giniw Wiidokaage, was a Native American anthropologist,

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

historian, and blogger based 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 ...

. Ferris was known for being one of the first Indigenous archaeologists as well as a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer in the United States. A citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota and a historian of the

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

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

, he worked for the

Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians The Red Lake Indian Reservation () covers in parts of nine counties in Minnesota, United States. It is made up of numerous holdings but the largest section is an area around Red Lake, in north-central Minnesota, the largest lake i ...

as an archaeologist. He served as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Red Lake Chippewa and the Turtle Mountain Chippewa. He was known for his accurate colorizations of historical Native American photographs and for using geographical technologies to decolonize maps and tell Indigenous histories. He was the author of several books on the

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

, and Métis people. His book, ''Charles Albert Bender: National Hall of Fame Pitcher'' (2020), a biography of

Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (; May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' ...

written for middle school readers, was highly recommended by Native American children's literature specialist Jean Mendoza as one of the best books in 2020. That book and his use of oral traditions are included in state-mandated educational standards in North Dakota and Minnesota as reliable sources for teachers.

Early life and education

Kade Michael Ferris was born on January 25, 1969, in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. His parents were Kristeen Evenmo Ferris and Albert Lee Ferris. His father was an artist and medical illustrator, originally from the

Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation (Ojibwe language: ''Mikinaakwajiwing'') is a reservation located in northern North Dakota, United States. It is the land base for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. The population of the Turtle Mou ...

; his mother was also an artist and photographer, originally from Minnesota. His family moved to

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moo ...

. Ferris earned his bachelor's degree in anthropology from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

. He then earned a master of science degree in anthropology from

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

Career

During his 30-year career, he worked on a variety of tribal programs. In 2010, Ferris was working as a historic preservation officer for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, when human remains belonging to at least five American Indians were discovered near

Park River, North Dakota Park River is a city in Walsh County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census. Park River was founded in 1884. Park River was named after the river Park River. The controversial and often peripatetic father of J ...

. He was widely cited commenting on the complexity of Métis identity in America.

Oral history

He spoke with

Prairie Public Television Prairie Public's television service is a state network of public television signals operated by Prairie Public Broadcasting. It comprises all of the PBS member stations in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The state network is available via flags ...

as elder sharing teachings about the power that young Native people can gain by learning their traditional stories. These teachings are included as part of North Dakota's education standards on Native American curriculum in schools.

Archaeology and cartography

Ferris was known for being one of the first Indigenous archaeologists as well as a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer in the United States. As an archaeologist for Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, his work included mapping and protecting culturally important sites on the reservation. In 2019, he won the

Esri Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., doing business as Esri (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational geographic information system (GIS) software company headquartered in Redlands, California. It is best known for ...

tribal story map competition for his story map that provides an in-depth look at Indian Land Cessions in Minnesota. He said working for tribes provided satisfaction that he could not find in private industries, "I'm only happy when I'm doing tribal resource management. It's more fulfilling. You're helping get roads and houses built, creating grants and plans to benefit people, not just to satisfy a client and make a profit. I've been working for tribal governments my whole life." He also used

GIS A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. Much of this often happens within a spatial database; however, this is not ...

to map out trading posts and Native villages throughout the upper Midwest as part of his work, saying, "I'm trying to rebuild this historical landscape through research, talking to elders, telling stories, and tying them all together through mapping." His research on that treaty and Red Lake maps were included in the TRUTH Project, which investigated the history of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

as a

land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...

, having benefited from confiscated Native treaty lands.

Cultural advocacy

Ferris was known for presenting about Ojibwe and Métis in hopes of clearing up misunderstandings. In a 2019 presentation at the

North Dakota Heritage Center The North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, located on the North Dakota State Capitol grounds in Bismarck, is the state of North Dakota's official history museum. The original building, which was opened in 1981, is operated by the State ...

, Ferris used the colorized historic photos that he was known for to bring to life Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Métis. Ferris said, "People have a misconception about the Ojibwe people in North Dakota. They think that the Ojibwe people are some kind of an afterthought that came with the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

. But really they were here before the fur trade and the fur trade came because of the Ojibwe people". As part of his work for Red Lake, he created educational materials as part of honoring the

Treaty of Old Crossing The Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians, Pembina and Red Lake Indian Reservation, Red Lake bands of Chippewa ceded to the United States the Red River Valley of the north in two treaties. Both were named for the treaty site, "Old Crossing" and the ye ...

