Echo Maker book launch
Thank you for joining us for the launch of Echo Maker which took place in Temagami in October 2025, marking the culmination of many years of dedication, partnership, and community effort.
Echo Maker is an eloquent biography written by acclaimed author James Raffan, chronicling Craig Macdonald and his creation of the Historical Map of Temagami. The book takes readers on an intimate journey through Craig’s life—his family, his work, and the relationships he built with the Indigenous people who guided and supported the mapping project.
Craig Macdonald is an ethno-geographer, Cree-Ojibwa place-name linguist and trails expert who spent three decades doing research in the area to create a historical map of Temagami.
The book began to take shape in 2020, when Victoria and Richard Grant approached the Temagami Community Foundation to sponsor a project they had long envisioned: a book chronicling Craig Macdonald and his creation of the Historical Map of Temagami, which documents the lakes, trails, and portages of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai. The Grants generously funded the project through a donation to the Foundation. As a result, the Foundation owns the manuscript and all royalties, which will be directed to a reconciliation fund benefiting the Teme-Augama Anishnabai.
The roots of Craig Macdonald’s work stretch back to 1966, when he became concerned that essential traditional knowledge was being lost. While guiding canoe trips for Kirk Wipper at Minis Kitigan on Lady Evelyn Lake, Craig formed a close friendship with Teme-Augama Anishnabai Elder Peter Albany and his family. With Peter’s encouragement, he began recording the region’s Indigenous heritage—ultimately documenting more than 1,200 portages, 75 snowshoe trails, and over 600 Indigenous place names and their meanings.
Over the next 26 years, Peter connected Craig with community members across the region. Craig interviewed more than 300 Elders from Bear Island, Toronto, Sudbury, and Quebec, working with hundreds of contributors whose names are recognized as “Co-Creators” in the appendix of Echo Maker. The work culminated in the Traditional Map of Temagami, published in 1996, depicting lakes, portage trails, winter routes, original shorelines, and place names as they existed when the Teme-Augama Anishnabek were the sole inhabitants of the area.
The Foundation is eternally grateful to Craig for his decades of work, to James Raffan for capturing his story, and to Victoria and Richard Grant for their vision and leadership in bringing Echo Maker to life.
Purchase your keepsake copy today!