Lake Superior Project – Gichi Onigaming Conservation Crew
GOCC team works an archeological site, led by Nick Pond, an archeology technician for the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe.
In this segment of the Lake Superior Project, we learn about the Gichi Onigaming Conservation Crew (GOCC), an initiative of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe. WTIP visited with four people who work with GOCC at the Grand Portage National Monument, including crew members Denali Blackwell and Matthew Poulin, and archeologists Nick Pond and Bill Clayton. Sequoia Morrin and Pat Pierre Jr. (crew leader) were also a part of the 2025 season.
The conversation ranges from work done at Isle Royale and on the Grand Portage Trail during the summer of 2025, to how the program has helped train crew members in wildland firefighting techniques, trail building and maintenance, cultural fire practices and safety in the field.
Building boardwalks.
Lake Superior Project is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
