The Muzzeniegun, or The Literary Voyageur, was published from 1826 to 1827. It was collaboratively created by the Ojibwe poet Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, her siblings, and her settler husband and includes poetry, biographies, Ojibwe stories, and anthropological information. The project will create a digital edition of the magazine, making a significant work of early Indigenous literature publicly accessible. In addition, the group will develop digital tools that innovatively illuminate the contexts of translation, exchange, and appropriation crucial to the magazine’s production yet obfuscated in contemporary scholarship.
The 2026 ACLS Digital Justice Development Grant, part of The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Digital Justice Grants Program, is meant to support digital projects across the humanities and social sciences that critically engage with the interests and histories of people of color and other historically marginalized communities through the ethical use of digital tools and methods.
Supported by the Mellon Foundation, the program also prioritizes projects that bolster the local ecosystem of digital humanities at their academic, community, or cultural heritage institutions, thereby creating opportunities for scholars, especially those within historically underfunded fields, to pursue innovative, diverse digital scholarship.
The Ojibwe Muzzeniegun Digital Edition is one of seven established projects that has been awarded ACLS Digital Justice Development Grants of up to $100,000. Grantees will have the opportunity to collaborate with the Nonprofit Finance Fund on developing a long-term financial plan for their projects.
Project Leadership
In addition to Jill Doerfler, Professor and head of UMD’s Department of American Indian Studies, the other members of the principal project team are:
- Barbara Bair, Library of Congress, Curator
- Angela Calcaterra, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Associate Professor
- Sean Dorr, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, PhD Candidate
- Bradley Dubos, The Ohio State University, Assistant Professor
- Katrina Phillips, Macalester College, Associate Professor
- Kathryn Walkiewicz, University of California, San Diego, Associate Professor
- Kelly Wisecup, Northwestern University, Professor
- Rochelle Raineri Zuck, Iowa State University, Associate Professor