The Fox Islands consist of the North Fox and South Fox islands, in Lake Michigan. The uninhabited islands are approximately northwest of Cathead Point near the tip of the

Leelanau Peninsula The Leelanau Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan that extends about from the western side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan. Leelanau County encompasses the entire peninsula. It is often referred to ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and about southwest of Beaver Island. The three islands form part of an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

. South Fox Island Light was built in 1867 and operated until 1959. Both islands are part of

Leelanau County, Michigan Leelanau County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 22,301. Since 2008, the county seat has been located within Suttons Bay Township, one mile east of the unincorporated village of ...

, and are administered by Leelanau Township. Several shipwrecks have occurred on the Fox Islands, or the reefs adjoining them; in 1851, the ''Illinois'' was reported as a "total wreck" on the Fox Island reef, In 1860, the bark ''Fontanelle'' ran aground at the Fox Islands, and in 1861, the schooner ''Nightingale''. In 1873, the ships ''Frank Perew'' and ''Magnet'' encountered trouble at the Fox Islands.

North Fox Island

North Fox () is the smaller of the two islands, in area, roughly wide by long. This island was purchased by real estate magnate David V. Johnson in 1994 for $1.3 million, and the entire island was sold back to the state of Michigan for $2.2 million at the end of the year 2000. The island is currently operated as part of the

Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research Area The Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research Area is a networked set of insular properties of the U.S. state of Michigan. The Research Area is approximately 23,154 acres in size. Properties in the Research Area include much of the southern half ...

. North Fox Island has an operational public 3,000-foot-long by 100-foot-wide turf airstrip as of 8/2015, making it accessible by general aviation. Airport designation is 6Y3. This runway is unsealed. In the 1970s, a

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...

ring was discovered operating on North Fox Island. The proprietor of the island, Francis Shelden, with help from Dyer Grossman,

Adam Starchild Adam Aristotle Starchild, born Malcolm Willis McConahy, (20 September 1946 – 22 September 2006) was a financial consultant, convicted fraudster, key figure in the " perpetual traveler" movement, and prolific author of books relating to investmen ...

, and Gerald Richards, created a fraudulent charity they named Brother Paul's Children's Mission as a cover to fly boys in Shelden's private plane to his island retreat. The ''Detroit Free Press'' published a feature story in their weekend magazine on Shelden and the island, then published a second story when the crimes were uncovered. The crimes have long been suspected to have ties to the Oakland County Child Killer case.

South Fox Island

South Fox Island () is in area, and about long and wide. As of 2001, David V. Johnson also owned about two-thirds of South Fox. The other third was owned by the state of Michigan, including the two lighthouses on the southern tip of the island. There is no ferry service to South Fox, and it has no docks, fuel or sheltered harbor. However, a private airport with a private runway can accommodate jet aircraft. Two generations of the South Fox Island Light stand at the southern extremity of the island. The first, built in 1867, is a brick house with attached tower; the second, a skeletal tower, is the former Sapelo Island Light, which was moved to the site in 1934. The Fox Island Lighthouse Association (FILA), a non-profit organization, was formed in 2004 to aid in preservation of the light station structures. Johnson built a paved runway and a residence on the southern island; the runway is about 1600 metres long. He had originally proposed swapping North Fox Island with the state for the third of South Fox that he did not own, but he settled in 2003 for a consolidation deal which traded of state owned land on the southern part of South Fox for on the north and central parts of the same island. This deal was finalized in March 2003. Johnson owns on the isolated Lake Michigan island west of the Leelanau County coast. South Fox Island boasts some of the most spectacular freshwater maritime scenery in the world, including towering dunes, virgin cedars, and untouched beaches. The island includes a cemetery where members of the

Grand Traverse Band The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians ( oj, Gichi-wiikwedong Odaawaag miina ojibweg) is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sam McClellan is the current tribal c ...

of Native Americans are currently buried. These islands are historically important for the three federally recognized tribes of Odawa peoples in Michigan, the

, the

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Little River Band of Ottawa Indians ( oj, Gaaching-Ziibi Daawaa Anishinaabe) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recog ...

and the

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBBOI, oj, Waganakising Odawa) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of Odawa. A large percentage of the more than 4000 tribal members continue to reside within the tribe's traditio ...

. Deer were introduced onto the island in 1915. Hunting is permitted on state land.

Indigenous Name of Fox Islands

There are three federally recognized tribes of Odawa peoples in Michigan, the

, the

and the

. These tribes are also known as

Anishinaabeg The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, M ...

(adjectival: Anishinaabe) and are a group of culturally related

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

present in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

region of Canada and the United States. They include the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

(including

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, A ...

and

Oji-Cree The Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a narrow band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree people are d ...

), Odawa, Potawatomi, Mississaugas, Nipissing and

Algonquin peoples The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawato ...

. The Anishinaabe speak ''Anishinaabemowin'', or

Anishinaabe languages The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

that belong to the

Algonquian language family The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...

. The

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...

people that live in and around

Harbor Springs, Michigan Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County, Michigan. The population was 1,194 in the 2010 census. Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. The Little Traverse Lig ...

, have a long history of occupation of the land in northern

. From this history and engagement with their land comes cultural stories that have been recorded by Jane Willetts Ettawageshik. These

stories speak of how the

people related to their land, to their people, and various other means of communicating their values, outlooks and histories. Jane Willetts Ettawageshik recorded various stories in Odawa of the Odawa peoples in northern Michigan. These stories have been translated into a book "Ottawa Stories from the Springs, Anishinaabe dibaadjimowinan wodi gaa binjibaamigak wodi mookodjiwong e zhinikaadek" by Howard Webkamigad. One such story is “Anishinaabe ikwewizens miinawaa do animookaadjiinmon / The Story of the Young Anishinaabe Woman and Her Dog”. This story tells of a young Anishinaabe woman who comes of age and is told to seek her sacred vision. After 10 days, she comes back to the village knowing her sacred vision and eventually the young woman runs away with her dog. The young woman finds an abandoned island and mates with her dog and has dog/human hybrid children. Eventually, some Anishinaabe warriors come across her island finding the woman, her spouse-dog and their dog/human children. The Anishinaabe warriors go back to their village and tell the woman’s older brother about his sister. The brother goes and kills his sister and her family. The Anishinaabe outlaw animal / human marriage because of this woman as well as name two islands after the woman and her dog husband, animookaadjiinon, though the name has been changed in English t
North and South Fox Island
s.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20030518033305/http://www.lighthousefriends.com/macstraits.html Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits.br>Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.North Fox Island and South Fox Island: Blocks 2000 and 2001, Census Tract 9701, Leelanau County, Michigan
United States Census Bureau {{Authority control Islands of Leelanau County, Michigan Uninhabited islands of Michigan Islands of Lake Michigan in Michigan