An invitation to the reburial ceremony. Image from Saginaw Chippewa Tribe

Two Michigan tribes will accept ancestral remains that were removed from their resting places decades ago.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe will accept one ancestor whose remains were discovered in 1971. The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians will accept three ancestors whose remains were uncovered in 1981.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe will be holding a Recommitment to the Earth Ceremony on Thursday to rebury the ancestor in the Nibokaan Cemetery on the reservation. The ceremony will e followed by a feast at the Ziibiwing Center.

The remains have been in the custody of the Michigan State Police Lakeview Post #64. A notice of an inventory completion was published last month in the Federal Register but it's not clear why it took so long for that to happen since the remains were uncovered decades ago.

The notice was published pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Get the Story:
Ancestral remains repatriated to Tribe (The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun 12/16)

Federal Register Notice:
Notice of Inventory Completion: Michigan State Police, Lakeview Post, Lakeview, MI (November 17, 2014)