Building Restoration
Although Henry R. Schoolcraft's role in American frontier history could be criticized by a later generation as racist, Schoolcraft had a strong interest in the Ojibwa religion, mythology, and culture. Schoolcraft energetically collected local Ojibwa stories and tales, many of which his mixed-race wife Jane Johnston Schoolcraft told him or translated for him. All of his books were published under his name, with little credit to her or her family.
The Massachusetts poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow studied Schoolcraft's works for themes and inspiration for his epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha. To Americans of European ancestry, this Romantic poem and its title character were authentic windows into the spiritual life of the "American Indian".
In homage to this poem and its sentimental view of Ojibwa culture, in 1964-1965 the Mackinac Island State Park renovated the interior of the Indian Dormitory to serve as a museum of Native American culture and Hiawatha imagery. The exterior was restored to its original 1838 appearance, and the structure was opened to the public in 1966.
Read more about this topic: Indian Dormitory Art Museum
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