Quick Facts
Biography
Maude Kegg (Ojibwa name Naawakamigookwe, meaning "Centered upon the Ground Woman"; 1904–1996) was an Ojibwa writer, folk artist, and cultural interpreter. She was a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, located in east-central Minnesota.
Background
She was born as Maude Ellen Mitchell during the Manoominike-giizis (or "Ricing Moon"), which occurs in August, in 1904 in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, to Charles Mitchell, a member of the non-Removable Mille Lacs Indians of the Adik-doodem, and his wife, Nancy Pine.
Due to the death of her mother either in childbirth or soon afterwards, Maude Mitchell was raised by her father and her maternal grandmother, Margaret Pine, (also known in Ojibwe as Aakogwan).
Maude chose her own birthdate as August 26 since the exact date of her birth was not known.
Marriage
She married Martin Kegg in 1920 in a traditional Indian manner, and, again in 1922 in a church or religious ceremony.
Honors
Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich honored Maude by declaring August 26, 1986, as "Maude Kegg Day" for the State of Minnesota. In 1990, she was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in recognition of her work.
Death
She died in January 1996, aged 91.