Interesting! I've heard arguments for Japanese influence on Pacific Northwest and Californian Indian tribes, but that's the first time I've heard of a Chippewa connection. I did have a Chippewa friend in high school, but I think he was only half-Chippewa; would have to think whether I'd describe him as Japanese-looking. Offhand I think his facial features kind of reminded me of Jim Plunkett, the 1970s quarterback--I know Plunkett was of Indian descent but I'm not sure what tribe.
On your other post on Minnesota petroglyphs, there are a number of other petroglyph sites in that part of Minnesota besides the Kensington one. Here's one which is near the Kensington site but considerably older:
At Jeffers, the ancients left their story written in stone
Photos of the Jeffers Petroglyphs and SW Minnesota
There are a number of other interesting petroglyph sites all over the US and Canada. One that seems possibly Scandinavian is the Sanilac Petroglyph site:
The Sanilac Petroglyph site is located approximately in the center of Michigan's "thumb area," almost in line with Bay City, Michigan. It is one of our state's most interesting archaeological sites and is open to the public. Sanilac Petroglyph State Park is Michigan's only known example of primitive petroglyph art. The site is two miles east of New Greenfield, Michigan. and covers 240 acres of wilderness. The sign at the intersection of Bay City-Forestville and Germania roads and the park entrance makes it easy to find. . .
The main petroglyph itself is a sandstone outcropping about 40 feet long by 15 feet wide. All over the carved surface of the rock are petroglyphs, some deep and others barely discernible. There are human figures, outlines of hands and feet, zoomorphic figures, bird forms, animal tracks, small cup-like depressions, spirals, clubs and rake-like elements, as well as apparently mythical animals. . .
Because of weathering problem, no exact date for the site has been agreed upon. There appears to be no way of using forest development, pollen analysis or dendrochrology to date this site. No one knows for sure who the carvers were or what the images they created mean. . .
In the 1940's the Cranbrook Institute archaeologist Darrel J. Richards thoroughly recorded the site, taking both pictures and diagramming the site. Anyone familiar with the Petersborough, Ontario and Kelley's Island sites, and Ohio petroglyph sites will notice a marked similarity to the style and symbolism at the Sanilac site. There is the possibility that these sites are somehow related. The Petersborough site was detailed by Harvard Professor Barry Fell's book, Bronze Age America. Professor Fell deciphered these petroglyphs as being a record of Norse copper traders from around 2000 BC, as many of these inscriptions were "in his interpretation" consistent with Tifnag and Ogam consiane alphabets. Many of the rake-like elements of the Sanilac inscriptions do strongly resemble the Ogam writing system, and it is possible that Native Americans of Michigan played an international and diplomatic role and hosted Norsemen thousands of years before the arrival of Columbus. It may just be possible that the Norse may have been met by local inhabitants of the area and were allowed to record their visit on the stone along with earlier and later Indian inscriptions. Stranger things have been discovered. If this were found to be true, Michigan would certainly become one of the more prominent states involved in "New-World exploration" archaeology.