, which is a tribal holiday that celebrates the only treaty the tribe has made in its history.

Environmental activism and food sovereignty

Using his previous experience with helping Turtle Mountain establish a buffalo herd, he was credited with helping the

establish a bison farm in 2018 while working as their Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. Ferris published several articles about Native foodways.

Photographic work and curation

In 2021, he advised the Clay County Historical Society in

on their programming on Indigenous people for their 150 years ago exhibition called ''Makoce kin ihdago manipi'' (

Dakota language The Dakota language ( or ), also referred to as Dakhóta, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, commonly known in English as the Sioux. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lak ...

: ''They leave marks as they come through here''). That work included providing the Metis translations of signage throughout the history center. Ferris featured colorizations of historic Native leaders as part of the ''Dibaajimowin'' showcase in the ''Makoce kin ihdago manipi'' exhibition (2022–2023). The manager of the historical society Gabby Clavo said his exhibition was important because "The colorization really shows off the importance of the dress and regalia the Native American people would wear. The black and white images don't give the same visual impact to the viewer." As part of the exhibition, he presented on his colorizations and explained his process for "humanizing historical American Indians, the idea of legitimacy (e.g. the use of studio-owned props in photos), and the method of choosing what colors are used in colorization, based on historical and cultural understanding of regalia".

Writing

He maintained the Dibaajimowin blog, which features unique stories and historical anecdotes about the Ojibwe and Métis. He also wrote blog posts for the Turtle Mountain of Chippewa Heritage Center. He published several books on Ojibwe and Metis history, leaders, and traditional stories. His book, ''Charles Albert Bender: National Hall of Fame Pitcher'' (2020), a biography of

written for middle school readers, was published as part of the Minnesota Native American Lives Series, and was highly recommended by

American Indians in Children's Literature Native Americans have been featured in numerous works of children's literature. Some have been authored by non-Indigenous writers, while others have been written or contributed to by Indigenous authors. Children’s literature about Native Ame ...

as one of the best books in 2020. The book was included in a guide of reliable Native educational resources for Understand Native Minnesota, an initiative funded by the

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC; Dakota: ''Bdemayaṭo Oyate'') is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe of Mdewakanton Dakota people, located southwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, within parts of the cities of Prior ...

that provides lists of materials that meet Minnesota's academic standards in English language arts. The book was reviewed in ''The Circle: Native American News and Arts''.

Reviews

In a review for American Indians in Children's Literature, Jean Mendoza commended Ferris's description of

major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

in the early 20th century and his discussion of the "micro-aggressions and even blatant aggression" he endured as a non-white athlete, but added that the book left the reader wondering about his life outside career in sports.

Personal life and death

He died of cancer on November 4, 2023.

Bibliography

Books

* ''Bush Dances & Buffalo Hunts: Short Essays on the History of the Ojibwe and Métis'' (2018) * ''Charles Albert Bender: National Hall of Fame Pitcher'' (Wise Ink Creative Publishing, 2020) * ''Dibaajimowin Tales'' (2018) * ''Tawn Kaayaah: The Old Times'' (2019) * ''Turtle Mountain Chiefs and Headmen'' (2019)

Articles and essay

* "Michif Foodways: A Remembrance by Elder Sandra Houle" ''Pawaatamihk: Journal of Métis Thinkers,'' 1, no. 37 (2023): 37–40 * "Ojiwbe shamanism." In ''Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture'', Mariko Namba Walter and Eva Jane Neumann Fridman, eds. (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 334–35.
"Pemmican: The Indigenous 'Super Food'"
Turtle Mountain Chippewa Heritage Center, December 1, 2019
"A Smithsonian Report on the Metis"
Turtle Mountain Chippewa Heritage Center, November 12, 2019

References

External links

Dibaajimowin Blog: The Art of Indigenous Storytelling

Challenging Colonial Mythology with Kade Ferris
(Medicine for the Resistance) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Kade 1969 births 2023 deaths American Ojibwe people American people of Métis descent Historians of Native Americans Native American academics Native American anthropologists Native American children's writers North Dakota State University alumni Ojibwe writers University of North Dakota alumni Tribal Historic Preservation Officers