Education, Protection and Management of ezhibiigaadek asin (Sanilac Petroglyph Site)

Preparing for the Grandmothers' cleansing of the sacred images

For the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, ezhibiigaadek asin is a sacred place. Teachings from their Anishinabe ancestors are embedded in this rock art site that holds over 100 petroglyphs.

Anishinabe cultural knowledge relates the importance of sharing aspects of these teachings. Yet concerns have arisen over what the Saginaw Chippewa consider to be inappropriate uses of the teachings, particularly in relation to commercialization of the images written on the stone. There is also concern that some of the petroglyphs are fading, and others have been vandalized. Sonya Atalay, who is Anishinabe-Ojibwe and an assistant professor at Indiana University, is collaborating with the Saginaw Chippewa’s Ziibiwing Cultural Society to explore these issues, with the goal of creating a plan to protect and control the use of the ezhibiigaadek asin site.

Preparing for the Grandmothers' cleansing of the sacred images (courtesy of the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways); the project team visits Petroglyphs Provincial Park, near Peterborough, Ontario (photo: Niibing Giizis Studio); Ezhibiigaadek asin is closed by the Michigan State government, even to representatives of the Ziibiwing Center who must await a key; Teachings carved in stone.

Reports

FINAL PROJECT REPORT: Education, Protection and Management of ezhibiigaadek asin

Research Themes

Safeguarding Indigenous Heritage

In 2014, a long-standing conflict over Grace Islet, a well-documented Coast Salish burial islet on the south coast of British Columbia, reached a boiling point as the landowner began construction of a private residence on this important cultural site.

Community-Based Cultural Heritage Research

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods engage communities in all aspects of the research process.

Presentations

Drawing a Line in the Sand: Protection of the Sanilac Petroglyphs Speaker: Shannon Martin Year: 2013 Event: Cultural Commodification, Indigenous Peoples & Self-Determination, Public Symposium and Workshop	Learning Together: Core Tribal Values and Shared Benefits at the Flint Stone Street Ancestral Recovery Project. Speaker: Sonya Atalay and Shannon Martin Year: 2012 Event: Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting (Memphis, TN)
Participatory Planning, Core Tribal Values, and Knowledge Mobilization in Community-Based Research Speaker: Sonya Atalay Year: 2012 Event: Central States Anthropological Society Conference (Toledo)	'When Descendant Communities are in the Driver’s Seat': Examples of Collaborative, Community-Based Heritage Research from the IPinCH Project Speaker: George Nicholas Year: 2011 Event: American Anthropological Association Conference, Session: Reversing the Legacy of Colonialism in Heritage Research (Montreal, Quebec)
Learning Together: Core Tribal Values, Transformative Influences, and Shared Benefit Speaker: Shannon Martin, W. Johnson, Sonya Atalay Year: 2011 Event: World Archaeological Congress Intercongress (Indianapolis)