the Old Post school was closed by 1902 and from then until 1933, all Indian children were required to attend. Young John Fleming must have been about 7 years old when he was taken from his family's home at the Post and sent to the boarding school. The government's idea of removing the Indian children from their own environment was two-fold: to guarantee more regular school attendance from the children but also to prohibit the children from learning the cultural traditions of their forefathers. Speaking their Ojibway language was strictly forbidden. But instead of allowing the trauma of this time of family separation to embitter him, John drew positive motivation from this suppression and played the system to his benefit, learning as much as he possibly could about the ways of this new "white man's" world. After leaving school rich in knowledge, schooled in various trades, and an articulate man, John Fleming landed a good job managing an electrical company in St. Paul, Minnesota, for several years. Being able to save a fair amount of money, John then returned home to make his life here on what is now the Chippewa Flowage. But things had changed since his boyhood days, for the village of Old Post was no more (it had been flooded over by the new flowage in 1923). The people of Old Post (and then later of New Post) had always been part of a very close-knit society, working together to live off the land hunting, fishing, and gathering and then returning to the village to share the bounty with all the rest of the village. In his younger years, John Fleming gathered wild rice and collected maple syrup (camping out in a wigwam during their harvest seasons) and, although one would have to travel far to find a good crop, also picked blueberries.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA4MA==