Lunch & Learn: “Save a Walleye, Spear an Indian”

Lecture Series is proudly sponsored by the Nielsen-Wells Grand Fund and Mike & Susan Smith

The Michigan Maritime Museum is proud to showcase South Haven middle school student Hayden Washegesic for his History Day competition performance presentation of “Save a Walleye, Spear an Indian,” based on his research of the Wisconsin Walleye War of the 1980s and 90s, a tumultuous time in the history of the Native American rights movement. Hayden brings those voices to life as his presentation calls attention to a significant moment in the history of the Lac du Flambeau and Lac Courte Oreilles bands of the Ojibwe Nation.

Hayden Washegesic is a South Haven student. A longtime member of his school’s History Club, this will be Hayden’s third year competing at Nationals for History Day. He chose to focus on this topic as it highlights an aspect of Native American history that isn’t widely discussed. This is also personal for Hayden, as his grandfather came to South Haven to work with his father on the gillnet fish tug Elsie J. as a commercial fisherman. Hayden wanted to pursue this topic not only for its broader historical importance but also as it relates to his personal family history.

This lecture is part of our year-long programmatic series Whispers Across the Water that showcases and celebrates the invaluable contributions of minority communities to Great Lakes maritime history and heritage