Following the World Archaeological Congress' "Indigenous People and Museums: Unravelling the Tensions" InterCongress in Indianapolis, members of the IPinCH team were invited to the Ziibiwing cultural center in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
They were given the honour of viewing the nearby heritage site ezhibiigaadek asin ("Written on Stone"), otherwise known as the Sanilac Petroglyphs.
The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways interprets ezhibiigaadek asin and presents recreations of ancestors carving the teachings.
This important location is the focus of the IPinCH community-based initiative co-developed by Shannon Martin and William Johnson, director and curator, respectively, of the Ziibiwing Center, and Sonya Atalay, Assistant Professor of Archaeology at Indiana University, and Anishinabe Ojibwe from Michigan.
Ezhibiigaadek asin is closed by the Michigan State government, even to representatives of the Ziibiwing Center who must await a key.
The five IPinCH members who visited Ziibiwing Cultural Center appreciated the opportunity for conversation and developing friendships on the long journey, and the warm hospitality on arrival. When William Johnson, Curator at the Ziibiwing Center, led the excursion to ezhibiigaadek asin, the locked gates provided a very different reception. In spite of the excellent relationship with the Michigan State government departments managing the site, access is still granted to Ziibiwing Center representatives at the State's discretion.
The IPinCH case study will gather information from elders and knowledge holders through workshops and a tribal members survey to find the most effective and culturally-appropriate means of sharing information about the site with members of the tribe, other First Nations, and the general public. Ultimately, a draft site management plan is anticipated, along with negotiations that lead to the Ziibiwing Center having a central role in caring for the teachings preserved in stone. 
When the key holder arrived, (l to r) Anne Pyburn, Julie Hollowell, Sue Rowely, Stephen Loring, William Johnson, and George Nicholas were able to view the teachings carved in the stone, and the damage. (All photographs by Stephen Loring and used with permission of the Ziibiwing Cultural Center.)
