[hi]stories that matter 

wahnabezee and the future [hi]stories of place is a project supporting the co-creation and circulation of community narratives along the waters of the Detroit River. wahnabezee, also known as Belle Isle Park, is an enchanted island, a real site and an imagined place, and a fluid commons of sorts. For centuries, the island has served as a refuge and sanctuary, a shared natural resource for humans and non-human species alike.

 

through the collection and circulation of real and imagined narratives, memories, images, maps and other traces, we aim to steward the future of the public park as a pluralistic cultural commons, a place of belonging and wonder.

 

while narratives of the island abound, many accounts remain incomplete, largely unacknowledged or have been erased from our collective memory. what [hi]stories are yet to be told, and who may tell them? how could they be shared and circulated? 

 

this website will serve as a living repository of the past, present, and future [hi]stories of place contributed by visitors, stewards and other magical creatures.