NiiJii
Motley Trail
207 E 2nd St.
Pillager, MN 56473
The barn quilt is located at the Pillager Fair Grounds Community Center. The barn quilt was donated by Barn Quilts of Central MN but the barn quilt name was part of an open contest to community members and fair goers which was advertised in 2023 Pillager fair book. The winner of the “barn quilt name contest” would receive $25 if their name was chosen.
The barn quilt name that was decided upon was “NiiJii”. This is the Ojibwe word meaning “friends/brothers”. We thought this was appropriate as the barn quilt is located on the exterior west-facing wall of the Community Center. The city of Pillager was named after the Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians who spoke Ojibwe.
We do not know who submitted the winning entry as they submitted the name anonymously.
This barn quilt was added to the trail in December of 2023.