A Face in the Rock: The Tale of a Grand Island Chippewa
The story at its heart
A Face in the Rock follows the life of a single survivor, a young Chippewa brave known as Powers of the Air. He is the lone escapee from a brutal raid that leaves his band decimated. What begins as a tale of loss becomes a longer, quieter story about survival, negotiation, and cultural resilience on Grand Island and the surrounding Upper Peninsula.
Powers of the Air — runner, organizer, translator
Powers of the Air is first introduced as a remarkable runner, so swift he seems driven by the wind. That physical gift saves his life, but it is not the end of his importance. Over decades he grows into a thoughtful leader and a bridge between worlds.
- He learns English and becomes the spokesperson for his people.
- He navigates relationships with visiting Americans, British visitors, and local settlers.
- He organizes and cares for a community facing displacement, cultural loss, and the pressures of resource extraction.
Above all, Powers of the Air represents what can happen when someone within a community chooses to work both to preserve native life and to find practical, peaceful ways to live alongside newcomers.
Encounters with settlers and scientific figures
The book traces how outside actors — fur traders, miners, bankers, and scientists — transformed the Upper Peninsula. Among the most interesting characters are prominent men who arrived to survey the land, some tied to big institutions and the emerging national economy.
One figure frequently mentioned is Alexander Agassiz, a scientist and institution-builder who brought attention and investment to the region. These encounters often produced mixed outcomes: economic opportunity for some, environmental damage and loss of traditional ways for many.
Grand Island, pictured rocks, and cultural meaning
The landscape itself plays an active role in the story. The Pictured Rocks and the colored cliffs around Lake Superior were not merely scenic; they held cultural significance for the Chippewa. For native people, colors, places, and the images etched into rock carried meaning and memory. For outsiders, those same features often appeared only as resources or curiosities.
When leaders like Powers of the Air guided visiting men around those shores, they translated not only words but the landscape’s meaning in ways the newcomers could understand and respect.
Death at the Lighthouse — a companion tale
Written later and set on the far end of Grand Island, Death at the Lighthouse takes a different tack. Where the earlier book centers community and long view, this one reads like a local mystery. Two keepers vanish under uneasy circumstances, and the island’s isolation becomes central to the narrative.
Lighthouses demanded solitude, discipline, and endless routine. The book examines the men who took on that work, their frailties, and the conflicting local accounts of what happened when they disappeared. The author does not force a neat ending, which is itself an honest historical choice: sometimes evidence points in different directions and the truth remains entangled in memory.
Research, oral history, and the limits of evidence
Reconstructing these stories required combining written records, local recollections, and oral testimony. That mix reveals both riches and problems. In pre-literate communities, important events are preserved through memory and storytelling, but those memories change shape with each telling. Written sources can be sparse or biased, and the historian must weigh conflicting accounts.
“We do not know what happened to him.”
That line encapsulates a responsible historian’s stance: present the evidence, acknowledge uncertainty, and let readers weigh the possibilities. Respect for oral testimony and care with archival material are both needed to approach a fuller understanding.
The book’s central argument
At its core, A Face in the Rock argues that practical cooperation and cultural translation mattered. Powers of the Air’s decision to learn English, to speak for his people, and to negotiate with newcomers shaped the survival of his band and their ties to the land. The story is not an idealized romance; it shows conflict within Native communities, difficult compromises, and the real costs of colonial expansion.
Why this story matters today
The tale of Powers of the Air resonates because it models a pragmatic, humane response to a world of competing interests. It is the story of someone who refuses to give up his people’s dignity while also recognizing the need to engage with powerful outsiders.
In times of division and rapid change, there is a lesson in choosing practical, respectful engagement over destruction or despair. The book invites readers to consider how landscape, language, and leadership shape community survival.
How to read it
Read A Face in the Rock as both a narrative and a study in cultural encounter. Let the rhythm of the island life and the quiet decisions of its people make their case. Expect to come away with questions — about memory, authorship, and the way histories are constructed — and a deeper appreciation for the resilience of the Chippewa and the complexity of the Upper Peninsula’s past.
Parting thought
Stories like these are rooted in place. They ask us to listen closely to elders, to honor oral memory, and to admit when we do not have all the answers. Powers of the Air may be a figure of the past, but the choices he faces—of leadership, translation, and survival—are remarkably modern.
