Anishinaabe Edinokiiwad (where the Native people work)

Mary Murray
The MMCC Lodge

The Mary Murray Culture Camp was the vision of a tribal elder, the late Mary Murray. She said she saw the need for “a place where little brown faces can learn about who they are as Indian children, and where they can learn about their culture to become proud of their Native heritage.” To that end, in 1975 she donated the 40 acres on Sugar Island where the camp sits with the stipulation it be used to provide a place to maintain and preserve the Tribe’s traditional way of life.

The Mary Murray Culture Camp provides meaningful camps, activities, and events that focus on Anishinaabe life ways and traditions through the teaching of traditional life skills & land based education. This department also assists in the planning and implementing of various community events, projects, and activities, including powwows, ceremonies, and cultural programming. The Mary Murray Culture Camp includes the Cultural Activities Coordinator, the Cultural Activities Assistant, and the MMCC Maintenance Technician.

There are a variety of activities offered, including camps for winter survival, sugar bush, lodge teachings, and smoking fish. We also offer workshops for those wanting to learn how to make moccasins, baskets, moose hide mittens, and other traditional arts. Field trips include harvesting of birch bark and medicine picking. Ideas and suggestions for future camps are always welcome.

Camp staff is available for Anishinaabe cultural awareness workshops and activities at local schools, programs, and organizations.
The Culture Camp also provides a venue for tribal programs and community organizations to host their own retreats. Some of the retreats held in the past include fasting camp, language immersion, International Scholars, women’s wellness, cultural sensitivity, and Protectors of the Earth.

For our tribal community and families, the Culture Camp has hosted many ceremonies and gatherings such as feasts, sweat lodges, Elder gatherings, nature trail tours, and powwow accommodations.

Contact Information

Mary Murray Culture Camp
266 Homestead Road
Sugar Island, MI
Phone: 906‑635‑5604

Tyler Bouschor
Cultural Activities Coordinator
Phone: 906‑635‑6510, ext. 26141
Cell: 906‑203‑6382
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Geezhik McCoy
Cultural Activities Assistant
Phone: 906‑635‑6510, ext. 26141
Cell: TBA
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.