Members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, drumming and dressed in regalia, led the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4 in Akron.

The one-kilometer trek began on North Portage Path across the street from Portage Path Community Learning Center and ended at the John Brown House on Diagonal Road.

The Portage Path was created by Indigenous people who populated the area for millennia before the first Europeans arrived. The 8-mile trail is one of the oldest, most visible landmarks on the North American continent. It crosses the watershed divide between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers.

Shandiin Kaline of the Northern Cheyenne Nation gets her picture taken before she walks in the 10th annual Walk the Portage Path event. Students from The Lippman School and Akron community members marched to the John Brown House, where members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation performed traditional dances and song.
Shandiin Kaline of the Northern Cheyenne Nation gets her picture taken before she walks in the 10th annual Walk the Portage Path event. Students from The Lippman School and Akron community members marched to the John Brown House, where members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation performed traditional dances and song. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)

The Summit County Historical Society marked the path in 1999 when sculptures at each terminus of the 8-mile trail were connected by 50 markers in the shape of Indigenous broad blades.

In 2018, Akron City Council declared the first Monday in October as “North American First People’s Day,” a day to honor Indigenous history, life and culture. Summit County Council extended it to the rest of the county in April 2019.

Panelists will be at the Akron-Summit County Public Main Library auditorium from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5 to share the history of North American First People’s Day in Akron and Summit County, established the first Monday in October to honor Native American history, culture and contributions

This observance grew from a longstanding cultural exchange between the Lippman School and the Northern Cheyenne Nation. Learn more about this free event here. 

Valor Killsback, left, and Sheldon King, members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, sing and play the drums during a performance at the historic John Brown House in Akron's Sherbondy Hill neighborhood at the end the 10th annual Portage Path Walk
Valor Killsback, left, and Sheldon King, members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, sing and play the drums during a performance at the historic John Brown House in Akron’s Sherbondy Hill neighborhood at the end the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)
Students from The Lippman School and Akron community members march in the 10th annual Walk the Portage Path event Sunday, Oct. 4. The group made its way to the John Brown House, where members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation performed traditional dances and song.
Students from The Lippman School and Akron community members march in the 10th annual Walk the Portage Path event Sunday, Oct. 4. The group made its way to the John Brown House, where members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation performed traditional dances and song. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)
Kaylannah StrangeOwl, a former Miss Northern Cheyenne, performs a traditional dance at the historic John Brown house in Akron at the end the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron.
Kaylannah StrangeOwl, a former Miss Northern Cheyenne, performs a traditional dance at the historic John Brown House in Akron at the end the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)
Miss Northern Cheyenne, Sieta Magpie, performs a traditional dance at the historic John Brown House in Akron at the end the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron.
Miss Northern Cheyenne, Sieta Magpie, performs a traditional dance at the historic John Brown House in Akron at the end the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)
Oliver Seminole, center, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, walks in the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron.
Oliver Seminole, center, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, walks in the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)
Chitat Killsback, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, waits to perform for students from The Lipmann School and community members after they marched in .the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron.
Chitat Killsback, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, waits to perform for students from The Lipmann School and community members after they marched in .the 10th annual Portage Path Walk Sunday, Oct. 4, in Akron. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)
Members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation get stretched out before they march in the 10th annual Walk the Portage Path event.
Members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation get stretched out before they march in the 10th annual Walk the Portage Path event. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)

Michael is a documentary photographer who explores how culture and the environment are shaped by change.
His work focuses on deeply rooted cultural traditions, the
landscapes and communities that inhabit them and questions how heritage is preserved, adapted, or lost in the face of demographic shifts and global influences.
Through photography, he seeks to create visual narratives that pay homage to cultural heritage while examining the pressing challenges posed by the influences of globalization and the divide it creates between younger and older generations.