Shadow Stone Circle
1995/2018 – Wood, stone, multimedia
David Barr, American, 1939-2015, Michelle Schulte-Leask, Objiwe, Born 1972
Shadow Stone Circle was created by David Barr to complement Stockade Labyrinth. His intent was to balance the colonial nature of the fort with an acknowledgement of the counter-presence of Native and Indigenous tribes. He hoped that a Native American artist would improve it.
In 2018, local artist and educator Michelle Schulte-Leask, Citizen of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas, worked with students from Suttons Bay High School to arrange the boulders to better represent Anishinaabe culture.
By representing the Medicine Wheel through four stages of the sunrise and adding Tribal flag logos and clan symbols for each of the 12 Federally Recognized Tribes in Michigan, there is now an interpretation from authentic Anishinaabe voices. The Medicine Wheel carries ancient wisdom passed to the next generation through stories and practices that support teachings about life, good health, and our connection to all things existing on the Earth, Wind, Sky, and Water.
