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Great Lakes Lifeways Institute

Rooted in tradition. Growing the future.

For nearly fifteen years, Great Lakes Lifeways Institute (GLLI) has worked alongside tribal communities, Elders, youth, educators, and knowledge carriers to revitalize land-based cultural practices across the Great Lakes and beyond. Our work is grounded in relationship—relationship to land, water, ancestors, and one another.

We build with intention: bark lodges, birch bark canoes, dugout canoes, food and seed systems, harvest camps, community spaces, and pathways for young people to learn directly from those who hold the teachings. These aren’t just projects—they’re living practices that strengthen identity, restore connection, and support resilient Indigenous futures.

GLLI operates with humility, respect, and a commitment to collaboration. Every partnership begins with listening; every teaching is rooted in reciprocity; every step forward honors those who came before us.

Revitalizing cultural knowledge through hands-on, intergenerational learning

  • Traditional Building & Cultural Spaces
    Elm bark lodges, maple sugar bush structures, community learning spaces, bark houses, and Indigenous-designed architecture.

  • Canoe Building & Waterway Knowledge
    Birchbark canoes (wiigwaasi-jiimaan), dugout canoes, cedar-bark watercraft, and ancestral navigation practices.

  • Food Sovereignty & The Giiwekii Flint Corn Project
    Growing, harvesting, rematriating, and teaching regionally adapted flint corn and Indigenous foods across multiple tribal communities.

  • Youth & Apprenticeships
    Hands-on training in building, harvesting, cooking, carving, planting, and learning from Elders and cultural leaders.

  • Land-Based Education & Cultural Programming
    Harvest camps, community gatherings, teachings, storytelling, curriculum partnerships, and seasonal workshops.

Why this work matters

Indigenous land-based practices hold the teachings that guide healthy, connected, sovereign communities. When youth learn these skills, when Elders are honored for their knowledge, when seeds return home, when canoes touch the water again—whole communities feel that shift.

This work strengthens cultural identity, supports community healing, and builds the leadership and knowledge systems that future generations deserve.