FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Dec. 16, 2014
CONTACT: FRANK CLOUTIER, Public Relations Director
Call 989-775-4076 with any questions.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: December 16, 2014
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan to Repatriate Native American Ancestral Human Remains from Michigan State Police Lakeview Post #64
Mt. Pleasant, Michigan – The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and its Ziibiwing Cultural Society (Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways) will repatriate the ancestral human remains of (1) one Native American individual from the Michigan State Police Lakeview Post #64 located in Ionia County. Simultaneously, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi will repatriate the ancestral human remains of (3) three Native American individuals from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Lakeview Post #64 located in Ionia County. Both Tribes will sign the Transfer of Possession legal documents with officials from the MSP Lakeview Post #64 on Thursday, December 18, 2014. The planned repatriation and reburial will be executed in cooperation with the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation & Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA).
The Ziibiwing Cultural Society has been working diligently on behalf of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, and in cooperation with the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation & Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA), to bring home ancestors and their associated funerary objects from the numerous museums, universities and institutions across the country since the passage of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to inventory and identify Native American human remains and cultural items in their collections and to consult with Federally-recognized Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations regarding the return of these cultural materials to descendants or Tribes and organizations..
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 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.
“As a result of NAGPRA, more than 10,000 Native American human remains, one million funerary objects, and thousands of sacred objects have been united with tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.
The MSP Lakeview Post #64 posted a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on November 17, 2014 (www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-11-17/pdf/2014-27149.pdf). On October 14, 1971, human remains representing what was determined to be one adult male individual were removed from a gravel pit in the southwest quarter of Section #25, Bethany Township, Gratiot County, Mich. MSP took possession of the remains, complaint number 14–1865–71, and transferred them to the Michigan State University (MSU) Anthropology Department for analysis. MSU determined the remains belonged to (1) one adult male Native American. The human remains were returned to MSP #64 in June 2013. No known individuals were identified. No associated funeral objects are present.
The MSP Lakeview Post #64 posted a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on November 17, 2014 (www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-11-17/pdf/2014-27149.pdf). On October 21, 1981, human remains representing, at minimum, (3) three adult individuals were removed from a residence in the Village of Lyons, Ionia County, Mich. The homeowner discovered the human remains while digging a foundation for a house. MSP was called to investigate, complaint number 13–3138–81, and took possession of the remains and transferred them to MSU for analysis. MSU determined the remains belonged to at least three different adult Native Americans. The human remains were returned to MSP #64 in June 2013. No known individuals were identified. No associated funeral objects are present.
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan invites the interested public to join them for the Recommitment to the Earth Ceremony to be held on Thursday, December 18. Ceremonial protocols for the ancestor will commence at 11am in the Ziibiwing Center, followed by the Recommitment Ceremony at 1pm in the Tribe’s Nibokaan Ancestral Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1995 for the explicit purpose of reburying repatriated Native American ancestral human remains and associated funerary objects. The Nibokaan Cemetery is located on the Saginaw Chippewa’s Isabella Indian Reservation, behind the Tribal Campground located at 7525 East Tomah Rd., Mt. Pleasant, Mich. A Journey Feast to conclude the ancestral ceremonies and protocols will be held at 2pm on Thursday, December 18 at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, 6650 East Broadway, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
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 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 in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., Saganing Eagles Landing Casino located in Standish, Mich. and the Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
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