Historian and author Colin Mustful is proud to announce the release of a new blog series related to his upcoming novel, Resisting Removal: The Sandy Lake Tragedy of 1850. The series takes a look at the people, places, and events surrounding the Sandy Lake Tragedy and the illegal removal efforts of the Lake Superior Ojibwe that followed. Each post will cover some aspect of the Sandy Lake Tragedy by highlighting the people involved while also providing political and cultural context. Although it is a series, each post is also meant to stand alone and therefore some information may appear redundant. The subject of each post was selected for it’s relevance to the Sandy Lake Tragedy and also because the people, events, and culture, are included as a part of Mustful’s upcoming historical novel Resisting Removal. The series will be released weekly beginning Tuesday, August 21, 2018.

Although Mustful relied on numerous sources for the creation of this blog series, he would like to acknowledge the historical blog Chequamegon History, published by Amorin Mello and Leo Filipczak, as an excellent and reliable source of information. Chequamegon History offers a variety of primary source materials related to the La Pointe band of Ojibwe during the 1850s as well as excellent historical commentary by its authors. Mustful would also like to acknowledge an essay by historian Bruce White titled, “The Regional Context of the Removal Order of 1850,” and found within the book Fish in the Lakes, Wild Rice, and Game in Abundance. In his essay, White provides a thorough analysis of all actions of U.S. government officials involved with the Sandy Lake Tragedy and the removal efforts of the Lake Superior Ojibwe while including relevant and useful citations to primary source material.

Finally, Mustful would like to acknowledge that although much of this blog series reports on Ojibwe history and culture, he is not Ojibwe nor is he affiliated with any Ojibwe tribal groups. Everything posted through this series is a reflection his own perspective which is guided by careful research of Ojibwe and other sources. If you discover an error or misinterpretation please do not hesitate to contact the author that such errors may be changed or deleted.

Mustful is a Minnesota resident who studied history at Minnesota State University, Mankato. His previous works include three historical novels about the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862 and its preceding context. He has also published an electronic textbook titled Confronting Minnesota’s Past and an online academic course about the U.S. – Dakota War through Udemy.com. Mustful’s previous blog series’ include Fifty Questions and Answers about the U.S. – Dakota War and Lessons from the Novel Ceding Contempt – twenty-five blogs related the 1851 Treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota. These blogs have also been published as YouTube videos and can be found on the author’s YouTube channel.

Currently, Mustful is a candidate for a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. He hopes his work shedding light on the tragic and complicated events of Minnesota’s past will create awareness and open productive thought and discussion on our country’s historical blemishes. Mustful is open and willing to collaborate with community members in order to create more attention and awareness about these important and misunderstood historical topics. Finally, Mustful is available for public speaking at schools, libraries, historical organizations, book clubs, and elsewhere. He can be reached at mnauthor@colinmustful.com.