On St. Ignace History Day Saturday, July 31, presenters will give visitors the chance to take a trip back in time at the Fort de Buade Museum, where the Native American fur trading days will be reawakened with demonstrations, guided tours, flute music, and an outdoor corn roast from noon to 2 p.m. Hosted by the Michilimackinac Historic Society, the event is free to the public.

Activities during the day include musical performances from “Silverfox,” a Native American flute master, presentations from historical presenters Dr. Larry Martin and Keith Knecht, and guided walking tours of the cemetery from noon to 2 p.m. and boardwalk from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Mr. Martin will show visitors the art of flint knapping, fire-making, and how to operate a pump drill, which were all techniques used by Native Americans during the fur trade era, and will be exhibiting several examples of antiquated flint and steel strikers from the fur trading period of the 16th to 18th centuries.

Flint knapping consists of taking a flint rock and striking it with pieces of deer or elk antler to knock off flakes that can be fashioned into stone tools.

“I'll give people a sense of how it might be done, and how sharp these implements could be with nothing more than flakes knocked off of flint,” adding that he will be showing how Native Americans' tools evolved after making contact with the fur traders.

He will also have his book, “A Week in the Wilderness,” on sale, which instructs readers how to live off the land for an extended period using skills from the Native American culture. The book is based on a week that he spent alone in the northern Michigan wilderness. The experiment was spurred by his desire to test his survival skills.

“My uncle and grandfather were good at bringing primitive skills into the activity of the day,” he explained. “They taught me phenomenal crow calling, and that kind of kept the fire burning so that I developed further skills. This trip was designed to be the culmination.”

By design, the book shows how to start a trip by using modern survival tools and eventually replacing them with only Native American ones, shirking modern items such as matches and fish hooks. Illustrated with 400 photographs and drawings from his trip, it “covers everything from psychological preparation, to making clay pots, bow and arrows, fire without matches, and [finding] wild foods as well,” he said.

The experience has given him a better appreciation for modern conveniences, he said, making him less apt to complain about inconveniences. He hopes it will do the same for others.

“It helps you understand that what the Native American fur traders worked through wasn't easy,” he said. “It required a great deal of time, effort, and creativity. They performed remarkably well, and are an inspiration for us to do the kinds of things they have done.”

Mr. Knecht will conduct demonstrations on making birch bark containers and lead museum tours in which he will describe the history of the fur trade in the Straits region and the establishment of Fort de Buade by the French in the 1600s.

Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit, established the mission in St. Ignace in 1671 and the French built Fort de Buade in the 1680s to regulate and protect the fur trade.

“The Straits were already a gathering area,” he explained, “one of the major crossroads in the Great Lakes. This was kind of the central hub where the fur trades came together.”

In addition to the presentations, children's author Dorris Kelley will be signing her “Big Mitten Mysteries” books for young readers, including her latest book, which is set at the Fort de Buade museum.

The lives of St. Ignace ancestors, Keith Massaway, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, will be hosting

Guided tours of the St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Cemetery from noon to 2 p.m. will feature short presentations on the lives of important historical figures buried there.

“It's a fun thing to learn a little of the history of the people that have passed before us,” said Keith Massaway, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Historical Society member who is organizing the tours.

Walking tours on the downtown boardwalk will be offered from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. beginning at the Museum of Ojibwa Culture, which will feature a historical account of the logging and fishing trades in St. Ignace. A free self-guided walking tour guide is also available at the museum.

Donations will be taken to benefit the Michilimackinac Historical Society.