FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: April 16,2013

CONTACT: FRANK CLOUTIER, Public Relations Director


Call 989-775-4076 with any questions.

SAGINAW CHIPPEWA INDIAN TRIBE APPROVED AS STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, the Director of the National Park Service has formally approved the proposal of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan to assume certain State Historic Preservation Officer duties within the tribe's reservation and on tribal trust lands in Michigan. The Tribe has assumed formal responsibility for review of Federal undertakings pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

William Johnson has been named the interim Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO). His contact information is as follows: Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways, 6650 E. Broadway, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, 48858. Office (989) 775-4750. Fax (989) 775-4770 or at wjohnson@sagchip.org.

Charmaine Shawana, Tribal Council Member states ''This recognition is another part of our sovereignty that the federal government is finally recognizing even though we have been assuming these duties as part of our own responsibility for quite some time now."

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is the 142 Tribal Historic Preservation Office in the United States and the fifth one in Michigan. The other Native Tribes that have been issued THPO are: Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Bay Mills Indian Community and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

In Addition, the Tribe has assumed all of the other SHPO functions set out in the Act with the exceptions of assisting in the certification of local governments and assisting in the evaluation oflnvestment Tax Credit rehabilitation projects.