Herbert and Jessie Nyquist Memorial Collection of Anishinaabe Artifacts

Collection

Identifier: MSS-Miss-2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Newspapers are from the 1970s and 1980s in the Mille Lacs Messenger.

The Indian Ministries binder primarily contains documents from the 1970s from the Baptist General Conference Indian Ministries Administrative Committee. These include meeting minutes and letters from pastors in the field.

One of the jingle dresses in this collection was made by Batiste Sam of the Mille Lacs Band.

One of the cradleboards carried both Rose Noonday and her daughter Rosalie.

One pair of mocassins were crafted by Mrs. Misqudace.

One of the beaded purses was made specifically for Jessie Nyquist.

Dates

Majority of material found within 1950 - 1980

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to researcher accesss. Experts confirmed all objects are culturally appropriate to be handled by men and women.

Biographical / Historical

Herbert Nyquist was born in 1901 in Malmo, Minnesota. He married Jessie Haggberg in 1925 in Isle, Minnesota. Herb was treasurer and deacon at Isle Baptist Church, where Jessie was a musician. They adopted two children from Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Robert and Irene. Herb and Jessie Nyquist operated a general store in Isle, Minnesota. They purchased local indigenous artifacts and handicrafts from the reservation to sell in their store, as well as the locally gathered wild rice. If the locals had no transportation, the Nyquists delivered groceries to the reservation. In 1950, they were appointed missionaries by the Minnesota Baptist Conference Mission Board, although they had no official training. They began the Mille Lacs Baptist Mission under the Baptist General Conference Indian Council. They built a chapel on the reservation east of Mille Lacs. Jesse was fluent in the Ojibwe language. Jesse died in 1972, and Herb in 1987.

Extent

38 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

The Nyquists purchased some of the items in this collection at the general store in Mille Lacs. Other items were given to the couple as gifts. The Minnesota Iowa Baptist Conference donated the collection to Bethel University in 2014.

Assessment

Three experts assessed the artifacts: Travis Zimmerman, Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, Minnesota Historical Society; Jill Ahlberg Yohe, Minnesota Institute of Art; Jim Bear Jacobs, Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation. They provided contextual information about use of items and evaluated the sacred significance of items.