Lac du Flambeau poets to visit the Boulder Junction Public Library

Mildred “Tinker” Schuman (Migizikwe) and Elizabeth “Beth” Tornes will speak at the Boulder Junction Public Library on Thursday, June 16 at 6 pm in the Boulder Junction Community Center Boulder Lake Meeting Room. Their poetry reading is part of the Northwoods Book Festival, a series of events sponsored by seven local libraries to be held throughout the summer.

Tinker, a Lac du Flambeau tribal member, and Beth, a long-time Lac du Flambeau resident, will read their poetry, answer questions, and sell and sign books after the reading.

Tinker is a free verse published poet, storyteller, and spiritual helper. She is a member of the Ojibwe Nation of Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. Her Native name is Migizikwe, or Eagle Woman.

Tinker attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and Creative Writing.

As a poet, her work is established in Native American heritage, but is related and relevant to all walks of life, the pathways of travel on Mother Earth. She is the author of a trilogy entitled Reflections, with the first volume titled Reborn in the Sun. She is also the co-author of The Healing Blanket and a poetry CD All My Relatives: Gakina Nin De Was Maa. 

Tinker says about her work: “Expression of Life through my art, whether poetry, painting, drawing, beadwork, writing short stories, dancing, singing these phrases of my experiences, my life beliefs, my spiritual life . . . that is native tradition.”

Her many accolades include being presented with the “Elder of the Year Award” by the Wisconsin Indian Education Association. She was also featured in Mary Burns’ “Ancestral Women” weaving exhibit.

Tinker continues to share her artistic compilations through dancing, singing, writing and visual arts.

Beth has published three poetry collections, Between the Dog and the Wolf (Five Oaks Press, 2016) New Moon (Finishing Line Press, New Women’s Voices, 2013) and Snowbound (Giiwedin Press, Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets 2012 Chapbook Contest First Prize Winner). Her fourth book, Northern Skies, is due out in June 2022 by Muriel Press.

Beth has been awarded residencies at MacDowell Colony and Yaddo Colony for the Arts. Her poems have been published in many journals and anthologies, including The American Poetry Journal, Boulevard, The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag, The Missouri Review, North American Review, Poetry Daily, Ploughshares, and Solstice Literary Magazine.

Beth earned a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from the University of Utah. She has lived in Lac du Flambeau, home of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, for the past 26 years.

The Northwoods Book Festival is a joint project of seven libraries in northern Wisconsin: Boulder Junction Public Library, Ben Guthrie Lac du Flambeau Public Library, Frank B. Koller Memorial Library in Manitowish Waters, Mercer Public Library, Minocqua Public Library, Presque Isle Community Library, and Winchester Public Library. Events will be held at each participating library, and patrons are encouraged to attend events at all of our participating locations. All programs are free and open to the public. For more information about the Northwoods Book Festival, visit www.northwoodsbookfest.org.

The 2022 Northwoods Book Festival program series is made possible by a grant from the American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries.

American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. 

This program is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. For more information or questions, please call the library at 715-385-2050.