I grew up on the Tuscan Bay, and I always identified with that. My undergraduate work was in marine science, and biology, because of the connection I had with the Tuscan Bay. I moved to the Great Lakes in Chicago to go to Law School, and fell in love with the Great Lakes.
When my daughter was a baby, we would go to the beach, and she always loved the water. When she was around six, I taught her how to snorkel in Lake Michigan. She thought it was the bomb. Lake Michigan is great, even though there is not too much to see.
We stayed in the water with our snorkels and our fins until I was literally blue. The entire time, my daughter would say, ‘C’mon mama! C’mon mama!’
I would always think about that moment, and think about her child-like delight in the Lake, and how it has been something that has connected her to the Lake. Even now, she’s sixteen, and when she needs time to decompress and deal with the stress of being a teenager she goes to the Lake.
Save your favourite destinations, activities, and articles to start creating your very own personalized Great Lakes Guide.
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Save your favourite destinations, activities, and articles to start creating your very own personalized Great Lakes Guide.
As of 2024, the Great Lakes Guide will be transitioning to Biinaagami.org. Biinaagami is a multimedia, change-provoking initiative rooted in Indigenous knowledge aiming to uplift voices and to connect people with their watershed.