Audience Location:
Manitoulin Island
Date and Time:
6/24/2017 at 6:00 pm
Water Locale:
Lake Huron
Choreographer(s):
Lauren Butler
Professional dancer, choreographer and teacher, in Chicago, Minneapolis, La Paz (Bolivia), and NYC.
Environmental engineer, currently a research scientist at Columbia University analyzing water pollution from mining in Peru.
Previous engineering project manager in developing countries for improved access to water resources.
Choreographer of an international dance series about water.
Founder and director of Resonant Dance, which focuses on science and environmental collaborations.
History of Site and Related Water Issues:
Manitoulin Island /?mæn??tu?l?n/ (originally Ekaentouton) is a Canadian lake island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest freshwater lake island in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and Archaic cultures dating from 10,000 BC to 2000 BC.
The current name of the island is the English version, via French, of the historic Odawa name Manidoowaaling, which means “cave of the spirit”. It was named for an underwater cave where a powerful spirit was said to live. By the 19th century, the Odawa “l” was pronounced as “n”. The same word with a newer pronunciation is used for the town Manitowaning (19th-century Odawa “Manidoowaaning”), which is located on Manitoulin Island near the underwater cave where legend has it that the spirit dwells. The modern Odawa name for Manitoulin Island is Mnidoo Mnis, meaning “Spirit Island”.
Manitoulin Island contains a number of lakes of its own. In order of size, its three most prominent lakes are Lake Manitou, Lake Kagawong and Lake Mindemoya. Each of these three lakes in turn have islands within them, the largest of these being Lake Mindemoya’s 82-acre Treasure Island, located in the centre of Manitoulin.
Music:
David Butler
The Performance:
An intimate duet by Lauren and Karie Butler
Email for more information: