Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to Repatriate Ancestral Remains

Native News Network Staff in Native Challenges. Discussion »

ISABELLA INDIAN RESERVATION – This week, 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 one individual from the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. and the ancestral human remains of a minimum number of 120 individuals and associated funerary objects from the University of Michigan's Museum of Anthropology in Ann Arbor.

The Ziibiwing Cultural Society has been working diligently on behalf of the Saginaw Chippewa and Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation and Repatriation Alliance 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).

On August 7 a small delegation from the Saginaw Chippewa will depart the Isabella Indian Reservation, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan by van for Andover, Massachusetts to retrieve the physical human remains of one ancestor. On an unknown date prior to 1901, fragmentary human remains were removed from an unknown location in Bellevue, Michigan. The human remains were donated to the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Phillips Academy in 1901. The Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Phillips Academy posted a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register on August 14, 2012.

On October 9-11, the Saginaw Chippewa delegation will join with Great Lakes spiritual leaders and representatives from other Ojibwe, Ottawa and Pottawatomi Tribes in Ann Arbor, Mich. to complete the disposition process for the ancestors from the University of Michigan (U-M). Under NAGPRA regulation43 CFR 10.11 (c) (ii) the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan is the Authorized Transfer Recipient for the disposition of the Fisher Site Collection. The Fisher Site excavation took place on private land near Pleasant Lake in Lapeer, Michigan in 1973. The planned repatriation and reburial will be executed in collaboration with the 11 other Federally-recognized tribes, the 2 State historic Tribes from Michigan and the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation of Montana. The U-M's Museum of Anthropology posted a Notice of Inventory Completion and Notice of Intended Disposition in the Federal Register on December 23, 2011.

Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
of Michigan

The official signing of the Transfer of Control documents between the university and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan will take place on October 11 at 3pm at the U-M Kipke Campus Safety Building, Conference Rm. 2029, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis announced on August 2 that the National Park Service awarded $1,663,382 in grants to assist Native American tribes, Alaska Native villages and museums with implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which assists in the return of human remains and cultural objects to their native people. The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan was one of the grant recipients. The award of $13,593 will provide the necessary funds for the Tribe to carry out all activities associated with the Peabody Museum and University of Michigan repatriations.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe invites the public to join with them to increase understanding and awareness regarding ancestral issues and implications. A screening of the film Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii, followed by a discussion, will be held on the University of Michigan's campus on October 9 at 6:30pm in the Palmer Commons' Forum Hall, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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posted October 9, 2012 8:40 am edt