Carl Gawboy: Remembering the Fur Trade Through Art

About this episode

Carl Gawboy discusses his artistic journey and the historical significance of the fur trade in Ojibwe culture.

Today, we welcome Carl Gawboy to the Native Lights podcast. Carl, born to a Finnish mother and an Ojibwe father, was raised in Ely and is a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe. Carl is an artist, whose primary medium is watercolors. But he turned to pen and ink for his recent graphic book Fur Trade Nation: An Ojibwe’s Graphic History. For a number of years, Carl taught in the Indian Studies departments at the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota – Duluth. He was given an opportunity to develop a course and that turned into a history of the fur trade. His research revealed that every Ojibwe person, in one fashion or another, worked in the fur trade industry—as trappers, guides, interpreters, cooks, canoe makers, etc. He talks about the book that inspired him to turn his research into a series of black and white drawings. Those evolved into the 2024 book Fur Trade Nation and, more recently, Giclee prints and a calendar. Carl and wife Cindy live in Two Harbors and enjoy spending time with their family and a special feline friend. ----- Hosts / Producers: Leah Lemm, Cole Premo Editor: Britt Aamodt Editorial support: Emily Krumberger Mixing & mastering…

People in this episode

Hosts: Leah Lemm, Cole Premo

Guest: Carl Gawboy

Topics covered

• art
• Ojibwe culture
• fur trade history
• graphic novels
• Indigenous voices

Keywords

• Carl Gawboy
• Ojibwe
• fur trade
• art
• graphic history
• watercolors
• Indigenous art

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, College of St. Scholastica, University of Minnesota – Duluth

Books & works: Fur Trade Nation: An Ojibwe’s Graphic History, Fur Trade Nation

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