Celeste Balogh a Native American from Chelsea, Michigan has asked me to
forward the following letter.
Woksape,
John
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To all Tribal Members and Historic Preservationists,
Sixty acres of privately owned land that has been studied and
documented to have Native American artifacts ranging from 500 to 10,000
years of age, ancient fire pits, and an amphitheater possibly used for
gaming has been scheduled to be used for the construction of a new road
and an upscale housing division near Chelsea, Michigan. In 1937 and 1938
the University of Michigan helped in an excavation of the site, which
sadly remains undocumented to this day. University archaeologists at the
time surmised that the site was an Indian ceremonial meeting place that
given historic information was very likely used by the Wyandotte (or
Huron), Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potowatamie tribes. Also, although the
precise location is not known, oral history of the region as well as
limited documentation suggest that there is a Native American cemetery on
the land in question as well, which is also threatened by this
development. This land was owned by one family, the Riemanschneiders,
from 1838 to 1969 when it was purchased by the current owner, Dr. Irving
Feller, who left the property untouched to the present day.
Artifacts from the site have been curated at the Gerald Eddy
Geological Center in the nearby Waterloo Recreation Area, and consist of
arrowheads, spear points, grinding tools, bone and stone body ornaments,
drills, hide scrapers, and stone and copper knives. All of these items
were donated by Vincent Burg who collected this items from this land as
well as from the area surrounding it. Dr. Feller has denied knowledge of
any artifacts being found on this land, but various people in the area
remember the dig or have found artifacts on the land in recent periods. A
nearby resident also found a human arm bone in one of the adjacent lakes
abutting the property.
A public meeting is scheduled on April 14th at 7:00 p.m. at the
Sylvan Township Hall located at 112 W. Middle St., Chelsea, MI to address
this issue. For those who wish to come, take I-94 to the
Chelsea/Manchester exit. Go two miles north on M-52 to the downtown area
and turn left on W. Middle St. Any attendance will be appreciated.
We are also asking tribal members to support our effort in
demanding an impact study be done on this property before further
development is done. Any suggestions which would help preserve this
prehistoric and historic site will be welcome. Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Linda Nimke and Celeste Balogh
Contacts:
Linda Nimke
16333 Lowery Rd.
Chelsea, MI 48118 (313)475-7449
Celeste Balogh
236 E. Middle St.
Chelsea, MI 48118 (313)475-2565 or (313)475-7449
Fax: (313)475-0011
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John Norder e-mail:jwn@umich.edu
Museum of Anthropology office:(313)764-0485
4009 Museums :(313)764-2293
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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