Editorial: Include Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in land transfer plan

Monday, March 28, 2011  

'The city of Mt. Pleasant made the right move by purchasing the Mt. Pleasant Center property.

City leaders admit they don’t really have a plan for the property yet. That doesn’t really matter.

Since the state closed the center for people with developmental disabilities, it has been essentially an absentee landlord. The city, unfortunately, has plenty of experience with absentee landlords.

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has raised some legitimate questions about the transfer. For many years, rumors have circulated that there are unmarked graves on the property.

The remains of Native children who died at the boarding school that once operated there – or perhaps patients at the state hospital – could be there. Documentation is sparse, hidden, or may never have existed.

It is incumbent on both the Tribe and the city to strike a deal now that would protect any remains that might come to light in the future. City leaders, who work side by side with the Tribe, almost certainly have a better appreciation of Native culture than a Lansing bureaucrat whose knowledge of Natives comes from John Wayne movies."

Get the Story:
OUR VIEW: After the land deal, the real work is about to begin (The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun 3/27)

Another Opinion:
RICK MILLS: Land has much potential for city (The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun 3/27)