Three children bundled up in winter clothes play with a dog in the snow outside of a log cabin, in a lumber camp in Sagamok, 1937. Lewis' brother, Mike Debassige, is seen on the left: "a big mess, as usual", and his cousin Bernard Jones is playing with the dog. "We used to harness that dog, let him pull us all over the place..." Lewis' father was a teamster working at the lumber camps, and his mother was a camp cook. His grandfather was a logger and trapper there as well.

Family photo

Lewis Debassige, estimating from the age of of his brother (pictured). "About 72 years ago."

Taken by Lazare Debassige, Lewis' father. Lazare was known as "kind of a shutterbug", and took this and many other pictures with the brownie camera that is now also part of the family collection. This photo was passed down to Lewis from Lazare.

Lazare Debassige, Children playing outside in a lumber camp, Sagamok, winter 1937, Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, photograph. Currently at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation. Item viewed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip September 2009; GRASAC item id 1094.

The information in this entry was told to Crystal Migwans by Lewis Debassige at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation Sept 18, 2009, in the form of a series of stories relating to each image in the collection. Lewis agreed to share these stories Crystal took notes, using Lewis' exact words where possible, and entered it in the database afterward. These stories were shared with us at the formal request of Cory Wilmott.