Babimose : The Wanderer (Makwa Enewed)

Set against the backdrop of the French and Indian War in the 1750s, this book expands on the legend of Babimose. The legend was passed down as an oral history among Indigenous peoples until it was recorded by a traveling historian who was among the northern Wisconsin Ojibwe in the 1850s. The story recalls a gifted Anishinaabe boy who lived south of Gichigami, now known as Lake Superior, who independently traveled among Indigenous nations. The original story was recorded as a one-page description of Babimose; this book expands on this to explore the language barriers and cultural differences that Babimose would have encountered on his journey. The lessons he learned about people and their resilience in the region still offer lessons for readers today.