Event to observe 84th anniversary of Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School closing
The Ziibiwing Center is hosting an Honoring, Healing and Remembering ceremony on June 6 to observe the 84th anniversary of the closing of the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School.
The day will begin with a sunrise ceremony at 7 a.m. at Mission Creek Cemetery. The rest of the event will take place until 4 p.m. at the boarding school site, 1400 W. Pickard Road. All are welcome to attend.
"It's a day to come together as descendants of students at the school to honor them, and to honor those who died (at the boarding school)," Shannon Martin, the Ziibiwing Center's administrative director said.
Martin added that it is also a day to remember that federal policy failed, and to celebrate the fact that the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has still retained their culture and language, despite the boarding school.
The Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School operated from 1893 to 1934 with an average enrollment of 300 American Indian students per year in grades K-8. Like other American Indian Boarding Schools, students were forbidden to speak their language, honor their culture, and practice their spirituality.
The students performed work such as laundry, farm work, cleaning, and other manual labor for the majority of the school day. They also received basic academic instruction for the remainder of the day.
Delivering the keynote address will be keynote speaker K. Tsianina Lomawaima. She is the author of "They Called It Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School" and "To Remain an Indian."
Ceremonies during the event will include a Pipe Ceremony, a "Remembering the Deceased" student roll call, a Jingle Dress Healing Dance and Celebratory Round Dance.
