GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Angeline Kelsey ‘Naw Kay o Say’ Yob, a descendant and ancestor of chiefs, was an educator, community activist and citizen of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians.
Her legacy is forever immortalized in the makeup of Grand Rapids: an expansive mural in the alley between the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum and The Apartment Lounge.
Artist Alan Compo said in his artist statement that he wanted to showcase that Yob taught local Natives to embrace their heritage.
The mural, titled “Angeline Kelsey ‘Naw Kay o Say’ Yob Way,” is specifically located on the French-angled downtown streets that were originally Indigenous footpaths leading to Ada.
“Angeline Kelsey Yob helped establish many of the first groups for the Grand Rapidian Native Americans,” said Compo, who is also a tribal member of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians. “It’s really important for these kids, for me and a lot of Natives growing up to know where you come from and not to shy away from it.”
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Yob, who was born in 1924 and died in 2002, was the great-great granddaughter of Chief Maish Ke Aw She, one of the signatories of the Treaty of 1855, which provided the terms for the removal of the Ottawa from the Grand River Valley.
At the age of 5, she experienced her own forced move to a Native American boarding school.
Still, she retained her native language and went on to help lead the Native American Education Program at Grand Rapids Public Schools, which is still in operation today.
For three decades, she used stories as teaching instruments to help Indigenous students learn and grow in their traditions.
As a way to commemorate Yob’s legacy, Compo weaved various vibrant elements into the mural.
For example, the turtle pays homage to all the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, and the kids dancing represent the culture and knowledge Yob brought children.
“I placed her portrait within the medicine wheel because of the constant lessons within,” he said.
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Compo was part of a group of local artists who created six murals for the Women’s Way Initiative, which was launched in 2020.
The city of Grand Rapids partnered with several organizations, including the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, Lions & Rabbits Creative Arts & Events Space, Dwelling Place and Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.
Together, they collaborated with local businesses and institutional partners to showcase local minority women leaders.
“There’s barely any parks or roads named after women,” said Kimberly Van Driel, director of public space management for Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc. “Locally, we’re ahead of the national standard of how many monuments, parks and trails are named after a street, but there are all these alleyways in Grand Rapids that are not named.”
The ribbon cutting for the Angeline Kelsey “Naw Kay o say” Yob mural was in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Compo took about three weeks to paint it.
Learn more by visiting womenswaygr.org.
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