AUGUST 26, 1986

MINNESOTA GOVERNOR DECLARES “MAUDE KEGG DAY” TO HONOR NAAWAKAMIGOOKWE (MAUDE KEGG)

Born August 26, 1904, near Portage Lake, Minnesota, her Ojibwe name meant “Centered on the Ground Woman.”  She was so-honored for her “knowledge, wisdom, and efforts” in preserving “Ojibwe culture and language.”  Kegg’s dictation of Ojibwe stories comprise 3 books: When I Was a Little Girl (1976), At the End of the Trail (1978), and What My Grandmother Told Me (1983).  Working at the State Historical Society at Mille Lacs, she helped construct a diorama of the seasonal life of the Ojibwe.  A resource on tribal language and agricultural practices, Kegg was best known, however, for her beadwork.  A master of Ojibwe loom techniques, she was one of few able to produce a traditional bandolier bag.  Several pieces are in the Smithsonian Institute.  One of her bandolier bags was featured in the American Federation of Arts’ exhibit Lost and Found: Native American Art, 1965-1985.  Maud received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990.  She died in Minnesota, January 6, 1996.

Source:  "NEA National Heritage Fellowships: Maude Kegg," National Endowment for the Arts, 1990.  Retrieved 7/11/2019, https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/maude-kegg
Photo:  Monroe P. Killy (1910-2010), 4/19/1947. Used with permission of the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS).   Source:  http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10852610&return=brand%3Dcms%26q%3Dmaude%2520kegg.