6650 E. Broadway • Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Phone: 989-775-4750 • Fax: 989-775-4770
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Contact:
Stefanie Griffin, Sales & Events Coordinator • SGriffin@sagchip.org
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways
6650 E. Broadway • Mt. Pleasant, MI  48858
Phone 989.775.4744 • Fax 989.775.4770 • www.sagchip.org/ziibiwing

For Immediate Release - January 19, 2010

Mt. Pleasant, Michigan  The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways will open a new changing exhibition entitled, "The Dr. Mike & Linda Shinkle Collection: People of the Turtle," on Saturday, Jan. 30 with a Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony at 12pm. The exhibit grand opening is free and open to the public.

Through more than 600 eagle feathers that will be pulled from the Ziibiwing Center's collection, participants will have the opportunity to see living, breathing, cultural objects used in traditional Anishinabek ceremonies and song culture. "It is important to preserve material for the future. We preserve not only cultural objects but the traditional way of life for the future - we are not a static culture," said the Ziibiwing Center's Curator, William Johnson.

Their story of survival was entrusted to artist, Evelyn J. Ritter of Glenwood, Illinois, through oil on canvas portraits depicting Eastern Woodland Indian tribal elders and leaders. According to Dr. Shinkle, the series of forty portraits began "to tell the story of the people, the tribes, and the cultures across the country." Through oral accounts of several descendants of tribes and nations that inhabit the Woodland area the book, "Always a People," comprised by Rita Kohn and W. Lynwood Montell, was created as an enhancement to the collection of portraits and will be available for purchase in the Ziibiwing Center Gift Shop.

This changing exhibition is a collection showcasing great appreciation and support for the history, people, and stories of the Eastern Woodland Indians. The tone of their story is one of beauty, survival, and vitality. This collection preserves and promotes culture and language while providing diversity to the general public and will be on display and complimentary with admission to the Diba Jimooyung, permanent exhibit through August 7, 2010.

The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways in Mount Pleasant, Mich. is the Midwest's Premier American Indian Museum. Established in 2004, the Ziibiwing Center is a distinctive treasure created to provide an enriched, diversified, and culturally relevant educational experience through its award-winning Diba Jimooyung (Telling Our Story) permanent exhibit, changing exhibits, research center, Ojibwe language immersion room, gift shop, Wi-Fi coffee & media lounge, and meeting rooms. The Ziibiwing Center is a non-profit cultural center and museum belonging to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan who also own Michigan's only four diamond casino resort, the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, and the Saganing Eagles Landing Casino located in Standish, Mich.

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