Ziibiwing Continues Work in Flint

6650 E. Broadway • Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Phone: 989-775-4750
Fax: 989-775-4770

Ziibiwing Continues Work in Flint

Click here to download a flyer for this event(.pdf)

An area originally planned for redeveloped residential housing in Flint’s Carriage Town district has been the focus of much local, state, and more recently – national attention. On Wednesday, October 7 during a congressional oversight committee hearing on the Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act, the Honorable Dale Kildee spoke very favorably about the Tribe's cooperation and responsiveness regarding the ancestral mitigation effort in Flint (Stone Street Ancestral Recovery & Reburial Project).

On August 13, a team of volunteers led by staff from the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, funded by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, began recovering ancestral human remains from over 76,000 cubic feet of dirt/debris/rubbish piles situated across four single-family unit city parcels. The Genesee County Land Bank, owners of the parcels, has continued to be very cooperative with the Tribe’s Stone Street Ancestral Recovery & Reburial Project.

The effort was stepped up in early September following Ziibiwing’s update to Tribal Council. At Tribal Council’s suggestion, unexpended funds were identified within Ziibiwing’s budget to support a Tribal Member labor crew to assist in the effort five days a week from September 21 thru the end of October/early November. Louanna Bruner, the Anishinabe Workforce Developer, began working the phones and found a committed crew for the project.

Volunteers are now working hand and hand with an experienced Tribal work crew led by SCIT Member Mark Spencer. Mark has been working at the site since mid August. The original Principal Investigator and Consultant, Dr. Beverley Smith (U-M Flint), who is integral to the project and its design, transitioned a new Principal Investigator, Dr. Misty Jackson, to take over due to her commitment to teach at U-M Flint. Field Supervisors Frank Raslich (SCIT Member) and his wife, Nicole Raslich, had to leave the project in September as well due to their graduate studies at Michigan State University.

In an update submitted by the project’s principal investigator, Dr. Misty Jackson of Arbre Croche Cultural Resources, she reported, “Since resuming work on September 21 at the Stone Street Recovery Project with hires from the SCIT, the majority of Parcel A has been screened and the soil returned to the former house foundation location from which it had been removed in January 2008. The crew from the SCIT are in good spirits, interested in the work, and hard working. It is anticipated that by the end of October Parcel A, the first, northernmost foundation will be completed. Work on Parcel C will likely also be well underway by the end of the month.” The project will be suspended in November for the winter and will resume in the spring. Ziibiwing will provide a project update and schedule in April 2010.

The Ziibiwing Center is grateful to the countless volunteers who worked at the site, as well as the individuals and restaurants who donated food and supplies for the project. Miigwetch to Tribal Council, Dr. Beverley Smith, Frank & Nicole Raslich, Dr. Misty Jackson, Dr. Sonya Atalay, Louanna Bruner, and all of the Tribal labor pool workers for your commitment. Ziibiwing would also like to thank William Harrison & Tribal Education for the use of a school bus to transport the Tribal workers, Chris Pego and the Motor Pool for making vehicles accessible for the project, and Dr. Mike Hambacher, Senior Archaeologist – Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc., for the use of the screens and tripods.

Now thru late November
(Resume in the Spring - call for more details in 2010)
Mondays thru Saturdays (No Sundays) • 8am - 5:30pm
Van departures from Ziibiwing - call for reservations

519 Stone Street Flint, Michigan 48503

For equipment, monetary, or food donations contact:

Dorothea Botimer Ph: 989-775-4750

For more information contact:

Dr. Misty Jackson (Arbre Croche Cultural Resources) Ph: 517-525-3060 or the Ziibiwing Center Ph: 989-775-4750