A historic event took place this week with a memorandum of understanding signed between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. The tribe will now manage the Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park near Cass City in Sanilac County. This is the first state/tribal co-management of a state park in Michigan. DNR Director Daniel Eichinger, cosigner of the Memorandum of Understanding said that, “This partnership is a major step forward in strengthening the authentic interpretation of the Sanilac Petroglyphs site, which speaks to the connections of humankind to nature and the earth.”
The petroglyphs have been managed by the DNR since 1971. Petroglyphs are stone carvings dating back around 1400 years and are believed to be a part of a sacred site to the Anishinabe and part of the history of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe. Tribal elder, Bonnie Ekdahl, is quoted in a press release from the DNR as saying, “We know our Ancestors were thinking of us when they left the lessons in stone”. The tribe and the state are pursuing using advanced technology to record the carvings, as they are fading and weathering over time. You can check out the petroglyphs for yourself when the park is open over the summer months.
Reporting for WGRT, Kelsie Kaczperski.
