To Honor & Respect Anishinabe Ancestral Repatriation Observance
8/20/2018 2:50:00 PM - Ziibiwing Cultural Center

To Honor & Respect

Anishinabe Ancestral Repat riat ion Observance

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and its Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture

& Lifeways will recommit back to the earth the ancestral human r emains of one Native American

individual from the University of Michigan’s Museum of Anthropological Archaeology (UMMAA)

from the Garry site of Arenac County, MI. Not subject to NAGPRA, the Arenac County Historical

Society will repatriate 15 associated funerary objects to the Saginaw Chippew a Indian Tribe of Michigan.

In August of 1971, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual wer e removed from

the Garry site (20AC19) in Arenac County, MI. Workers contacted the Michigan State Police after

encountering human remains while digging a trench for a water main on private land. The human

remains are of one adolescent, indeterminate sex, 17-18 years old. No kno wn individuals were

identified. Several Post-Contact Period funerary objects wer e found in association with the burial

but were transferred to the Arenac County Historical Society instead of the UMMAA.

The human remains have been determined to be Native American based on burial treatment and diagnostic

artifacts. A relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably traced between the Native American

human remains from this site and the Chippewa based on multiple lines of eviden ce. The associated funerary

objects noted from the site are typical of the types of goods traded in the r egion from approximately

A.D. 1760 to 1820. Additionally, according to historical records, when the burial occurred, the Chippewa

were the predominant tribe in the area. This is further evinced by a treaty creating two Chippewa reservations

in the vicinity of the Garry site in 1837. The Saginaw Chippewa were the sole signatories of this tr eaty.

The Notice of Inventory Completion posted to the Federal Regist er on July 12, 2018.

PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY

Thursday, September 6 • 2pm

Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways

6650 East Broadway • Mt. Pleasant, Michigan

Witness the final preparations and

ceremonial protocols for the ancestor.

RECOMMITMENT TO THE EARTH

Thursday, September 6 • 3pm

Nibokaan Ancestral Cemetery

7525 East Tomah Rd. • Mt. Pleasant, Michigan

The interested public is invited to attend.

JOURNEY FEAST

Thursday, September 6 • 4pm

Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways

6650 East Broadway • Mt. Pleasant, Michigan

A Journey Feast will conclude the ancestral protocols.