Women | Page 23 | MNopedia

Kegg, Maude (1904–1996)

In 1904, along Portage Lake, in a birch-bark-and-cattail wigwam, a baby named Naawakamigookwe (Middle of the Earth Woman, also called Maude) was born to Agwadaashiins (Nancy Pine) and Gwayoonh (Charles Mitchell). She took her first breath in the traditional Ojibwe home of her family. It was the beginning of a life guided by cultural traditions, continuous adaptation to a fast-changing world, and an inherent skill for interpreting her people’s culture and history.

Maude Kegg and four generations of her descendants

Maude Kegg (seated at center) holding her great-great-granddaughter Desiree, ca. 1988. Also pictured are Kegg’s daughter Betty Kegg (above right); her granddaughter Victoria Verkennes (above center); and her great-granddaughter Kristine Verkennes, above left).

Maude Kegg at Mille Lacs

Maude Kegg at Mille Lacs, undated. Photo by Monroe P. Killy.

Maude Kegg working with wiigob (basswood)

Maude Kegg preparing wiigob (basswood) for basket making, Mille Lacs, 1947. Photo by Monroe P. Killy.

Maude Kegg at Mille Lacs

Maude Kegg at Mille Lacs, undated. Photo by Monroe P. Killy.

Workers at the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant

Workers at the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant pack .50 caliber machine-gun ammunition into cartridge boxes during World War II. At peak production in 1943, the plant employed 26,000 people, of which 60 percent were women. Photograph by the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company.

Mary E. Schwandt Schmidt (Mrs. William) and Snana Good Thunder (Maggie Brass), 1899. Photo by Shepherd Photo Studio.

Snana Good Thunder (Maggie Brass) and Mary E. Schwandt Schmidt

Snana Good Thunder (Maggie Brass, left) and Mary E. Schwandt Schmidt (Mrs. William, right), 1899. Photo by Shepherd Photo Studio.

Mary D. Woodbury Caswell

Mary D. Woodbury Caswell, ca. 1880. Mary grew up in the Woodbury House with her brother, and inherited it from her mother in 1908. She and her husband, Irving Caswell, raised their son there. Anoka County Historical Society, Object ID# 3000.4.32-B. Used with the permission of Anoka County Historical Society