Ernest Wabasha’s sister and brothers with their mother. Clockwise from upper left: George Wabasha, Matthew Wabasha, Florence Helen Wabasha, and Emmarica Wabasha Larsen. Undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

The Wabasha family ca. 1938, after returning to Minnesota from Nebraska. Back row, from left: Ernest, Florence Helen (Ernest’s mother), and Matthew Wabasha (Ernest’s brother). Front row, from left: Mary, Vera, and Ernestine Wabasha (Ernest’s sisters). Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Napoleon Wabasha, Ernest Wabasha’s grandfather, undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Joseph Jesse Chase and Martha (Wakute-Wapaha) Chase, who were married on June 11, 1872. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Florence Helen Chase, Ernest Wabasha’s mother, with her sister Emma Chase Frazier, undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Natalie Graham, Ernest Wabasha’s paternal grandmother, undated. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

Ernest Wabasha of Lower Sioux Indian Community, recognized hereditary chief of the Mdewakanton band of Dakota, in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, ca. 1999–2001. Photograph by David’s Photography, Redwood Falls. Used with the permission of Cheyanne St. John.

A white cedar tree sacred to the Ojibwe and known as manito gizhigans (spirit little cedar tree) on Grand Portage Bay, ca. 1965.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior Dale Doty, Mrs. Dale Doty, Ed Wilson, R. F. Lee, and Mike Flatte (seated) at Grand Portage’s national historic site dedication. Photograph by Abbie Rowe, August 9, 1951.