Expanding the Ojibwe Art Collection at Grand Portage National Monument

Sam's painting Gichi-Onigaming Amik / Grand Portage Beaver was inspired by a beaver on Grand Portage Creek.

In February 2025, Grand Portage National Monument added a new painting to its collection. Gichi-Onigaming Amik / Grand Portage Beaver is the title of a painting by Zhaawanoogiishik / Sam Zimmerman. Sam explains his inspiration behind this piece:

“Beavers are such amazing beings. From building dams, their impacts to the ecosystem through creating wetlands and improving water quality are tremendous. I loved when I learned that they are winter landlords often allowing muskrats to move into their lodges. I always love when I see the amik in Grand Portage swimming or eating a fresh shoot. I pulled out a pelt I was gifted to inspire me.”

Another one of Sam’s paintings, the Mooz, can be found in the Moose Exhibit currently on display in the Heritage Center. Sam has written two books to date and has been the recipient of several awards.

Sam Zimmerman / Zhaawanoogiizhik (Holder of the Southern Skies)

After twenty years working in public education, Sam returned home to northern Minnesota. His work explores his Ojibwe heritage, and his learnings/experiences in nature while preserving shared oral histories and his experiences with the animals, birds, fish, and plant relatives in the natural landscape of Lake Superior's North Shore. Sam focuses on continuing the Anishinaabe tradition of storytelling - embedding the themes of environmental stewardship and conservation of the North Shore through his studio and public art commissions. He has completed art pieces for the Grand Portage Tribal Nation, Chik Wauk Museum and Nature Center, Voyageurs National Park, the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Minnesota Twins, and the Duluth and Grand Marais communities as a means to celebrate and share Ojibwe culture and language.