Tribe purchases eight acres of Mount Pleasant Center property

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Eight acres of the Mount Pleasant Center property have been sold to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

The land was purchased for $1 from the city, said Saginaw Chippewa Tribal council member Charmaine Benz.

The Mount Pleasant Center closed in 2009 and the property formerly held the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School, which operated from 1893 to 1934.

The tribal council officially sanctioned the area on Wednesday.

Benz said basic human rights were denied during the time of boarding schools.

According to school records, five children died during its operation, said Ziibiwing Center Director Shannon Martin.

However, various cross references revealed this number was incorrect; more than 160 deaths have been estimated by way of death certificates, historical records, obituaries and newspaper articles, Martin said.

“We lost a lot and we’re trying to gain it back so we can heal and recover,” Benz said.

The purchase was to ensure the graves on the property would not be disturbed.

Future plans

“(The tribe) wants to list the property on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Sarah Surface-Evans, a sociology, anthropology and social work adjunct at Central Michigan University. “By becoming a part of that, it protects the property from development.”

Surface-Evans is a post-doctoral fellow of archaeology brought on to teach a special topics course and she was contacted by the tribe two years ago about the project.

Being on this list would present the opportunity to receive funds to rehabilitate the property.

There are three steps to becoming a part of the list in accordance with the application to determine if the site is significant, Surface-Evans said.

First, archeological investigations must occur, then archival research and specialists in historic architecture must be involved.

Then a nomination document must be submitted to the national register.

Surface-Evans said they plan on submitting the document next fall.

“Right now we are in phase one of the planning stages,” Surface-Evans said. “This involves a survey to ascertain whether there is historical evidence of buildings or prehistoric buildings to determine future excavation.”

Grants for phase two are now in the works, which would involve ground-penetrating radar for future excavation.

“We are looking into specialized equipment that would allow groups to identify where things are located without excavating,” Surface-Evans said. “Finding potential burials is a key focus with ground-penetrating radar.”

Student interest

Students with an interest in archeology have the option to enroll in an archeological field school course next summer.

“It is an intense six-credit, six-week course, five days a week, basically a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. kind of thing,” Surface-Evans said.

The course would involve survey, remote sensing and excavation, but depends on funding.

“This is a part of American history that isn’t in the textbooks,” said Dee Ann Sherwood, CMU’s Denison visiting Professor of Native American Studies.

She said the course could open doors for students to be hired in the future, but it will be a small course with 10 to 15 slots available. ANT 175: Archaeology of the Americas is recommended as a prerequisite.

“This is mutually beneficial,” Tonia Bleuer, secretary of MIIBS committee, “it shows the council’s support to the ongoing efforts.”