Paul Bunyan VS Nanaboozhoo(Shirley Smothers) The figure of Bunyan was adapted by the Ojibwe people into folklore about Nanaboozhoo, a hero of the Ojibwe and Annishinaabe.

Nanaboozhoo is depicted as a defender of the Forest, he prevented Paul Bunyan from logging, and cutting down all the trees. He protected the North woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Ojibwe have a story about Paul Bunyan. He came to the area known as Red Lake and tried to cut down all the trees, but Nanaboozhoo - The Greatest Ojibwe who ever lived - wasn't having any of that. They got into a fight that lasted 3 days, and finally the hero picked up a giant walleye and slapped the enemy silly with it. Paul got knocked on his butt in a mud puddle, so hard it left an imprint there in the wet ground, that's why the lake is shaped the way it is and why they were able to keep the Wilderness.

This story may never appear in a book, but it has been passed down from one generation to another. The town of Bemidj was said to be Paul's favorite. That's the story behind the Paul/Babe & Nanaboozhoo statues in that town. There used to be a sign but is was said the chimooks didn't like it and kept cutting it down.

While Bunyan’s fictional crew is European American, Native men also labored in logging camps. It allowed many Native workers to earn wages  and remain close to their homelands. Other Native people, meanwhile, created Paul Bunyan tales of their own. By the late 1800s, Ojibwe storytellers explained the preservation of forests at Red Lake by saying that Bunyan had lost a fight with Nanabozho, the mythical Ojibwe trickster hero who predated him.

This story emphasizes the importance of preserving the natural environment. Cut down trees, but replace them. Let’s all be cautious about the Carbon footprints we leave on our Earth.

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